I have been having serious cramps in my left hand and my left shoulder has starting aching. I think I am tense when I play and probably use the incorrect technique with my left hand.
What is the proper positiojn of the left hand and arm to reduce stress and help all of this?
Thanks,
Zeph
There have been a few threads on warming up and stretching out before playing, and I'd say your first bet would be to look those up and see if stretching before you play or taking more frequent breaks reduces your fatigue.
Other causes of your fatigue could be...
1. Brand new? Sore arms and wrists are often a part of just starting out on guitar, as your body isn't used to the positions yet. That should subside in short order as long as you don't overdo it.
2. Sitting in the same position for too long? If you're playing electric, alternate between sitting and standing, move around, get comfortable.
3. Playing a 25 year old acoustic? Hey, it's a long shot, but my first guitar (and some of my friends' as well) was an old acoustic with stiff-as-a-board strings and 2 inch high action. That gets you hurtin' in a hurry.
4. Teeny tiny little frets? Smaller frets tend to require more pressure to fret correctly. This becomes less of an issue with practice, but a beginner could definitely notice. For comparison, an Ibanez RG tends to have huge frets, while Les Paul style guitars tend to have smaller frets. Check them out next time you're in your local music dealer and find out where your instrument falls.
6. Playing barre chords constantly? This is usually overcome with time, but playing lots of barre chords can definitely cramp up some of your hand muscles. A great excuse to learn some alternate chord voicings... :lol:
5. Crappy technique? Hmm, I was hoping you wouldn't get to this... :oops: Keep the face of the guitar perpendicular to the floor, if you bend it towards yourself, it's easier to see, but you are making your wrist curl unnaturally. Your thumb should hit the center of the back of the neck, and your fingers should be close to parallel with the frets when at rest. The neck should be straight out or slightly upwards when seated, it should not be extending towards the floor. If you are standing, you should keep the guitar fairly high: low looks cool, but strains your wrists and limits your mobility, it also makes you lean over farther if you're trying to see the fretboard.
Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life...
