My hands have changed

[Lionelsax]

Hi !

I'm 48 years old, when I was younger my fingers were more flexible.
Now I lost some flexibility but my fingers are bigger and stronger.
I could play half-diminished chords (R 7 3 b5) anywhere on the neck on a thin neck, now I can't except on larger necks or longer scales.
Although I lost some flexibility my hands are stronger.
Have you got the "same problem" ?

[DawgBone]

Hey! Where you been? Doing good and doing lots of gigs i hope!

So far so good. My hands are strong as ever and still flexible but you got a couple years on me yet.

[dconeill]

... I could play half-diminished chords (R 7 3 b5) anywhere on the neck on a thin neck, now I can't except on larger necks or longer scales. ... Have you got the "same problem" ?

Aging is a problem for all of us who haven't died yet. Things deteriorate or change, and one must make accommodations.

What do you do with your hands when you're not playing guitar? Perhaps that's contributing.

Maybe a physical therapist who specializes in musical patients could advise you on some flexibility exercises. That helped me after I shattered my wrist.

Perhaps you could find another fingering or a different pitch order that would work for you.

[Lionelsax]

Hey! Where you been? Doing good and doing lots of gigs i hope!

So far so good. My hands are strong as ever and still flexible but you got a couple years on me yet.

I'm fine, thanks. I play the bass in a big band and sometimes the guitar whenever they call me for a gig.
What about you ?

[Lionelsax]

Aging is a problem for all of us who haven't died yet. Things deteriorate or change, and one must make accommodations.

What do you do with your hands when you're not playing guitar? Perhaps that's contributing.

Maybe a physical therapist who specializes in musical patients could advise you on some flexibility exercises. That helped me after I shattered my wrist.

Perhaps you could find another fingering or a different pitch order that would work for you.

When I'm not playing the guitar, I play the piano and I sing, in fact it's part of my job.
I also practice a lot the double bass whenever I can at home in order to get ready to play it in the big band and another ensemble.
I forgot to say that I used to weigh about 46 kg when I was 16, now I weigh 75 kg !
I've got more flesh than before.

[pauln]

I'm 20 years older than you and my hands are doing great and continuing to increase flexibly and strength. Other than generally having been "guitarist level" careful about avoiding sudden injuries (smashed, squashed, crushed, cut, bumped, banged, burned, etc.) there is one habit I have done every morning since forever.
I think the main threat other than sudden injuries is the little repeated ones that one might do over a very long time. When people wake up in the morning they may stretch a bit, but the fingers have a lot of joints and they may impatiently quickly force out the kinks in an instant while cold.
What I do is make coffee and after the water is done I hold my hands over the turned off but still hot coil. I hold them open and when warmed I lift them away and touch the corresponding tips of my fingers and thumbs together and press very gently. Then repeat - heat then press, each time pressing very gently. What I'm doing is slowly approaching the point where the little innards of the fingers are warm enough to quietly "snick" into place gently... rather than "cracking" them in one moment while cold. No proof this works, just my experience.

[DawgBone]

I'm fine, thanks. I play the bass in a big band and sometimes the guitar whenever they call me for a gig.
What about you ?

I been aight, thanks for asking. Once school goes back into session the gigs slow down for me but it's giving me time to finish a record.

[deacon Mark]

My hands thank goodness have been great. When I broke my 4th and 5th metacarpals on my right hand at end of May the xray showed no arthritis. I had the metacarpals pinned and now everything is fine. I actually have more strength now as I had been doing exercises. Since I work in the shop repairing guitars and play too my hands need to be strong. I can play for hours with no problems, and they work as good as ever.

The bad news is now at 63 my balance and other things are not nearly as good. I cannot climb around doing some things if it requires physical agility. I don't have much strength in my upper body too much cardio activity. On of the few places it seems age has been at least fair.

[Oscar67]

Due to some neurological issues my right hand is changing. My abilities change with it. I’ve always been predominantly a rock/metal player and had a wicked right hand. Nowadays playing with a pick is becoming harder and harder. There are many songs that I’ve played all my life that I can’t do justice anymore. And I’m still in my fifties… I work around it by mostly playing fingerstyle or using the side edge (not the pointy edge) of a very thick pick with rounded edges. This allows me to keep doing some alternate picking, but at some point I’ll have to say goodbye to using a pick altogether. (On the plus side, I can now play a lot of classic rock/metal stuff with my fingers, much more so than I thought possible, including palm muting and chugging).

This problem with my right hand is part of the reason I took up jazz. I’ve always liked the music but somehow never took it to my guitar. It’s really great to build up something new while I’m slowly saying goodbye to something old.

[ragman1]

My hands have changed

Are they also hairy? You're becoming a werewolf. I knew this would happen.