Finger Cramping

MikeK

Playing an archtop with relatively low action helps!

Buco

Make sure your left hand doesn't fret harder when your right hand plays harder.

This ^^^

And it goes both ways. Only recently I realized that I was pressing down a bit too hard with my left hand. Once I loosened the left hand my picking hand loosened up as well, without even trying.

For a long time, years, I was looking for an answer why is my picking hand still a little tight, especially when I play something faster. The answer was on the opposite side of the instrument. I wasn't applying a death grip with the left but more than necessary.

You even mentioned that this doesn't happen at home. So it seems it's simply trying to play louder during the gig which makes the left hand grip stronger than it needs to be, and it eventually cramps up. When you see one hand tensing up, make sure to look both ways as to what's going on.

I'm making a focused effort now at home to pick louder but keeping the left hand pressure just enough to make a note sound clear.

Phil

Some years ago ring finger on my left hand cramped up when playing a gig with rhythm changes. I look at how to change the chords shapes so my left hand gets some variation. It's important to try to have variety and avoid static, repetitive posiitions.

Also remember to try hand and finger stretch exercises prior to playing and during between songs. I've found this helpful. Cheers Phil

voutoreenie

Also remember to try hand and finger stretch exercises prior to playing and during between songs

Phil, you just reminded me that Nousche Rosenberg talks about loosening up his wrists before every gig...I want to say it was either in one of Denis's videos or a youtube interview with him about playing rhythm? Anyway, iirc Nousche literally shakes his hand at the wrist with fingers loose for something like 15-30 minutes before playing.

billyshakes

Yaakov Hoter has an old video about him having pains and needing PT because he was playing so much. Here are the stretching exercises his PT showed him. Stretches come about 2 mins in and there are 5 difft. warm-up stretches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToKjtQDwRY0

Noto

We are always contracting our fingers for driving, brushing our teeth, gripping things etc so the connective tissue, as we get older starts to shrink and get tight in certain places. So the connective tissue in the hand needs to get stretched in the other direction.

A good therapeutic masseuse can help a lot especially a day before a good stretching session.

I use this a lot and I stretch out my palm as I massage it. There are smaller, less expensive versions but this is good for the neck and back as well. https://www.amazon.com/Thumper-6125-Mini-Pro/dp/B0056PSMOA/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3AWNQ7KIE0ZST&keywords=thumper&qid=1703208607&sprefix=thumper%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1&smid=A1E8AJDELN2AKR

I play many hours a day and have played thousands of gigs with no issues and I'm 67

Bones

Maybe try to use a lighter touch if you are gripping too tight???

Buco

This is a finger stretching routine I use. I picked most of it from the forum and some from a classical guitarist I follow on YT.

https://youtube.com/shorts/hq9aA0yMPLk?si=h7Jh_5NVUXxieLqm

This is mostly for fingers flexibility but it should be helpful to do it prior to starting the gig too. That's what I'm doing lately. I got this daily gig playing songs from Disney's Encanto movie. 4-8 hours, 3-4 days a week. Lots of chord barring. I thought I'm not going to feel any of it but I do. No pain thankfully but there's a mild discomfort, especially in the part of the hand that connects the thumb and index fingers. After I get home I soak the hand in hot water and Epsom salt, then massage. Also a friend gave me this red light therapy wrap. Which I've never heard of before but apparently it helps. All of it gets me reset to start the next day without discomfort. Most importantly it's not progressively building which was my concern when I felt something at first.

I'm trying to make an effort to use the least pressure needed which isn't the easiest because everything is unamplified and I need to get volume out of the guitar, among a good crowd of people, while accompanying singers. So I need to dig in with the right hand but keep it light on the left. Sometimes I catch myself gripping the neck really tight. People I play with are marveling at the sound and volume coming out of my guitar, lol.

MikeK

How about "we dont talk about Buco" instead of "we dont talk about Bruno"?!

Buco

@MikeK shhhh

This thing will either make me or break me. I realized it's not really that my hand resets a 100% after all the treatments. We'll see... it's not exactly the same as curling fingers but all these issues are probably coming from the same place, hands not being relaxed. I'm going to practice digging in with my right hand while barely making a clear note with the left.

@Bones that's pretty much all there's to it. But it's not easy when you need to pump the volume out, to keep hands relaxed and not gripping harder.