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Strength/stamina in picking hand

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(@old-lefty)
Trusted Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 43
Topic starter  

I've been playing for about 2 months now and over the last week or so I've been working on a couple of blues shuffles with some backing tracks. I've managed to get the rythm down but I can only sustain it for a minute at the most. It's like my pick just runs out of steam and it quickly deteriorates into late and sloppy playing. I'm sure that I'm tensing up some trying to keep up with the tempo.......hey, for me, it's fast! And I have seen some improvement as to how far along in the song I can get, but the progress is slow.

Is there a way to strengthen my picking hand/wrist/arm to give me more endurance? I was thinking about doing some wrist curls when I'm at the gym, but side to side which mimicks (a little) the picking motion, and wondering if anyone else has tried resistance training to enhance their playing abilities.

Thanks,

Brian


   
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 Crow
(@crow)
Honorable Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 549
 

I don't play with a flatpick too much anymore, but I have tendinitis/arthritis issues which make fingerstyle playing difficult. Recently have been working with a "squeeze toy" -- I think it's supposed to be a stress-relief device, but I'm using it for hand strengthening. And it seems to help.

Others will have better ideas about pick technique, but I'd recommend starting with your grip on the pick. This can be pretty loose & relaxed. I think a lot of people get a death grip on that thing, which imparts tension all up the arm.

"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa


   
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(@minotaur)
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Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 1089
 

I learned that relaxing and extending my middle and ring fingers and pinky does wonders for eliminating fatigue. Don't make a fist with your picking hand

It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.


   
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(@old-lefty)
Trusted Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 43
Topic starter  

Good advice from both of you. Thanks.

Brian


   
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(@rparker)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5480
 

I learned that relaxing and extending my middle and ring fingers and pinky does wonders for eliminating fatigue. Don't make a fist with your picking hand
It does sound like a muscle is too tight. I do that sometimes. Used to warp light guage picks all the time. :roll:

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


   
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(@minotaur)
Noble Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 1089
 

I had a 2-week bout with tendonitis at the base of my right thumb (my picking hand). I played on and off for about 6 hours one day, with a death grip on my pick and my hand clenched. Yikes!

It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.


   
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(@dylan-schwartz)
Eminent Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 26
 

Is there a way to strengthen my picking hand/wrist/arm to give me more endurance?

Yes. Keep practicing exactly what you're practicing [or variations of the same technique].

If a person had only been running for 2 months and went to see a coach saying "I'm getting tired after running 2 miles. What should I do?" I imagine that the coach would tweak any issues regarding form and then tell him to keep training.

Endurance builds with time. Honor the body's process even though the mind wants results right now.

That said, take care of the body. Stretch it, massage it, relax it, feed it good food and water. If the body has a baseline of high tension then practice will be difficult. If the body has a baseline of relaxation [not sloppiness but relaxation] then it can perform much better and longer before it gives out.

This is a pretty awesome self-massage video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtHIrKGrxeM

Chicago Guitar, Bass, and Improvisation Teacher
blog.stillstrings.com
www.stillstrings.com
http://www.myspace.com/buddhajones


   
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