Hi, I have been playing classical guitar for a few years...

Answer by John Nowakowski
Submitted on 5/5/2004
Rating:	Rate this answer:
My initial concern would be how much time you spend warming up. A powerlifter does not walk right into the gym and start off squatting 1,000 pounds. You might take a few minutes before you start just moving your fingers around and getting the blood flowing. Then start slowly with some warm-up work. It could add some time to your practice routine, but avoid long term injury. It might also be helpful to put the guitar down for awhile. Again, it might not sound appealing in the short term, but it could help in the long term. It can also help you break bad habits to take a break. I quit playing for two years once, and though it took me months to get back up to speed, I am playing better than ever. Don't worry that you will lose it forever. Bodybuilders take long breaks too. If you don't want to do any of these, I think you need to really focus on your left hand. Do some practice with hammer-ons, so you only have to pluck once with the right hand and can focus on your left. You formed a bad habit which can only be unlearned with careful attention. Work on relearning your left-hand technique. Do hammer-on on different strings, in different positions, and practice keeping your left hand in the proper fashion. You will inevitably slide back into your bad habit, but then stop when you do, take a breath, and begin again with proper technique. the only way to go from wrong to right is to stop doing the wrong and only do the right. i also wonder how hard you are pushing. if you hit the exact correct spot on the string behind the fret, with the exact correct part of the finger, on the very tip, you really dont have to push that hard. sound like you are straining to push very hard. focus on this with your hammer-on practice- accuracy over power. another quick trick- go ahead an fret a note w/ the left and start plucking w/ the right. as you continue to pluck with the right hand, very gradually push with less strength in you left hand. when the note stops sounding, gradually push harder untilit sounds again. then gradually release until it stops. you are looking for that perfect amount of tension where you only need to push as much as is absolutely necessary to sound the string. that is a component of perfect technique.

FAQS.ORG makes no guarantees as to the accuracy of the posts. Each post is the personal opinion of the poster. These posts are not intended to substitute for medical, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. FAQS.ORG does not endorse any opinion or any product or service mentioned mentioned in these posts.

<< Back to general questions

[ Home | FAQ-Related Q&As | General Q&As | Answered Questions ]

Question by peterc
Submitted on 3/19/2004
Related FAQ: N/A
Rating:	Rate this question:
Hi, I have been playing classical guitar for a few years now, but lately, well for the last year or so, I have been having major problems with my left hand. The problem is that my large knuckles have started to bend Backwards, so that my hand (palm) pushes toward the bottom of the fret board. This causes over-extension in the joints and I cant move my fingers away from the fret board as they are already as far back as they can go because of the position i am already in with the hand. I have gone from Grade 5 to being unable to play a basic scale, as you can imagine this is breaking my heart and any ideas , tips would be appreciated. Thanks in advance pete.

Your name or nickname:
If you'd like to create a new account or access your existing account, put in your password here:
Your answer: