It seems impossible to me now, but in the 70s we routinely strung our Martins and Gibsons with medium gauge .013-.056 bronze strings. I taught myself to only press a string as hard as I needed and to try and keep my hands as relaxed as possible, to avoid this kind of cramping. I was playing contra and square dances back then and you had to play long dances without a rest. It did not take that long to train my hand and it's muscle memory now. I still play that way and though I don't play that much anymore, I never get a cramp.
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It seems impossible to me now, but in the 70s we routinely strung our Martins and Gibsons with medium gauge .013-.056 bronze strings. I taught myself to only press a string as hard as I needed and to try and keep my hands as relaxed as possible, to avoid this kind of cramping. I was playing contra and square dances back then and you had to play long dances without a rest. It did not take that long to train my hand and it's muscle memory now. I still play that way and though I don't play that much anymore, I never get a cramp.
Hey Scot! Long time, no hear!
I use 13s now and haven’t had an issue since I first posted this many moons ago.
Hope you’re doing well, buddy.