This is my first post, so hi there and nice to meet you all :)
So I've only started picking up the guitar a week or so ago - and everything is going smoothly until I started to experience this pain on my picking hand around beneath the ring and middle finger, kinda in the middle of the back of my hand. It's quite persistent, and sometimes it would migrate to the area beneath the thumb joint, right at the side of the wrist, beneath the bony part.
I hold my pick the usual way - I think - index finger curled with the tip parallel to the thumb, so I don't think my technique is the problem (to my untrained eyes, at least :oops: ). Or maybe because I put it up to 4 hours of practice a day? I took a break yesterday with only an hour of practice but the pain is still there and I'd loathe to take another break. I mean, I can play barre chords now, damnit! Woohoo!
..Err.. Yeah.
So any insight regarding this is much appreciated, and would using a wristband help, somehow?
I think that you're simply overdoing it. 4 hours a day is a lot of practice for untrained hands.
One of the things that beginners do is to tense up - which results in pain. Cut down the actual practice time on the guitar - you may find that you learn quicker for it, as well (the mind can become "stale" from overdoing the practice).
The fingers, apparently have no muscle in them, they are moved by tendons in the hand and forearm, so strain on the finger is likely to be felt in the hand or forearm (where the muscle is), rather than in the finger
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
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Yes, cut back on the time practicing and relax your hand.
I once spent a stretch of 6 hours on and off practicing. I wound up with overuse inflammation at the base of my picking thumb. I also tended to curl my middle and ring fingers and pinky under. Now I relax them and uncurl them (at my teacher's "behest" :P ). Much better.
It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.
I see. I also play bass for quite a while already, and with fingerpicking I found no problem at all even if I put in similar practice time, but I guess the new action of strumming might be quite of a shock. Never found any problem at all on my fretting hand.
I totally agree with the tense part though, Minotaur. Like you, I've relaxed my grip on the pick (used to hold it with finger 2,3 and 4 also curled into a semi-tight fist) so that finger 2, 3 and are now... well, not curled, for the lack of better term. Since doing that I've noticed that the pain isn't as bad after a few hours of practice. It's still there, but it's getting better.
I'll run to the store tomorrow and find some smaller picks (using a thick, big triangular pick I pilfered from my bass right now) to ease the playing even more.
And as a side note: Yes, I know that little bits of practice time spread over a day is better than a monster 6 hour session, since the brain needs the time to reflect on the things learned yadda yadda (found out that if I sleep after a particularly difficult problem, the next day it's be much easier). That being said, the long practice session is purely because I have nothing else to do... except going to my bass or playing with puppies.
I guess I'll have to do that last activity more :roll:
That's the first thing I thought of when you said you had pain in your picking hand.
I used to have a vice grip on it until I figured out a good technique that worked for me.
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