cramp in my wrist

speshul91

As the title really. Just started trying to actually learn a bit more instead of messing around so I picked up a copy of rocksmith so I get targets and goals to aim for that I can actually see. After half an hour or so I'm getting really bad pain in my left wrist the more I move around on the neck. Just wondering if there's any thing I can do to build my strength up in my wrist or is it just a case of grit my teeth and crack on?

Fazer

no, dont grit your teeth and play through it, that might end up causing serious pain and long term problems.

it may be that you need to ease into it more slowly and build up in a gradual way, also look at the angle you are holding and sitting etc. you need to be relaxed and comfortable to move around.

its probably worth seeing a guitar player/teacher who knows their stuff, who can point out any obvious problem that there might be

speshul91

Would a strap help at all even though I never play standing up?

ElectroDan

May make it worse depending on the angle of your wrist.

You want to have your hand/wrist at a comfortable angle. I find that if I play with my thumb over the top of the neck (as opposed to pressing on the back of the neck), that my wrist is in a more natural position. Your fingers will be at a 45 degree angle to the neck/frets this way, which gives you room for wrist rotation, for when you want to bend strings.

 This might take an adjustment in your playing if you're used to thumb on the back of the neck style playing. And It's not always possible, as to reach the 6th string you may find you need to straighten up, so your fingers are back to being parallel with the frets. I try to do this gradually as I descend a scale toward the 6th string.

Playing the full E shape bar chord can also put stress on the wrist. Again playing with the thumb over the neck can alleviate this. If you are then unable to fret the root note with your thumb (I can't), you can always omit it. Most of the time it probably won't make too much of a difference.

speshul91

When I get my acoustic out I tend to have my thumb over the neck no clue why I don't on electric. Thanks for the advice guys I think I'll have a try with my thumb over the neck and see how it goes

TheMarlin

Fazer said:

no, dont grit your teeth and play through it, that might end up causing serious pain and long term problems.

it may be that you need to ease into it more slowly and build up in a gradual way, also look at the angle you are holding and sitting etc. you need to be relaxed and comfortable to move around.

its probably worth seeing a guitar player/teacher who knows their stuff, who can point out any obvious problem that there might be

+1.  If you try to play through it, you'll do more damage.  Leave the game for a month of so, practice infrequently, and in a different style (such as slow blues licks, or slow jazz) try different hand placement technique (if you play with your thumb over the top if the fretboard, try moving it so it's fixed on the skunk stripe (assuming fender) and that might help.

I can't use a regular computer mouse, it makes my wrist swell and cramp up.  I use a laptop track pad, and have no issues.

trying to play through it will result in other problems, bit like darts players who suddenly can't let go of darts.

Be careful

Marlin

nickp

what @frazer said.  

go see a (good) guitar teacher PDQ.  It is either technique or trying too hard meaning that you are tensing and trying to hard whereas it is all about micro adjustments to the finger positions (and developing callouses on your fingertips).  It is  unlikely to be an issue with your wrist.

I had to remind myself about tension the other night as I'm trying to play something that is fast (for me) and rather than "trying" it is better to relax, practice slightly more slowly and let the speed increase.

bluechargeboy

To add to the advice above, look at your whole body posture; is your left arm clamped to your ribcage? Are you hunched over? You need to have relaxed technique, not tensed up. A lot of beginners (no offence intended if you are not a beginner!) fall foul of this because they are focused like a laser on what their hands are doing, to the detriment of everything else.

 

I guess classical players are the ideal, but it doesn't look very rock and roll.

speshul91

I'm definitely a beginner lol my arm was pretty tight to my chest

Clarky

two things to consider...

the principle mistake that can cause pain is bad posture.. usually cause by wearing the guitar too low.. or when playing seated, not having the leg that the guitar rests on raised if the chair / stool is too high..

the other thing that can cause pain is over pressure.. use the minimum pressure you can get away with [plus one smidge to make sure] when fretting notes.. try this little experiment.. play a C on the A string [3rd fret].. place your finger as far from the fret as possible [close to the 2nd fret] and play the note.. play the note repeatedly [once per bar of a moderate count] and gradually reduce to the pressure until the note starts fizzing against the fret.. you should notice that you still need quite a lot of pressure to keep the quality of the note good.. then repeat this test, but this time place your finger as close to the 3rd fret as possible without actually touching it.. play the same way and gradually reduce the pressure.. you should be quite surprised at how little pressure is actually needed to play the note cleanly.. what you should discover is that by playing with better accuracy and where possible playing very close to the target fret, you need very little pressure.. you need to learn to play with this "minimum pressure + a tiny bit more" [to make sure you have good tone].. when playing music / practicing, pay great attention to prussure until it becomes a natural part of your style and you no longer need to think about it..

the up sides to correct pressure are

- more stamina

- better tuning [cos you're not squeezing the notes sharp]

- better dexterity

- considerably more speed [eventually]

so it's not strength that needs developing, strength needs to be removed from the situation..

the only time I use what I think of as over-pressure is when performing bends and vibrato [to ensure I have a solid grip on the string]