Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic Subject: Re: hand pain Date: 7 Apr 1996 11:38:50 -0700 X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] : Can anyone offer any advice? I get a sharp pain in the palm of my hand : when fingering barre chords. Could I be pressing down too hard? (Even as : hard as I am pressing them, I still have trouble getting a clean sound.) : Or, is there a proper way to position your hand on the neck which would : prevent this problem? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I can't : practice for very long because of this, and lately, it hurts even when I'm : not playing. Two suggestions: 1) Have the action on your guitar adjusted so you don't have to press down so hard. Use light-gauge strings. 2) Revamp your playing style to use fewer barre chords. They are an orthopedic disaster according to the leading medical authority on the subject, Dr. Alice Brandfonbrenner. This isn't something to mess around with: you may be courting tendinitis, carpal tunnel, nerve damage, etc.. Warm your hands up before playing (see the "tendinitis" thread elsewhere in rec.music-makers.guitar.acoustic), see a doctor specializing in this kind of problem, do exercise if she tells you to, and lower those strings! Peace. Paul Date: Tue, 9 Apr 1996 00:07:09 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: hand pain On Mon, 8 Apr 1996, Paul Marxhausen wrote: > >2) Revamp your playing style to use fewer barre chords. They are an > >orthopedic disaster according to the leading medical authority on the > >subject, Dr. Alice Brandfonbrenner. > > I've found you can really get around playing a lot of high position > chords with a barre, & it really helps. > > Question: where did you find comments by Dr. B about this subject? Would > like to read them. She told me in person, when I went to her with my hand problems. She said the three worst problems she found in guitarists' technique were barre chords, putting the thumb behind the neck (classical style) instead of hooking it over the top, and twisting the wrist of the right hand clockwise (again, classical style). There have been various interviews with her over the years, but you'd probably have to hunt pretty hard for them. You might check Index Medicus for information on technical papers she's written. Peace. Paul Newsgroups: rec.music.classical.guitar Subject: Relaxing Left Hand (WAS Re: Newbie tips) Date: 13 Apr 1996 13:31:52 -0600 > Well, I'd like to add. The thumb should NEVER stay fixed; it needs to > be placed as do the fingers when fretting a note (or chord). If you > fix the thumb (and I know from bad experience), you build too much > tension in the left hand. Plus, the left hand does not hold the guitar > at all! The guitar is held by the left leg (lap), the chest and the > right forearm. These techniques have helped me to reduce my left and > right hand tension, improving my accuracy, speed, tone, and > confidence. Could you say more on this? I always overgrip with the left thumb when the going gets tough. I do some soft, slow practicing and some practicing with the left thumb free of the neck. What else might help me keep the left hand relaxed? Thanks, Rich Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic Subject: Re: hand pain Date: Sun, 14 Apr 1996 16:16:01 +0100 Organization: Barnes Mailbox (Good advice snipped) I escaped an attack of carpal tunnel after switching to an amplified acoustic guitar with medium strings following a Strat. with .10's. I now use the thumb on the 6th. sting "like wot I was always told not to" especially on long extended vamps behind other soloists. I have concluded that hard working guitarists who have to play long sets on all sorts of guitars strung heavy and high for enhanced volume and tone (like the blues street singers in past years) often developed this technique as a form of self protection! -- ||< `"' tel. the band secretary on 01926 400063 \____/ From: Paul Marxhausen This is really interesting to me. I've always tried to use good technique in all styles of guitar, part of which I mean keeping the thumb anchored behind the neck. An excellent book on ergo bass technique reiterates that this gives the fingers best access and leverage on the neck. The downside of leaving the neck in between thumb and fingers (hooking over top) is said to be that the fingers have to flex tighter to get where they need to be. It's also how my classical training went, and certainly it's aided my dexterity. Well, all that is certainly true. But one of my own problems is DeQuervain's syndrome, which makes my thumbs sore. To avoid aggravating that I've begun using a much more relaxed left hand style that avoids the thumb-behind neck when possible. What surprises me is how often I can get away with it, i.e., I don't seem to pay a penalty in impeded dexterity or increased strain on the fingers. Also surprised at how often chord alternatives make a real full barre unneccessary. As far as the right hand goes, I think there's rising awareness that the "cocked" (ulnar deviant) RH position a la Segovia is both dangerous & not necessary.