big hands and soloing

[Killertofu]

lately i've been working on more intricate stuff and have discovered that my big hands with long fingers just get in the freakin way. i swear if i didn't have a middle finger i'd be better off sometimes.

when i go to play stuff like:

---10----------------10-------------
--------10----------------10--------
-------------10----------------10---
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
------------------------------------

i have a hard time doing the 10th fret right on top of the other. its pretty much the same all across the board on the upper tiny frets. now, i've been playing like 10 years off and on and can solo with blues scales all day long.

am i just stuck in a rut or should i try a different way to play this?

[Grandturk]

What are you doing? Are you barring accross the 10th or trying to fit your fingers in there?

What I do is bar accross the frets and lift up as you move to the next string to silence the previous note. You kind of "roll" you finger up and down.

[john.w.lawson]

I personally would play it with one finger, rolling style. I would have one finger hovering over all three strings. The ring finger usually works best, unless you are going to play notes below. This is the same technique that you use in sweeping arpeggios. sorry turk already answered.

[john.w.lawson]

______________14______17b^r16_____________________ __________
___________14___________________17v_______________ __________
_______14_________________________________________ __________
__16______________________________________________ _________





This is a Lynch lick out of Heaven Sent. You would play the sixteenth fret with your ring finger, then all three of the fourteenth frets with your index finger. Then you would play the seventeenth fret with your third or fourth finger. Since it is a full bend, your ring finger would probably be best. The sixteenth fret would be played with your middle finger.

[Killertofu]

thats one way to do it. i was just wondering if i just needed to suck it up and do it this way because it was the best. i'll keep trying both ways, i reckon. thanks.

i'm trying to get more disciplined in my playing but its kinda hard when you've got lumberjack hands

[john.w.lawson]

Really, that is the ONLY way to do it if you want to have speed. There are many licks that contain the rolling technique. They are not always used on three strings. They could be just back and forth on two strings, but there is no way that you can cop the speed using individual fingerings. For example, Bark at the Moon. The solo contains rolling on the same fret and there is no way that you could play that fast enough any other way. Blues artists use the rolling technique also, but good luck! Any technique mastered is a gain on your part. It gets you closer to the main goal of being able to express yourself through your music.

[MartinBarre]

On live vids it always looks like Steve Vai has massive long fingers, yet he does pretty well with them....

[Soap]

Everybody is different and has to learn what works best for himself or herself.

With that said, I'm six foot with a medium frame AND long somewhat fat fingers.

I honestly tried the 1 5/8 neck nut size time and time over again trying to make it work for me. For the longest time I played 1 11/16 the wider string space (R4) and that was my preference and it worked for me.
I finally just several years ago (approx. 6-7 yrs) went to a 1 3/4 nut.
It made a world of difference regarding my fret hand, like night and day.
Better control and confidence with the fret hand.
Thus trying new things and playing just in general comes much much easier because I'm playing a nut and neck size that works for me.
1 3/4 at the nut and neck 12-16.
I did test the water years ago with a straight 16 and that was a bit ackward.
Nice bending notes, but I remember it was chords that was most awkward.
It didn't feel natural to my hand it was a bit crampy, unusual feel indeed and not in a good way.

Just something to take into consideration.