Question:
Lately, after playing barres on m acoustic, as well as Satellite by the DMB, I find my hand aches. Only on my acoustic, rarely on my electric. No good. Can anyone possibly give a reason? These are the only thing I don't wrap my hand all the way around the neck for, and place my thumb under the neck.
My theory is that my fingers and hand is getting a bit weaker. Does anyone have any cures for this, regardless of if it is my problem?
Also, if it is not, how can I go about fixing my problem? Thanks for any help, as something serious would be bad.
Answer:
ok.. alot of this is technique.. i still get hand cramping sometimes after playing a barre-heavy song.. but that's usually only when i forget to barre properly.. the truth is for most barres you 1) don't need to cover up all 6 strings with your barre finger (since you're using your other fingers too) and 2) barres really don't take as much pressure as most people think.. so try to relax your hand as much as possible while keeping a clean tone..
HOWEVER... I do have a couple tricks for increasing hand strength.. unfortunately I haven't been faithful lately since I haven't had any time for exercise but from my former basketball experience I used to use those little foam-gripped V-shaped things you can get from wal-mart to work your forearm... you use those one a night.. 2 sets of 50 reps for each hand.. and I'm pretty sure you'll start to see extra forearm strength/increased grip.. I'm also trying out the Isotonik Chopstick things which haven't come in yet, but those are supposed to be the same principle, only for individual fingers. Another important thing to do is to stretch your fingers. What I do (also something I picked up from basketball) is to hold your hands in front of you open, with your fingertips of one hand touching the other.. and then stretch each pair of fingers in turn as much as you can for about 10-15 seconds each.. (for example.. thumb and index finger stretch.. then move on to index and middle.. on down the line, doesn't take too long to do..) that'll really increase your hands reach which also helps in cramping up.. before I started playing guitar 4 years ago and was using this for basketball I went from not being able to grip very well to being able to palm a full-sized ball.. and now for guitar I can play a few chords that alot of people wont touch, but really anybody can do that stuff with the right stretching, i believe (my hands are really small, by the way.)
hope some of that helps you!
Answer:
I'd second the above post which basically suggests that a "death-grip" is not necessary for playing guitar and usually tires your hands out sooner than they need to be tired out. I know this, because I used to be really into the death-grip, and still occasionally morph back into it when I'm really concentrating on doing everything "just right" on a new song. A relaxed hand goes a long way towards being a hand with good stamina. Past that, practicing more will build stamina.
Nate
Answer:
here's a video of one of many exercises i use to help work on my fingering strength and dexterity... hope it helps
http://www.freelessons.anointedforwo...engthening.wmv
Answer:
well the best way is to just keep playing what you're playing. like it was said earlier, learn how to hold down the strings just hard enough to make them sound, if you're holding them too tight then you'll be suprised how little pressure is actually needed.
when i first tried out an electric i made all of the notes go sharp because i was used to holding the strings so tight. i learned that it only takes a light touch and when i went back to my acoustic it was much easier on my hands.
satellite by dave matthews is a great song to help develop hand strength, so you're in the right direction.
Answer:
Probably the greatest book that will not onyl increase your strength but your accuracy and speed as well is (Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar by Troy Stetina). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/079...Fencoding=UTF8