Hand pain bad technique?

jay8bc

Hi i'm still very much a beginner but have been learning for a year or so now. I've recently been getting pain at the bottom joint of my pointing finger on my fretting hand (if that makes sense)? As in if you look at your left hand palm, the top left corner joint?
I seem to put a lot of pressure on it when playing, I almost use it as a pivot point. I'm not sure if anyone understands what i'm saying but if you do then i'd welcome some advice? Is it technique? Do others play this way? I've tried to hold the guitar like they tell you in books with your thumb behind the neck and holding it like a U shape but I find that position very awkward.

Clarky

could be over pressure..
try fretting a string as close as is possible to the fret without touching the fret..
pick the note repeatedly and gradually back off the pressure..
you'll then find that you don't need huge amounts of pressure at all
all you need is that minimum pressure plus a tiny bit more to make sure and then you can use this as a reference

new players tend to pick too timidly, fret too firmly
and not have an ideal playing position / posture; typically wearing the guitar too low causing the wrist to bend forwards in the neck hand and so hyperextending the tendons in the back of the hand

those things above combined cause:
- reduced dexterity
- a reduced limit to how quickly and efficiently you can play [soloing, riffing and moving between different chords]
- reduced control with bends and vibrato
- low stamina levels
- lactic acid pains and tendon injuries
 

roberty

Excellent advice ^^^

This is a great exercise for finger independence and applying the correct pressure https://www.justinguitar.com/guitar-lessons/minimum-movement-exercise-im-114

JAYJO

There  is a video on youtube only about 5mins long. 5 ways to take the pain out of barre chords. It may be very helpful to you.

Grangousier

The way of finding out how much pressure you need is slightly different - place your finger on the string without pressure on a fret that doesn't do harmonics (so not the 5th or 7th), just a dull thud. Then slowly increase the pressure until you can hear the note ring. That's all the pressure you need, probably a lot less than you are putting into it at the moment (I find it worth doing every so often just as a reality check).

Paul7926

I'm going to try those suggestions.  I find as a beginner I press really hard on the strings, then for no good reason, press harder if I'm not producing the correct sounds.  I think it's the guitar equivalent of pressing the TV remote button harder when the batteries are running low because, yeah, that's bound to help.

DulcetJones

Also, don't forget to use your arm when playing chords.  My elbow moves closer to my body for some chords and farther away for others allowing my fingers/hand easier access.  I see some people locking their arm in place and trying to force their hand and wrist to do all the work. 

roberty

JAYJO said:

There  is a video on youtube only about 5mins long. 5 ways to take the pain out of barre chords. It may be very helpful to you.

Yep this is all good stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE2klSxtMO8

JAYJO

roberty said:

JAYJO said:

There  is a video on youtube only about 5mins long. 5 ways to take the pain out of barre chords. It may be very helpful to you.

Yep this is all good stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE2klSxtMO8

Thats the one mate cheers!

Jalapeno

Get away from full 5 or 6 string Barre chords as soon as you can (you do need to learn them though), solo they sound fine, but when you're with other musicians the Barre chord is very busy (tonally) and sounds crap (IMHO), morseso with distortion - So called 5 chords on a lower string is where the Mojo is  

I have arthritis in my fretting hand from poor technique - thumb parallel to the neck, not wrapped around for barre chords !

Clarky

Paul7926 said:

I'm going to try those suggestions.  I find as a beginner I press really hard on the strings, then for no good reason, press harder if I'm not producing the correct sounds.  I think it's the guitar equivalent of pressing the TV remote button harder when the batteries are running low because, yeah, that's bound to help.

another point to note is that when you fret a string, the underside of the string [on many but not all guitars] often don't touch the fingerboard.. it only really touches the frets in front and behind
if you squeeze too hard you'll actually bend some of the notes sharp..
which is one of the reasons that someone that's not been playing long will tune the guitar perfectly with a tuner and then sound out of tune when they play..

experiment..
tune the guitar perfectly
play an E chord as gently as you can get away with [plus a tiny amount of pressure more to ensure nothing fizzes and rattles]
then squeeze as hard as you can and play it again.. at the very least you should hear the G# [1st fret, G string] sharpen some...
in fact.. those of us that are into shredder necks with tall, fat frets would find that the G# would almost reach the note A if you really wring it's neck.. lol...

so.. you need just enough pressure to make good clean contact wth the fret and nothing more

Paul7926

Clarky said:

experiment..
tune the guitar perfectly
play an E chord as gently as you can get away with [plus a tiny amount of pressure more to ensure nothing fizzes and rattles]
then squeeze as hard as you can and play it again.. at the very least you should hear the G# [1st fret, G string] sharpen some...
in fact.. those of us that are into shredder necks with tall, fat frets would find that the G# would almost reach the note A if you really wring it's neck.. lol...

so.. you need just enough pressure to make good clean contact wth the fret and nothing more

not only am I surprised by the experiment I'm also surprised that the the difference is so big I can hear the note changing pitch as I put too much pressure on the string. Definitely clutching at the fretboard way too hard.

Clarky

Paul7926 said:

Clarky said:

experiment..
tune the guitar perfectly
play an E chord as gently as you can get away with [plus a tiny amount of pressure more to ensure nothing fizzes and rattles]
then squeeze as hard as you can and play it again.. at the very least you should hear the G# [1st fret, G string] sharpen some...
in fact.. those of us that are into shredder necks with tall, fat frets would find that the G# would almost reach the note A if you really wring it's neck.. lol...

so.. you need just enough pressure to make good clean contact wth the fret and nothing more

not only am I surprised by the experiment I'm also surprised that the the difference is so big I can hear the note changing pitch as I put too much pressure on the string. Definitely clutching at the fretboard way too hard.

makes quite a difference don't it..
the G and B are particularly sensitive to over pressure..
it'll take a little time, but eventually you'll come to learn what the right pressure feels like to the point where you'll not even concentrate on it..

once you sort pressure, posture and playing position you'll really feel better and hear a difference in the sounds you are making..
you'll be cleaner, tidier and more polished sounding

jay8bc

Hi lots of useful tips. It’s not my fingers that are hurting though, I’m talking about the joint that’s at the bottom of your index finger, I’m finding it’s pushing hard against the back of the neck as I’m playing if that makes sense, especially when doing a G chord for example

Clarky

jay8bc said:

Hi lots of useful tips. It’s not my fingers that are hurting though, I’m talking about the joint that’s at the bottom of your index finger, I’m finding it’s pushing hard against the back of the neck as I’m playing if that makes sense, especially when doing a G chord for example

without being able to see what your hand looks like [position, the overall shape etc] it's not easy to tell..
pressure is always a consideration though

YellowLedBetterMan

JAYJO said:

roberty said:

JAYJO said:

There  is a video on youtube only about 5mins long. 5 ways to take the pain out of barre chords. It may be very helpful to you.

Yep this is all good stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE2klSxtMO8

Thats the one mate cheers!

Wiz'd you both for saving my hands