TGP if you have long fingers.. does that make you an awesome shredder??

[mikeratan00]

Well.. look at Guthrie, Steve Vai and Paul Gilbert.. Well is it or not???:Spank

 

[RL in Fla]

Look at Johnny Hiland .

 

[edgewound]

Al DiMeola doesn't have long fingers.

 

[smokermaker]

you wouldn't think these fingers could shred, but they are pretty frickin nimble:

 

[shane8]

i thought u had to mispend ur yooth in ur room by urself

 

[mikeratan00]

i thought u had to mispend ur yooth in ur room by urself

 

[brent]

I don't think it really matters.

Look at Django

 

[?&!]

Long fingers sure don't hurt, but they aren't a prerequisite.

 

[Joe Gamble]

No way- check out Shawn Lane.

 

[Brian D]

Andres Segovia.

 

[James M]

How about Django? He didn't "shred" per se, but was pretty darn nimble on the fretboard, and wasn't fully functional in the finger department...

 

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

Not necessarily, look at my fingers.

 

[Garygtr]

Randy Rhoads had tiny hands

 

[B_of_H]

my fingers are really wide making an open A fretted with 3 fingers impossible.

I don't think it helps at all....it's hard for me to properly fret a gibson high up on the neck as i'm only able to use a very small portion of my fingertip without fretting out on both sides.

 

[mikeratan00]

Look @ Aldrich's fingers .. and isn't he a master shredder?

 

[Bobbyoso]

I heard a great quote, unfortunately I don't remember exactly who said it, one of the great, great classical pianists (Artur Rubinstein, perhaps?). Apologies for paraphrasing and not remebering the quotee.

Anyway, after a typically superb performance, he was at a dinner party at which he was the guest of honor, conversing with the local socialites, when one of the women shakes his hand, and then says something to the effect of "how can you play such demanding, amazing music? You have such small hands!".

In all earnesty, ho looks at her and says, "Madame. What ever led you to believe I make music with my hands?"

 

[mikeratan00]

Mr. Holdsworth

 

[stevieboy]

Defining shredding as playing fast, I actually think short fingers are a bit of an advantage--economy of movement.

But I don't think the length of your fingers are a big limiting factor--practice, and what you set your sights on attaining with that practice, are way more important. And whatever your fingers' physical dimension might make it more difficult to do, they also make it easier to do something else.

 

[MajorLedhead]

No, but it does make you popular with the ladies.

 

[Bankston]

EVH, SRV and George Lynch. All huge hands.