Hand Pain: Bar Chords

Hi,
I've been playing guitar for about a year now, but even after constant practice I can't seem to play bar chords for very long without having hand pain after a few minutes. I know for most people it's their wrist that hurts, but in my case it seems to just be the muscle between my thumb and index finger that gets very sore. I was thinking maybe I don't have proper technique?

Any suggestions would be really appreciated

I have the exact same problem you do. Been playing for 14 years. My hands are smaller than average I would say, so I always assumed it was just more work for them, which leads to that sore muscle.

It happens much more when I'm playing my classical guitar since the action is a little higher and I have to grip the guitar tighter to make all the notes sound out without buzzing.

Go to your local music store and play guitars from differernt makers. For my hand the round neck of Fender guitars cramp me up quite fast. The flatter necks like Gibsons work pretty well. How wide a neck is can also make a hugh difference in how long you can play bar chords before the cramping starts. Use boxer clamps to strenthen your hands, slowly. The stronger your hand is the less pressure you have to apply to make the chords ring right.

Just play different guitars. Your left hand will tell you what it likes and can play without cramping.

It also seems guitars that cost less than $500.00 +/- seem to cramp my hand up way fastger than the $600.00 plus guitars do.

I've been playing for 35 years now.

hi DreamWashed ,, i am willing to bet that the pain in your hand begins in the first joint on your thumb, and then runs to the muscle between the thumb and index finger ,,,,,,,, i have the semi same problem , and have been playing for 40 odd plus years , try rubbing Ben-Gay on the muscle , it works for me

Originally Posted by: DreamWashedHi,
I've been playing guitar for about a year now, but even after constant practice I can't seem to play bar chords for very long without having hand pain after a few minutes. I know for most people it's their wrist that hurts, but in my case it seems to just be the muscle between my thumb and index finger that gets very sore. I was thinking maybe I don't have proper technique?

Any suggestions would be really appreciated

Hi DreamWashed.
A little tip that may be of use to you, especially if practise time is limited.
I hold a small softish ball between the thumb and first finger of left hand
( tennis ball or the like) and squeeze it, hold the pressure for a moment or two and repete. I do this when I cannot actually use the guitar. (on bus or whatever). It will help that particular muscle group to develop.
One other thing I would check is are you applying too much pressure to the Barre?
Try relaxing your grip until the strings lose the clean ring then gently apply more pressure until they ring clean.
I suggested this as I found when I was trying to play Barre chords I had a Death grip on the neck of the guitar, without realizing. A little adjustment of the position of my finger got the strings sounding true without all the amount of pressure I was applying!
Hope you find this useful.
Mike

Originally Posted by: DreamWashedHi,
I've been playing guitar for about a year now, but even after constant practice I can't seem to play bar chords for very long without having hand pain after a few minutes. I know for most people it's their wrist that hurts, but in my case it seems to just be the muscle between my thumb and index finger that gets very sore. I was thinking maybe I don't have proper technique?

Any suggestions would be really appreciated

hey dreamwash just a question mate? i have always wanted to play an instrument, i'm 66 just bought a guitar, was wondering if my fingers are not long enough, and and top finger joints are not long enough, am i wasting my time, i'm 66 yrs old.

Thanks for the question DreamWashed
and thanks for the pointers

Just wanted to let you know the same thing is happening to me. I played a Fender Strat for years without ever having a problem. A bunch of things happened that have skewed things so I don't really know what caused the problem.. I bought a Jackson guitar, and just LOVED the thing, so I played a lot more and started practicing a lot more... I got into my acoustic a lot more too... going through Lisa's "Fingerpicking for Beginner" series.. (great lessons)... and, go ahead and laugh, but my wife got me an XBox 360 with MW2 (right when it came out) and I totally got into playing that on-line a lot.. then, wham... carpal tunnel in my forearm. I had to stop everything... no guitar, sold the XBox.. and took a huge break. Now when I play for more than a few minutes, its not my forearm that bothers me, its in my hand between my forefinger and thumb, spreads up to the center of my hand, and hurts a lot. Giving it lots of rest now, but I don't know what the issue is. The past week or so, trying to do exercises just aggravates the hell out of it, so I'm just trying to let it rest. If anyone's got a miracle cure, please let us know!

Hi Dreamwashed,

I get cramps in my hand also, but it is a lot better now that I have modified my technique for holding the neck during barre chords. I am a beginner and still working on my technique, so I would appreciate any one else's input.

The bad way: Looking at my left hand from the top, I used to squeeze the neck of the guitar between the bottom right side of my index finger and the bottom left side of my thumb, making the thumb point in the same direction as the frets. I used to quickly cramp this way because the muscles used to move my fingers laterally are relatively small and weak.

The better way: Now I point my thumb down the neck toward the nut. This allows me to still use the bony parts of my index finger to make the chord, but also allows my to use the stronger muscles in my hand to squeeze the neck.

Take frequent posture breaks and vary your practice!

I have a similar problem when practising Hammer-Ons, Hammer-Offs and Trills.

The muscle in my left forearm always aches and hurts after I perform the manoeuvre on my fretting hand.

The reason is because I hold my hand at an angle and away from the fretting board to avoid muting the other strings. It's always the pad of the ring finger that mutes the string below the one I'm hammering on to.

I distance my hand away from the neck because my palm-pads always mute the 1st E string, if too close.

Which makes my wrist ache, but I guess with practice, my left hand, arm and wrist will grow stronger over time.