Hi Paul. Here's a neat little trick that my piano playing Mom told me about...many many years ago. I've passed it on to every student I've ever worked with, and I guarantee you it WORKS! In fact it works so quickly most folks are very surprised at first.

She said that when she took her first piano lessons (in the twenties I guess) her teacher would get the little girls to run their fingers up and down two polished dowels afixed vertically on either end of the piano. They'd 'split' their fingers. Eg: Split the index and middle..push hard into the dowel, and run them back and forth over the dowel. Next split the middle and ring. Then the ring and pinky.

It's even easier on the guitar. Just 'split' the fingers and run 'em up and down the neck of the guitar. Push as hard as you're able to without real pain. Within a few days you'll really notice the extra "reach" coming into play. Yeah, it hurts a little, but the proof for me was that my Mom, with a much smaller hand than mine could reach a tenth on the piano, whereas I could only manage an octave.

Once you've done the excercise on both hands for a minute or so (obviously much more important on your fretting hand...but I'm too 'anal' to just do it on one hand!) Try to put down a four finger G maj 7th chord XX5432. It'll be much easier than it was two minutes before.

Really want to get some good stretches happening? Play the above chord WITH your thumb on the sixth string third fret, and DAMP the fifth string.

Cheers

Rick