• Registered: 2012-03-29
  • Posts: 84

Re: Bad guitar days..

AD3THREE wrote:

Mine is a little different.  I have a job that requires me to do a lot of things that are tedious and continuous.  So my hands hurt sometimes mostly in my right wrist.  I know its the dreaded "C" word that I'm not going to talk about.  But sometimes I play through the pain.  Now that I'm in a band I'm playing way more then I was just a couple months ago and I'm finding I have to pick different guitars every now and then to keep from my left hand from falling asleep.  I'm screwed!  30 years old, I know my guitar playing days are limited because of it.  But even when I can't play anymore I'll work on my slide guitar playing more ;P

I totally feel your pain. I have had carpal tunnel and rsi in my hands for quite a few years. i found a really good wrist wrap and have just found a guitar with a perfect neck for me. I still can't move my fingers on my right hand in the morning but its not my fretting hand so i don't care.. and when my left hand stops me fretting notes I'm gonna get my slide playing on too.
I feel grateful that i can still play every day. Ok, so I'm never going to be brilliant but i don't care about that anymore. Im just gonna play slower and put everything I can into each note

Smitty Custom classic Strat in sonic blue
Smitty Custom classic Gold top Hog tele
DR Z m12
  • From: N.Wales, UK
  • Registered: 2009-03-06
  • Posts: 2,183

Re: Bad guitar days..

Jlowther wrote:

Thanks for the replies...a bad guitar day for me is just playing very repetitively and just not feeling it as much as I normally do

I think I've reached a stage where there is always a minimum standard I play at but there are also days where I play much better..

If you want to hear me on a good day... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuDL3N89hAA there I can just improvise without too much repetitiveness

I wish I had a LP Custom at 18...Actually, I still wish I had one now! Very nice.

  • From: Cambridge
  • Registered: 2011-01-15
  • Posts: 912

Re: Bad guitar days..

DaveWammbarro wrote:
Jlowther wrote:

Thanks for the replies...a bad guitar day for me is just playing very repetitively and just not feeling it as much as I normally do

I think I've reached a stage where there is always a minimum standard I play at but there are also days where I play much better..

If you want to hear me on a good day... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuDL3N89hAA there I can just improvise without too much repetitiveness

I wish I had a LP Custom at 18...Actually, I still wish I had one now! Very nice.

Thanks man! I got featured on Joe's Google page: https://plus.google.com/102366655585860589479/posts

Jonny L

Videos of my playing: http://www.youtube.com/user/JonnyLowtherMusic
  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2010-04-15
  • Posts: 1,374

Re: Bad guitar days..

When I can't get into it, it helps to do something different - ditch the pick, start playing a different style, do a random lesson from a magazine.  Occasionally the right thing to do is just keep plowing through, if I really try to identify what it is I'm having problems with.  Usually I"m not that disciplined and it's better to just go in a different direction.

My music & music blog: https://vincedickinson.home.blog/
New prog/rock album "Atlantis" available everywhere, including:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/atlantis/1411523163
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ZeyerGTR's Website

  • From: Cambridge
  • Registered: 2011-01-15
  • Posts: 912

Re: Bad guitar days..

ZeyerGTR wrote:

When I can't get into it, it helps to do something different - ditch the pick, start playing a different style, do a random lesson from a magazine.  Occasionally the right thing to do is just keep plowing through, if I really try to identify what it is I'm having problems with.  Usually I"m not that disciplined and it's better to just go in a different direction.

I'll definitely give that a shot...jazz here we come!

Jonny L

Videos of my playing: http://www.youtube.com/user/JonnyLowtherMusic

24 Reply by ACF

  • ACF
  • ACF
  • Platinum
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  • Registered: 2011-01-07
  • Posts: 140

Re: Bad guitar days..

I agree with ditching the pick to switch things up. When I'm having a bad day the mistakes are usually from my pick hand. I'm not saying the finger picking gets me back playing good but it does help me work past it. At least it stops me from tossing it out the window lol.

Anthony
  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Re: Bad guitar days..

I was totally hearing you when you said I'm never going to be brilliant.  I had this whole plan when I was in my early 20's that if I had not made it as a musician by 25 I was going to just have fun and give up trying.  I'm not brilliant by no means but I've got my bag of tricks that work for me and I know my weaknesses.  Together that makes for a decent guitar player if I say so myself.  My hands just started to hurt back in December before I turned 30.  I had a very old piano that was too heavy to sell and I couldn't give it away to good will because it was in my basement.  It needed a lot of money to get in playing condition and was too heavy to move.  So I decided to take it up stairs in pieces (stupid idea but it worked)  I used a 8 pound sledge hammer and broke up the cast iron frame.  The shock of the frame to the hammer must have bothered my right wrist and because of my job it just doesn't  heal.  It started out as both hands and I quite playing guitar for a couple of months for the most part.  After some time my left hand got back to 100% but if I play over 3 hours my hands go numb.  A doctor told me he thought it might have a fracture in my right wrist but he wanted to do x-rays and I felt like it wasn't hurting bad enough for me to care.  I can't even open a door knob with that hand!  But I can type and I can still for the most part do what ever I used to on a guitar.  I'll be happy if I can get 10 more good years of guitar playing in before I start cutting back on it.  My kids will be teens then and I'll need to spend more time with them on their studies and keep up some us time.  Now when I hear myself complain of my wrist I look to this guy for inspiration and it always reminds me to quite my bitchin'  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYIZP1hrfZI

sonicpete wrote:
AD3THREE wrote:

Mine is a little different.  I have a job that requires me to do a lot of things that are tedious and continuous.  So my hands hurt sometimes mostly in my right wrist.  I know its the dreaded "C" word that I'm not going to talk about.  But sometimes I play through the pain.  Now that I'm in a band I'm playing way more then I was just a couple months ago and I'm finding I have to pick different guitars every now and then to keep from my left hand from falling asleep.  I'm screwed!  30 years old, I know my guitar playing days are limited because of it.  But even when I can't play anymore I'll work on my slide guitar playing more ;P

I totally feel your pain. I have had carpal tunnel and rsi in my hands for quite a few years. i found a really good wrist wrap and have just found a guitar with a perfect neck for me. I still can't move my fingers on my right hand in the morning but its not my fretting hand so i don't care.. and when my left hand stops me fretting notes I'm gonna get my slide playing on too.
I feel grateful that i can still play every day. Ok, so I'm never going to be brilliant but i don't care about that anymore. Im just gonna play slower and put everything I can into each note

AD3THREE's Website