Hey fellow music and guitar lovers:
I have been playing for 3 months now, but my left hand (Chord hand) still suffers from a lack of strength, fingers, hand in general and pain. I guess my essentail question is, when can I expect my fingers and hand to gain the necessary strength to perform normally?
Keep rockin' and keep the faith always!
Thank you!
Hi Rich
I am not sure on your age but you look to be a bit older - I am 57 btw and took up guitar at 55. It took months for me to work out various aches and pains - I think it was right around 3 months. But mine were more towards my back rather than my frettting hand.
There are some variables to your situation though:
* Are you playing acoustic or electric - I rarely play acoustic
* How long a period a time are you playing for each session - for me its capped at an hour and then usually some playing at night
* Are you playing lots of barr chords? Those are killers when starting out.
The other aspect, and this is usually an age related matter, do you have any arthritis? If you do this could be a cause. I have arhtitis in my neck and it can be a handful at times and the pain is not localized to the effected area.
Good luck with your studies.
This year the diet is definitely gonna stick!
Hi!
I am a 30 mins newborn into guitartricks, an a complete acoustic beginner. I am currently on the spider-leg warm up exercises on the beginner tutorial, which consists of stretching my fingers across all frets, but i am really struggling to span across 4 frets an hold the strings down strongly enough to play a clear note. Will this get easier with practice or are there any exercises I can do to help? It is giving me cramp.
Originally Posted by: georgialouisearmstrongHi!
I am a 30 mins newborn into guitartricks, an a complete acoustic beginner. I am currently on the spider-leg warm up exercises on the beginner tutorial, which consists of stretching my fingers across all frets, but i am really struggling to span across 4 frets an hold the strings down strongly enough to play a clear note. Will this get easier with practice or are there any exercises I can do to help? It is giving me cramp.
Hi and welcome, 30 minutes into it!
If you haven't seen it yet, you would benefit from going through Lisa's Fundamentals (I & II). She will take you through step by step including hand exercises.
But to answer your queston directly: yes it will improve in time with regular practice. Learning guitar is a long process. I hope you enjoy your studies and good luck.
This year the diet is definitely gonna stick!
I am 61 In the beginning I had trouble strumming through an entire song to the performance I am able to strum more through practice
I also have arthritis and am currently playing acoustic I had the action lowered and a lighter gauge of strings installed at the same time This helped
I do play songs with barre chords at beginner level such as woman Funny I have no problem with fchord but certain barre chords are harder
barre chord songs do hurt after awhile Also try shaking out your hands
Originally Posted by: rich.messner[p]It takes each individual student a different amount of time to gain the dexterity & strength to play guitar. And not only does everyone learn at a different rate, they also bring different amounts of raw physical skill & coordination to the task.I have been playing for 3 months now, but my left hand (Chord hand) still suffers from a lack of strength, fingers, hand in general and pain. I guess my essentail question is, when can I expect my fingers and hand to gain the necessary strength to perform normally?
However, regardless of the individual, the same thing has to happen in each case: repetitious practice until the physical motions become second nature.
So, you ask a good question! But the only real answer is that it takes as long as it takes. :)
You've been playing for 3 months, but how much do you play on any given day or week? Also, what kind of guitar are you playing?
Thank you all for your helpful replies. I play an acoustic guitar and practice everyday perhaps 1 & 1/2 hours to 2 hours. Right now I am concentrating on chord shapes, melodies seem to be an easier challenge for me. I turn 60 January, but I never experienced any authritic issues as of yet.
Again, thanks for the encouragement!
R.I.P Mr. Van Halen!
Hi Rich,
I am dealing with similar issues and am in a similar learning stage as you. I find melodies to be much easier than chord shapes right now but I'm really focusing on chords now and giving melodies a little bit of a break. I have a couple hand stretchers and strengtheners that are typcially found in music stores for musicians. I find that if I practice with those immediately before playing, it works up my strength. I'm also finding different finger exercises to play on my guitar with google searches. And I practice a LOT! The chord change drills on this site are very helpful too, which is what I'm doing now. I have been focusing on 3 in the last few days: Key of G, Key of D, and Key of Am. I'm also using a metronome when I play those.
So maybe some guitar exercises and finger exercises may be of benefit to you, too. Best of luck! Happy playing...
“Often, what seems like an impossible climb is just a staircase without the steps drawn in.” Robert Brault, American Operatic Tenor
Thanks Susan:
Very good advice, all good in fact. I am determined to succeed. Yes, getting some muscle building devices for your hand is a good idea. I will do so as well, I can't wait for the day when my fingers don't have to think to find the way! I know it will happen for you as well.
We all love music, we all appreciate music and the joy it contnues to bring. Stay at it!
BTW - Chicago Blues Backing Tracking in E by Quintus is loads of fun.
Keep Rockin!
