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Yes but gravity from the arm weight can still be channeled into the fingers.
Originally Posted by wkriski
Thanks I'll give it a try. Usually the thumb counteracts the pressure from the fingers which is horizontal to the floor, not vertical no? But I do tend to lift my arm/shoulder especially when the chair has arms
And yes avoiding bar chords helps.
The basic question is can you play with reduced squeezing and less tension.
Too much clamping action will inhibit movement, tire the muscles and cause pain.
Try the experiment I suggested and see if arm weight can have any influence on holding notes down.
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09-29-2010 01:13 PM
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The numbness can be caused by many things. A micro tear to the flexor tendon or major tear to the UCL cause nerve displacement. Sometimes cortisone shots to the elbow can cause it. My son went to the New York Mets orthopedic specialist. Any excess fluid in the elbow can cause this. My son is a baseball player on a scholarship. His was a flexor tendon tear causing elbow swelling and a numb wrist. After a year of working through it, he's better now. No surgery. KERLAN Jobe is in Los Angeles. That is a good place for help. In New York it's Hospital For Special Surgery. In Florida and Alabama it's Dr. James Andrews. All these are where the Pro Baseball Pitchers go for treatment. The baseball doctors know this area the best. I'm not sure where to go in the North West if you need additional help. Sometimes the therapy can be painful but the outcome is better. In my sons case he had to work through the micro tear scar tissue. Then the swelling gradually left the elbow and the numbness left.
Last edited by ChuckCorbis; 09-29-2010 at 01:54 PM.
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Also, as a musician whose 2nd instrument is double bass, I would recommend checking out the Rabbath Method Book. He uses arm weight to generate finger strength. I think this can be applied to guitar technique. But, keep in mind Rabbath is not only a world renown bass virtuoso he's a BODY BUILDER! I've seen film of Segovia. His fingers were like tree trunks but he looked like he used arm weight. Segovia talks extensively about posture and stress in his method. Check him out for sure. Old school but very solid stuff. And, his Segovia arpeggios are not to shabby, if I might add. I learned them in College and it's a nice way to loosen up. They go through all the keys and are connected. Originally Posted by bako
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ill check out anything, but having been to the northeast's top neurosurgeons, othopedics and neurologists i am inclined to believe it is overuse ane the unfortunate answer is mainly rest.
i play an unusual guitar 9 seperate strings with a wide neck i play bass notes with my thumb and do 7-12 solo gigs every week.
this summer i went on vacation and didn't touch a guitar for 4 days. my thumb was considerably better and has been ever since
i also get numbness in the pinky and ring fingers of the lh
it has been diagnosed as a bulging disc in my neck which is absurd, because those fingers would not be affected as i later learned...or
possibly an elbow injury's scar tissue
it is not constant or trouble some enough to need to address more seriously at this time.
there is question
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I am very familiar with using the thumb of the left hand. Tal Farlow, Jimi Hendrix both did that well but they both had HUGE hands. I mean HUGE. I know when I use it(THE THUMB OF THE LEFT HAND), it's border line dangerous for me. Segovia would stab you if you did that in his presence. I could be wrong but I think it's dangerous. There is pressure on my UCL and triceps when play bass notes that way. Plus with a wide neck. Be careful!
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I don't use the thumb to wrap around and play notes, it's just against the back of the neck. But playing chord melody usually involves holding chords for long periods of time which is quite hard on the thumb which counters all that force.
My issues just came about during jazz chord melody as my 25+ years in rock soloing didn't usually cause issues. So like others it's mainly an overuse problem hopefully, however I have taken a week off here and there recently and it had no effect.
I'll be doing some physio soon as I noticed lots of sore spots even in the forearms and I've done some reading on trigger points, etc.
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It's been a while since I've been on here, and I sure hope everyone's hands/arms are feeling better. I had to take a couple years off to deal with another illness and surgery, and I was forced to take some time off the guitar. My hand and arm seem to be doing better for it, and so if that's the silver lining, I'll take it!
I'd love to hear your updates if you are all still here. Thanks!
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I broke my left wrist in August. Just now back to playing normally. It's a scary thing. A forum member was telling me a Howard Roberts story where HR came to the gig with a roughed up, bloodied face. what happened? fight? Originally Posted by Susan Palmer
No. HR just tripped and fell and refused to brace himself with his hands.. Now that's some serious disaster training.
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Oh my gosh, that's intense. I'm glad your wrist is doing a bit better, and it's probably a good thing that you had your hands to protect you (if that was the case). I'd rather lose my hands for a while than my brain forever. Wow.
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Welcome back Susan, I had a nasty fall last year and unlike Howard Roberts, I did break the fall with my left hand resulting in a very bad sprain. A hand specialist ended up giving me a cortisone shot but to make a long story short, it only gave temporary relief (about 4 months). So, now I have to deal with chords without much stretching, but most of the time I can still play single lines and that will have to do.
wiz
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I'm sorry about your hand. I hope it can heal, and in the mean time, there's a lot you can play through single lines. I have also had to cut back on my chord playing, but now that's mostly back. I just played a duo gig with a sax player, and it was really, really great to be able to do that again. Keep us posted on your progress. Cheers.
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Ah, age brings soo much baggage!
Welcome back.
I have migraine type cluster headaches that leads to left hand little finger numbness and poor coordination.
It's treatable, thankfully.
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I'm glad that is treatable!
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Hi Susan: Just went through your lesson and found it very concise and easy to follow. I am a long time guitarist but have only recently made that oh-so difficult transition from R&R to jazz and chord melody. Your lessons appear to be a great place to start. So many of us without the technical training find the theory based lesson daunting. While knowing the theory is important it is much more fun and more immediately rewarding to have lessons such as these that serve as a good foundation on which students can begin and build upon. Thanks again.
Bill
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Thanks for your feedback, Bill. I'm glad you found it helpful. I also have a playlist of theory lessons that you might find useful. The theory workbook is the first part of my book, "The Guitar Lesson Companion, Volume Two." Happy holidays!
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC06971D1866E693A
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I was "knockout'' punched on Nov. 5th in Los Angeles by a disgruntled graffiti artist. His art was removed from our artist collective building and he thought I was the landlord which I am not. My elbow is still swollen from the fall. I had stitches in and out of my mouth and had a concussion. Man it's good to be back to normal. Wow. I'm happy that Susan, JazzBow, ECJ and Wizard are coming along alright too. Cool! Originally Posted by NSJ
I broke my left wrist in August. Just now back to playing normally. It's a scary thing. A forum member was telling me a Howard Roberts story where HR came to the gig with a roughed up, bloodied face. what happened? fight?
No. HR just tripped and fell and refused to brace himself with his hands.. Now that's some serious disaster training.Last edited by ChuckCorbis; 12-30-2013 at 08:12 PM.
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