I have just started doing exercises for a couple of hours a day. My thumb hurts really bad right below the second knuckle (Farthest from the nail) whenever I play for more than five minutes. Is there anything I could do to fix this?
This is common.
Only put as much pressure as you need to fret the strings. It will take time to understand that but, at least you can say you heard it somewhere. I'm still waiting to understand myself!
I find the faster I play the more problems I run into with my thumb. I have a baseball bat grip, only because it hurts more if I put my thumb behind the neck.
would having my index finger on the first fret all the time have anything to do with it?
Why is it always on the first fret?
But probably not, it's just the amount of pressure you are applying. Most likely far too much.
I'm building up finger speed and my teacher said an easy exercise is going 1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1 on any fret.
Ok, well I fixed it. I have no clue what I did, I just decided to put on some relaxing music while I played and that fixed it :lol:
Hmm, how am I going to explain this in english... I don't know your playstyle, but I was told to play with a straight, or even a bit backward bent thumb. So instead of just bending the thumb from the second knuckle, you should move the whole thumb and let the first knuckle do the job. Today I can play for a long time, with great force and speed if I want to, and I never feel any pain.
And don't let yur index finger rest on any string. You should learn to not need to do that!
Oh, finger exercises. I thought you might have meant barre chord or power chord exercises which is common for some people.
Did your teacher say anything about your form?
