I've been playing a year and a half and I have to say this has never happened to me before. My hands are just out and out tired (or so I think?) Basically I'm having a tough time laying some barres down on my accoustic and just simple chord changes. Seems my hands are just a little burnt out, so I guess I have to ask, do you hands just need a few days rest every now and then or am I just in a slump? I would imagine they need a rest but I figured this would've happened already in my playing :? anyone?
edit: this is refering to my fretting hand, my picking hand is fine.
Guitarin' isn't a job, so don't make it one.
Never happened to me. Maybe you just lack energy lately.
It happens to me from time to time. I play baseball and ride a harley. The hands can only take so much.
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Happened a bit when I was first learning barre chords on an acoustic (I had a horrible B&M dreadnought with incredibly high action and a great thick neck like a broomstick) - but as I started as a bass player my hands were strongish anyway. Cleared up completely when I bought a decent acoustic (a wonderful old German Hoyer that ended up wrecked in a house move - I still nearly cry when I think of it). Never had the problem playing electric - but I always use light gauge strings.
Ah, strings - what gauge are you using? Anything heavier than 13's can be really tiring - 12's are probably better.
And how's your action (judge it on the gap between the strings and the 12th fret)? 3/32" is about right. 5/32" would hurt the hands of a weightlifter. 2/32" is probably as low as poss without fret buzz on most flattop acoustics, but only if you're a gentle picker rather than an out and out strummer.
The action's pretty good, not sure as to the gauge of the strings (11's I /think/) they seem pretty high tension mind you.
Guitarin' isn't a job, so don't make it one.
I think you have to be careful at times. You really can cause some permanent damage. I have had trouble with the thumb on my fretting hand for many years. I have had to work hard to always be aware of tension in my hand. This problem has improved somewhat in the last year or so.
So sometimes you might need to layoff a little, something I could never seem to do.
One thing that helps is whenever your hand feels tired or painful, lay your hand flat, palm down on a table. This really helps.
But do not play if you experience pain. This weakness you are experiencing may be the beginning of a problem, so just take it easy a bit when your hand feels like this.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Make sure to stretch your hands before you play as well...Remember, you might not have to press as hard as you think you do to get the right sounds. You might just have too much tension in your hands.
Take a few days off maybe, or play through it. Is it weakness or pain?
Edit: If it's weakness: There's a condition that happens when one slouches, or hunches their shoulders in towards the chest, whereby enough blood doesn't get to the hands, and they feel weak. I happen to have it, although after the chiropractor helped me out, it's gone away. I'm not sure how to check for it. You can try pressing a finger into your palm, and seeing how long it takes for the color to return to your palm after you take your finger off. I'm not sure if you want it to be fast or slow, and I'm not sure what fast or slow is :lol:
Yes, when barring I have problems with my fretting hand while doing it for a prolonged period of time.
No, never when doing chord changes.
I'm intrigued by Taso's post. I too, slouch, and wonder if there is a reason behind my hand fatigue during barres and other strenuous hand activities.
I slouch too and also experience hand fatigue at times after some playing...
Yes, when barring I have problems with my fretting hand while doing it for a prolonged period of time.
No, never when doing chord changes.
It the same with me... i just noticed it cuase i got an elctric guitar and can actually fret a barre chord. not cuase the guitar, but cuase the fret arn't flat!
As one of the older beginning players I'd have to say that a bit of hand pain is a usual thing for me. I go ahead and stretch my fret hand out, stop playing when it hurts too much, and generally keep an eye on the health of my hands at all times. Hands go numb when I bike long distances, I've had carpel tunnel where I've had to wear wrist braces for over six months. All that doesn't stop me but it does keep my attention. As has been said before, keep an eye on the type of pain you are experiencing. Stop if it hurts and let your hand rest because as I've found out with the carpel tunnel thing - it can sneak up on you and bam you are totally screwed for a long time. With the carpel tunnel thing I didn't even notice I had a problem until I was taking a plate of food to a table and found I couldn't hold my wrist up and the plate fell. So don't ignor the pain you might be experiencing.
Enjoy your karma, after all you earned it.
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Don't play through the pain, this will make things worse. Stop and rest. Break your playing up into more, shorter sessions if necessary. Take a week off if the pain or tiredness persists well after playing or if you notice weakness in your hands at other times of the day.
Switching to lighter guage strings seemed to help me a lot.
Your skill may be surpassing your strength. Laying off more straining work or spending less time on it until your hand strength catches up may be a goood idea for a while. If you've just started playing barre chords successfully, for instance, you may be playing them a lot, but early on you use a lot more effort to make a barre than is needed. This will get better with time, but if you barre a lot your hands will get tired or strained in the early days.
