Beginner with neckpain

[itreq]

Hi all,

Finally decided to learn and play the guitar, I'm 32 now and hope to be able to improvise some stuff when I'm 35 :) Btw, _love_ the site - I've come a long way during these 2 months, now I can play some children songs with my daughter - only problem though is she often begs me to stop (and she's not even three years old..)

Anyway, I just want to know if any other beginners also have felt neckpain, probably caused by muscle tension looking at the left hand / right hand - any experience does it go away naturally when you relax more or is this unique to me ?!

It's on my left side (..and I fret with left, strum with right)

Cheers

[Jason_Dionne]

Try to relax more when you play. Pay attention to where you are tensing up, in your case it will be your neck. And as you play focus on your tension and relax that tension. The key here is to pay attention to your tension, doesnt matter if your playing sloppy for the moment. As long as you fix this tension probleme, than you can keep at er with the playing feeling good.

[LisaMcC]

Hi itreq,

I second Jason's good advice. Try to place your attention on the muscles that are tensing up, and ask them if they could just release, relax.

It's more than just your hands that are learning guitar - it's your mind and body as well.

As you pay attention to the moves your hands need to learn to make, you should also have your eye on the bigger picture.

Check in frequently with your body, your posture, your neck, your shoulders, and re-adjust things as necessary.

That way, you'll be sure that your body doesn't make a long-term habit out of the neck tension.

Make sense?

Keep us posted -

[itreq]

Hey,

Thanks for advices, it's getting better.

I think what caused the more severe neckpain was my "slumping" position over the tab/note sheet in front of me while practicing (while being tensed). I purchased a cheap notestand and can now play in standing position and it feels a lot better.

Still need to think about that body tension, especially when practicing notes/tabs, we'll get there eventually.. :)