Wow, my fingers hurt

kevingcox

That Wrembel exercise is hands down the most difficult and painful thing I have ever done on the guitar. What kind of sick madman thinks of these things!?!

klaatu

The great conductor Arturo Toscanini was often accused of using overly fast tempos, but his tempos were really not unusually fast in comparison to other conductors of the day, they just SEEMED faster than normal because of the precise articulation and clarity that he got from the orchestra. There's a lesson in that.

steteak

Jazzaferri wrote: »

Sometimes on a unfamiliar chord progression i will play it really really slowly watching my fingers just two chords there and back there and back ....100 or more times sometimes way more...until it becomes subconcious and easy, then I work it up to speed.

...if you aren't committed to the journey and are only interested in the destination this will be a difficult voyage for you.

I am playing a rather difficult progression with your approach. I have Gm^6 - A^7 - C#^dim - Dm^6/B - C#^dim - A^7 - Dm^6/B. Your approach is superior in isolating the difficult spots. That you @ Jazzaferri

Jazzaferri

Probably vpicings around the 3 - 5 fret area for the root. Lots of nice movement in those ones

steteak

The particular troubling part of the progression is the C#dim(x4535x) to A^7(5456xx). It sounds great, and I must keep it in the tool box.

Jazzaferri

You might try the diminished shape moving to 5x56 and then once that is grooved move to adding the 4 fret should you want the voicing with both 3rds.

I often play it as a root 7 3rd voicing as it is more spread. The 4 fret note is just a repeat of the 6 fret down an octave

Jazzaferri

Stuart x4545 is C#m7b5 (half diminished) which functions somewhat differently harmonically than C#dim. :point:

steteak

Slow and steady is working. I am amazed at the challenges within this beginner (introduction) book. I am also equally impressed by the material and the growth of my chord fingerings resulting from the lessons and the forum. Thank you all.

Buco

stuart wrote: »

the key is to aim for economy of movement all the time. Keep your third finger on the fourth string and use it as a pivot. The other fingers keep a similar shape, just move them up one fret and the 1st and 4th fingers across two strings, tipping from 3rd finger up slightly to accommodate the new fingering.

This advice is golden and I'd like to echo this from my perspective.

When I was starting out with this whole jazz and gypsy jazz business and all these new fingerings were new to me, this it's what I would do.
If, when practicing new and unfamiliar changes, you can find just one finger that doesn't need to change (almost always there is one) the strings up or down between the two chords then you can write it off in your mind and not think about it any longer and concentrate on what other fingers need to do.
And this one write off also becomes the anchor point and it makes all the difference.
You have one less thing to think about but also you gain one more thing you can rely on.
Try it.

Buco

Garza

steteak, not sure if others have already give this advice but here are some things that I have found help me.

4-6 straight hours seems like a lot, especially if you're doing a very focused practice (which can at times be more arduous than playing a gig). But maybe some people can deal with that and more. Listen to your body, though, and don't strain.

Apply warm water to your hands and forearms to warm up the muscles you'll be using during playing time. Similarly, cool down when you're done.

Stretch before you play - It sounds strange but google hand exercises for people with arthritis. I tried these when I felt like I had carpel tunnel coming on and haven't had pain since. Also, stretch your fingers back very gently (don't cause pain).

Strings - Make sure you're not playing on bad strings that need replacing.

Guitar setup - Is the action too high on your guitar? Is the setup of your guitar ideal for long-term playing.

In my opinion, the exercises that some people do outside of playing the guitar (spending $ on hand pumps or whatever) is no replacement for exercising on the instrument itself. Just make sure not to strain yourself.

Hope that helps!

John
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