Aaarrrgh! I can't play!

this could be a good chance to get some very useful practice. If it doesn't hurt to much, try to play what you can without looking at the fretboard! You could even try to play laying down on your back and doing this, I don't have the same experience with a pinched nerves in my neck, but I did this when I herniated a disk in my back.

Just a suggestion...

Maybe you could study some Theory for a while, if your computer is at head level.

I hope you recover fast!!!!!! 8)

djdubb,

I bought that showdown w/ Collins and Cray alblum last week, pretty good. I still like albert collins "dont lose your cool" better alblum though.

Dustin

...because I have a pinched nerve in my neck right now. :( Can hardly hold my head up straight, much less pick up a guitar.

Going nuts here! I've finally been putting in a solid 30+ minutes practice per night (generally through headphones so as not to wake the wife) and also finally learning to properly use a plectrum after nearly a year of playing. Interestingly enough, that shiny new Epi LP Classic of mine sounds a darn sight meaner when not fingerpicked. :lol: But for now, I'm just gazing longingly all 3 of my guitars, pondering which would hurt the least.

Not really looking for advice or sympathy (well, OK, maybe a little sympathy LOL) ...just needed to vent a bit. You will now be returned to your previous posts, already in progress. :)

Sympathy in huge quantities dude.

Have a chat with your physio - tell him/ her you are on a sacred quest to strut your stuff with your axe every day until Armageddon and you gotta get working on it.

A :-)

maybe you should look at something like the Martin Backpacker. Small and incredibly light. You could play it in bed just to get your hands moving.

Or a ukulele could work, too. I just picked one up and found the fingerings for chords very simple and easy to remember(there are only four srtings, after all!) And the strings have the same relationship to each other as the four top strings of the guitar, so it's also pretty easy to trasfer stuff over.

and, as an added bonus, it has that cool factor that just can't be matched by any other earthly object.....

...well, maybe you just stick with your LP for that..... :oops:

but yeah, i understand where you're coming from. every once in a while my left sholder acts up, probably from bad technique. NOT playing guitar because I played too much bites. Maybe now's a good time to work on songwriting.......

..."I got those pinched nerve blues....." :shock:

Pilot,

I can almost feel your pain. It must be torture having those guitars staring back at you and crying out, "PLAY ME!! PLAY ME, PLEEEEAAASE!!"

Brings a tear to my eye.

Get well soon!!

Sorry to hear things aren't going well. You'll be up and playing in no time. In the mean time there is plenty of other things associated with practicing and playing guitar that can be studied or learned without actually having the guitar in your hands. Theory, Signal chains, Electronics, etc. Expanding your Knowledge input is always good.

Joe

Sorry to hear about your neck. man that sucks.
Don't do anything that will prolong the injury.
Others have said to practice other things like theory...
OK so thats like putting a bottle of whisky in front of an alcoholic and telling them to read the label.
The first time you see something interesting in your studies, you will be playing your guitar regardless of the pain (try not to though)
Hope you have a speedy recovery.

I get some bitchin' back pain from the undersized desks at school. Half the time I practice I end up laying on my back in bed to play. And I'm learning to play by feel more as a result because it's harder to look down.

Give it a try, it's helped me.

Good news!! It seems that whatever I did to pinch said nerve is going away rather quickly...doc says probably just an odd muscle spasm that pulled something out of whack briefly, but is correcting itself in good time. I feel a lot better tonight, and I picked up the acoustic (lightest guitar LOL) and was able to bang some stuff out without a whole lot of pain. I didn't play very long since I'm worried about aggravating it further, but I think I'll be back to normal in a couple of days or so.

Thanks to everyone for the sympathy and the suggestions! For me, theory is a lot like liver...you know it's good for you, but you just can't quite bring yourself to partake of it. :) It's something I'll start studying at some point because I know I need to understand it...but I'm procrastinating for now, and no injury will be able to sway me. :D (Insert ADD joke here - I'll laugh, 'cause I'm a [doctor's quote: TEXTBOOK] hardcore ADHD patient.) Guitar playing is one thing I can sit down and focus on, though, and part of my frustration over the last couple of days has been the inability to do it.

Again, I truly appreciate all the kind words from everyone. I really wasn't even looking for responses to my post, and it made me feel good to have that kind of support from the crew here. :)

-Rick

we love you pilot... in a complete plutonic way of course :)

Good to hear that you got to play around a little bit, I bet it felt really good to get on that thing,

I hope you mean platonic love, and if not I don't even WANT to know what you two are doing on Pluto...

At least it's not Uranus...

I couldn't resist.