Los Angeles, California, USA
|
minimizing pain in fretting hand while playing guitar
Viewed 1413 times. 9 people liked this blog. You can rate it below if you haven't already.
-->
I've been playing guitar for about 13 years and I realized that there is something seriously wrong with my approach if I can't get through a whole song (~4 min.s) that requires playing bar chords. I'd be curious to hear from anyone else who experienced pain and fatigue in their fretting hand during a 2 minute use session of using bar chords straight and have resolved this problem. I understand that methods don't have to be limited to exercises on and off the guitar, changes in diet, meditation, etc., so I'm open to methods that have worked for y'all.
For context, there are times when I go days or even weeks when I don't play guitar so that might definitely contribute to this pain. But I'd like to think that this is something that can be corrected rather than a physical condition I'm doomed to live with. | |
Comments
07/27/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
electrodan
Your body adapts to anything. If you hurt, you're not playing enough (regularly) to be used to it, and your muscles are unconditioned.
Chording is hella strenuous on the hand... so even playing with little breaks like you say, will be hard to get used to. If you're muscles are seasoned tho, it takes shorter and shorter periods of time to get them "back into it". You'll find they condition quicker than a body who plays very rarely.
If'n you think you need to condition more (minus guitar practice), get one of those hand strengthener things, it'll help.
07/27/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
electrodan
oh, and also...
recording often makes you tense up, or apply unnecessary force. This makes it difficult to make it thru a 4:00 song sometimes! 
07/27/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
ricemutt
don't want to sound too contrary, but I completely disagree with you electrodan! I don't think that more practice, or more hand exercises is the solution to a repetitive stress injury at all. I think that will only make the situation worse. There's a couple things... proper posture and hand position is important. If the way you regularly play sees you with a really bent wrist most of the time, that's bad. Having your wrist as straight as possible removes a lot of the pressure on your tendons and muscles. Also, I think that just getting a qualified instructor who can help you with this sort of thing could make a big difference right away.
Dan's right about how certain situations will also make you play with a lot more tension. Playing guitar, especially something like steel string acoustic, requires a lot of force. If you're playign electric or classical though, the amount of force required is generally much much less than people think. Try going through a song, really really slow, and playing each note with as little force as possible without making everything buzz. If you do this a couple times you might find that you can play the song with a lot less effort than you did without having focuses specifically on being efficient with your hands.
Breaks are important too. Another thing, on the theraputic side that can help is applying heat. When an athlete has an especially strenuous workout, a physical trainer will often recommend something like a hot bath or soaking in a sauna. You can get heat pads at a pharmacy that you can place around your wrist or arm after playing, and these expand your blood vessels and help a lot with blood circulation. Doing this regularly can reduce swelling, which is sometimes the cause of the pressure on the nerves that causes things like carpal tunnel, as far as I know.
anyway, this is a thing that has been present in my life, too. I think being mindful of your body is the most important thing. "playing through it" and tryign to force yourself to go through something extremely difficult is not the right answer. If you see most good guitarists, you'll se that they make everything look very easy. The good guitarists i've seen or met usually don't ever look like they're struggling with their instruments--that's because they've found the most efficient way to play the notes they are trying to play. Some things just flat out require a lot of physical exertion, but about 95% of guitar fingerings and techniques really don't. For instance, many of the times you are playing a full barre... you could probably go with a half, or even just focus the force on the lowest three strings instead of all 6. Also, you can use the strength of your entire body and arm instead of just trying to push your hands to do all the work.
anyway, I haven't played guitar for even half as long as you, haha, so that's just my 2 cents anyway.
07/27/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
ricemutt
here's a cool technique for learning to be more relaxed:
play a song, but between every note or chord, completely relax all tension in your hands, and stop for a short moment.
then gradually make these breaks shorter as you practice along, until you are playing at normal speed.
This reminds you that the time you are applying force should only be when necessary. Lots of people constantly keep their muscles under tension when playing. When you get in the habit of "letting out" the tension between different musical phrases, you will take a lot longer to get tired.
07/27/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
Sonarcade
danelectro: it's good to see that the gripmaster gets a vote from an actual guitarist. I've always been using one of those with a good measure of doubt. Practice I shall. I think the limitations of being self-taught are being shown right here.
ricemutt: thanks for the thorough response. As I mentioned above, I'm self-taught which would render the time spent on guitar to be sort of beside the point. And as such, I think this kind of concrete description of what makes for a proper hand position is just what I needed. I didn't know that the wrist needed to be maintained as straight as possible. Now that I know, I think you'll have some idea where a good deal of my energy and focus will be directed toward. And so I think there's a way to apply your principles with those shared by danelectro (and others to come?). It could simply be that danelectro comes from a place where perfect hand positioning comes naturally, thus allowing him the luxury of "playing through it."
I think it's great that already we have two phenomenal guitarists with two ostensibly opposite techniques. Just goes to show that it's about finding a good fit according to one's playing style. I, myself, know that I've hit a wall with my playing and hopefully this moment of respite will allow me to incorporate these already two super helpful hints.
Also, about the heat-pack, that's an actual non-surgery related tip I hadn't expected and am excited to try out. Just one thing though: I remember my lower back went out once and a chiropractor advised against using heat before ice and that ice always should precede heat. I'm just wondering what your thoughts on that are, since I'm aiming for things that work for actual people.
The relaxation technique is also gold. I bet this is just the tip of the iceberg. It's definitely enough to get me started and hopefully there aren't other RSI-inducing habits I've developed. As far as I know, I haven't contracted that yet. *knock on wood*
07/27/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
monty
my 2 pence:
like you said, it depends on what you want to play.
guitarists/all musicans naturally develop a style suited to the physical properties of their brain/ears and hands/mouths
playing music is supposed to be fun.
re: barre chords. you probably dont need to play the full six strings, it usually sounds too muddy any way IMO.
split a barre chord in half.
on one side you have power chords for rock on the other nice treble chords for reggae, funk
i know you are Smiths fan.
Johnny Marr is all about the top 3 strings.
07/27/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
gamatam
Hey Sonarcade, I've struggled with the same thing. I've played guitar on and off for about 20 years, but mostly played lead. Over the last 5+ I've concentrated on improving my chord playing and playing mainly barchords. Oh and thats on nylon accoustic and steal string electric.
I've struggled with pains in the muscles between my thumb and pointer after playing for about 4 mins. The one thing that has worked has been playing in a band with other people, its forced me to play the same chord progression over and over and over again while the bassist and drummer try and work out their pieces. Because it becomes mind numbing, I start concentrating only on my left hand position and trying to find anything that is more comfortable and I guess its 'distance' training.
Because of this whenever I watch another guitarist play I tend to concentrate on their hand positioning, which is surprisingly varied. The most comfortable position I've found is the way jimi hendrix played, with the thumb over the neck, you really feel like you are gripping the guitar and the hand is relaxed, but unfortunately I'm crap at it (something to work on).
I realize this isn't too helpful, but maybe it triggers something. I'm also double jointed on the thumbs, which I've felt is related to the pain.
btw I can play for 3 hours no problem now..
07/27/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
Sonarcade
monty: I didn't know that about Marr, though thinking about it, I do hear surprisingly little from those other neglected strings. I've been trying to fingerpick a few songs that follow the progression Eb Bb Ab, which doesn't sound as lovely as a transposed version with the chords E B A in that I lose the jangly higher pitches that attends the barre chords. I think this probably ought to be resolved with more inventive solutions, but it's nice to have the option of barre chording with ease when required. After the first couple responses, one would've thought that I'd reveal a bit about what type of guitar I'm playing since the physical demands do vary fairly drastically between all the choices as you've also mentioned. I'm stuck with an acoustic steel string guitar and considering I've had this problem with other steel-strings, I figure it's not a matter of adjusting the action but simply overcoming a few of the mentioned major problems I may have with posture, positioning, and lack of practice.
gamatam: it's good to hear a success story. I've personally taken to finding footage on youtube of guitarists and even bass guitarists to see what a few of my choices are. I haven't done it long enough with presumably an equally sharp eye as yours to notice the differences between their playing yet though. My pain is also located in the thumb and index finger area so at least I now know that I haven't been using a position that's freakishly off the beaten path. That's another idea that I hadn't considered: playing the same chord progression as if you're in a band--which, from my experience is a lot longer than when I practice on my own. from barely 4 minutes to 3 hours. yikes! There may be hope for me yet.
07/27/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
tmns
Buy a powerball. I use one for drum related hand/wrist problems, but they are recommended for most rsi/hand wrist related problems.
07/27/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
eyesnine
i use an acoustic with nylon strings and a low action and i can noodle for hours with no problems. i used a crappy fake fender with steel strings a quarter inch off the frets recently and my hand felt like it was going to fall off after about 10 minutes. it might be worth looking into getting a more comfortable guitar or switching to nylons. you can definitely put nylons on a steel string acoustic with no problems (thats what i did). they sound good too!
07/27/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
eyesnine
...it might be worth a try because a set of nylons isn't that expensive, but be warned, once you're using nylons full time your callouses will go away and steel will be genuinely painful to play on again. savarez are nice sounding nylons, but you have to change them fairly often (they loose their shiny sound and get dull pretty quick). maybe you should get a <$5 set just to see if you like the feel.
07/27/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
eyesnine
jimi had huge hands, it looks like he's holding a broomstick when he plays. when i started looking at his hands, and how big/strong other excellent guitarists hands looked i decided it really wasn't worth it to put too much in how i played guitar. i just don't have the hands for it. i use guitar for songwriting, mainly.
07/28/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
goguru
1 - More practice,
2 - Less strenght as possible (follow Ricemutt's advices)
3 - Get use to play with your thumb on the middle or lower the the middle of the neck (except when doing chords with the thumb)
4 - I've seen people play on guitars with ridiculously high touch (distance between the strings and the fretboard). Even on those guitar I get tired real fast and I practice an average of 2 hours per day. So, you might want to make some adjustments on your guitar, it's not that expensive to lower a touch.
5 - Oh, and... more practice.
07/28/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
electrodan
So do you have an RSI in your fretting hand? or are you talking about just normal playing causing you to get tight?
Ricemutt is right tho, if you have an RSI you might need some kind of physical therapy... you dont want to exacerbate the injury with further strain
07/28/08
+
PM |
QUOTE |
PERMALINK |
REPORT
j_chot
here are some ideas that don't criticize your technique or weak hands:
1. put a capo on the first fret (this depends)
2. buy a nicer guitar. (one with better action)
3. buy a nylon string guitar.
3. tune it lower then capo it back up (this should work?)
Register / login
|
^
EM411 is Copyright 2001-2008 EM411.com
All rights reserved. | Contact | RSS
|
