Day 1: Saturday 13th March 2021 – A Happy Accident
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been teaching group sessions online for Admiral Insurance, where a few beginner students (with large fingers) have been struggling to play the A chord.
To better understand how this feels for them and to come up with some solutions, I randomly decided to pick up my son’s ¾ size electric guitar (which has a smaller neck) and turn it upside down (to play left-handed) to try the A chord.
In this position, due to the smaller 3/4 size guitar, I feel like a complete beginner with fingers that are too big for the guitar, which is exactly what I want.
When I attempt the A chord, it obviously sounds wrong because the guitar is an upside-down right-handed guitar. But that’s fine because I’m not trying to make music. I’m just trying to better understand what it feels like to play the A chord from the perspective of a complete beginner with big fingers, so I can offer some suggestions on how to play it more easily.
First Impressions:
WOW! I’m absolutely astounded by how difficult the A chord feels to play. The old-school way of playing it feels cramped, and my fingers struggle to fit into the small frets. The new-school way feels like I’m tying my fingers into a knot.
Trying Other Chords
Fascinated by this initial experience, I decided to try some other chords.
They all feel excruciatingly difficult! The C chord literally feels impossible to play. Barre chords? Another planet. It’s such a strange feeling, considering playing the same chords right-handed is as easy as writing my name.
As difficult as it feels, I’m captivated.
The seed is planted. The adventure begins.
