Been playing nearly 2 years and I’ve still not mastered the full stretch @420bpm
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I’ve also found that the worse your arthritis is, the tougher it is to reach frets.
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Other than playing harp harmonics, I’ve never had a need to stretch very far. I use Simandl for the first 5-7 frets and OFPF where I can reach comfortably. Most melodic parts are not within the first 5 frets which make them much easier to reach.
Stretching causes tension, tension slows you down.
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Yeah I microshift all the time and regret nothing 
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I believe the idea is that you don’t count both the root and octave when counting notes of the scale… IE: The Major scale has 7 notes: The C Major scale is C-D-E-F-G-A-B. The OCTave (8th note) is the root of the next octave of the scale. Unless I’m wrong - wouldn’t be the first or last time.
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I on the other hand find the more I play, the more fretboard I can cover, both 1FPF and Smandl, but yes, my fingers do reach further with more control and accuracy over time.
Also, when I have been forced to take long breaks from playing, my hands lose much of the flexibility, strength and accuracy, however, it takes less time to get it back then it dit to get it there in the first place.
All people are different, and like John said, there is not right or wrong, do what you can to make clean notes and in time you will figure out your limitations, but I would not rely on just a few weeks of playing to set them right now.
I have found that the strength and endurance I have built has helped my arthritis overall. It took time to get to that point tho, not overnight.
Correct, but when scales are taught or practiced, most often it is Root to Root for single octave scales. You can however play 2 octave scales and go Root to Root to Root.
On the other hand, when playing chord tones and extensions, like triads and 7th chords or add 9 chords, etc… you do not play that octave note.
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