"Anybody (with an iPhone)" is a far smaller set than "Anybody". Also some peoples fingers are just too short which nothing can help and/or they lack musical "sense" (hearing, rhythm, whatever it is that makes me suck at anything musical) which I doubt this setup helps.
I don't think it is true, I believe it's a matter of stretch - pros of my size who practiced for years can play more demanding stuff, I even met a girl who was way shorter than me, but could play bigger intervals on piano.
> and/or they lack musical "sense" (hearing, rhythm, whatever it is that makes me suck at anything musical) which I doubt this setup helps.
I don't think it's true either. Hearing, rhythm can be improved by exercises. Probably some people are born with better hearing/feel, but practice makes a huge difference. Professional musicians usually do ear training for years (ie most schools incorporate this kind of class); you can also use some software for that - I'm pretty sure I wasn't born with any sort of talent/sense, but did lots and lots of training and got to reasonable level where I can improvise and play by ear. Many musicians that didn't have formal training claim that they listened to radio and just tried to play what was there - this is also some sort of ear training, though it is rather painful, I think. Some ear training software I used are GNU Solfege (free, works with linux) and EarMaster (paid, windows).
This is a classic excuse and complete BS. My hands are much smaller than average and I adapted. Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) lost the tips of 2 of his fingers in an accident and still manages to play!
I'm 6'6" with giant hands. I was struggling with a 5-fret stretch for a chord, and thought it couldn't be done. My guitar teacher was a tiny gnome of a man with small hands and stubby fingers, and he played through the same stretch without a problem while showing me something else. I asked him to show me and he said "yeah, it's a bit of a stretch, that one", but it hammered home that it's more about practice than physical limitation.
"Anybody (with an iPhone)" is a far smaller set than "Anybody". Also some peoples fingers are just too short which nothing can help and/or they lack musical "sense" (hearing, rhythm, whatever it is that makes me suck at anything musical) which I doubt this setup helps.