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Post by skyfire on Oct 6, 2009 20:46:34 GMT -5
Here's my situation.
Late last year, I picked up a vintage Silvertone acoustic guitar at a garage sale. Unfortunately, a number of personal matters in my life resulted in me not being able to give it any serious attention until just recently. I'd periodically take it out of the case and strum it just to get the sound of it, but that's the best I could do.
Even though I'm only going by ear at this point, I can tell that it's horribly out of tune; I will probably have to take it down to the local music store and have them show me how to do it.
In the process of tuning it, however, I discovered a new problem.
The long and short of it is that I have nerve damage in both hands, the damage being to such an extent that my hands are partially crippled.
As a result of this, I'm having a lot of trouble when it comes to handling the frets. Specifically, it hurts like hell whenever I try to spread my fingers apart wide enough to get multiple frets at the same time. This is because my ring, middle, and index fingers all want to go for the same fret once I curve them around the neck; I 'bout near have to physically force them to separate just to even get the fret next to it or beneath it. The pain is so bad that I can't even keep up with the guy on the Expert Village video - Bill Heindrickson (SP?), the lead guitarist for Blessed Union of Souls - long enough to figure out how to tune it, let alone play it.
Anyone have any ideas as to how I can compensate for my off-hand not being able to functionally work the frets?
Thanks.
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Post by Napoleon the Clown on Oct 6, 2009 21:23:49 GMT -5
Does your right hand have this problem? You may end up having to learn to play like a lefty, if you want to play.
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Post by skyfire on Oct 6, 2009 22:14:15 GMT -5
Does your right hand have this problem? You may end up having to learn to play like a lefty, if you want to play. Both hands are affected. |
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Post by Amaranth on Oct 6, 2009 22:42:02 GMT -5
I'm having trouble picturing the problem. Like, how it manifests.
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Post by skyfire on Oct 6, 2009 22:47:02 GMT -5
I'm having trouble picturing the problem. Like, how it manifests. When I go to curl my left hand around the neck of the guitar, my index, middle, and ring fingers curl together as if they were one single digit. The only way to keep this from happening is to avoid curling my middle finger, but that looks like I'm flipping someone off. |
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Post by Amaranth on Oct 6, 2009 23:32:18 GMT -5
How do you have your fingers positioned? Is your thumb on the underside of the guitar, or your palm? In the latter, I have trouble separating my fingers, too. Not so bad as what you described, but if that's the case, you may be able to get better results off of a position where your thumb is placed on the back (for support).
My positioning is probably "wrong" for most people, but I found I'm more comfortable playing in a semi-classical guitar style. Raising my left leg somewhat (For a player playing righty), I rest the guitar just above my knee and turn it up at an angle so the fretboard is facing slightly away from me.
I'm pretty sure this technique is not considered good, but it makes it a lot easier for me. I'm not sure if this will help you specifically, but altering your posture and holding it different might help.
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Post by Aqualung on Oct 7, 2009 8:48:15 GMT -5
I guess if I were you, I'd just get a slide and maybe just play that way. |
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Post by Amaranth on Oct 7, 2009 9:09:48 GMT -5
I guess if I were you, I'd just get a slide and maybe just play that way. Probably won't fix his problems. Slide guitar is a different technique and won't produce the music he wants (most likely). |
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Post by Aqualung on Oct 7, 2009 9:19:23 GMT -5
Well then he's probably SOL.
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Post by skyfire on Oct 7, 2009 16:42:42 GMT -5
I guess if I were you, I'd just get a slide and maybe just play that way. Probably won't fix his problems. Slide guitar is a different technique and won't produce the music he wants (most likely). One of the songs I wrote was meant to be done acoustically, either a Capella or with an acoustic guitar as backing. As I'd long since acquired the guitar, I felt like pulling it out and practicing a little. |
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Post by mistermuncher on Oct 7, 2009 18:15:06 GMT -5
Google "Spider Exercises". They're pretty much necessary for anyone to earn finger independence, and so couldn't hurt. I've broken most of the fingers on my left hand, so they're a little graunchy and tricky to seperate. I need at least a half-hour's warm up before a gig for any kind of fluency.
Have you considered adapting from standard technique and technique to meet your physical requirements? Lap-style with an "open" or semi-open tuning and a tone bar would be much easier on damaged paws than Spanish-style, as well as sounding damnably cool.
Finally, there's an arseload of sites online where you can get tuning tones to tune to. Working by ear to tune is probably better for your music in the long run than matching 5th-fret-to-next-open-string like a robot. Relatve pitch is a useful ability.
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Post by skyfire on Oct 7, 2009 21:27:10 GMT -5
Have you considered adapting from standard technique and technique to meet your physical requirements? Lap-style with an "open" or semi-open tuning and a tone bar would be much easier on damaged paws than Spanish-style, as well as sounding damnably cool. Since I'm working with an acoustic, I was simply looking to do slower tempos and less complicated songs. I figure that if I get it tuned just right, then that - combined with the slower pace I'd be playing at - would minimize the amount of work I'd need to do with the frets. I never really learned how to read or write sheet music (I got a few weeks back in the 1st grade, but that's it), going by ear is pretty much my only option at this point unless I want to shell out for lessons. |
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Post by MaybeNever on Oct 7, 2009 21:32:23 GMT -5
Potassium deficiencies can reduce flexibility of joints. I doubt it would explain all of the problem, but it might be a factor depending on your diet.
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Post by JonathanE on Oct 7, 2009 22:32:20 GMT -5
For positioning the "neck" hand, form your left hand into a "cup" shape, and rest the lower side of the neck into the cradle formed by your left hand. Your thumb should stick up a bit above the top side of the neck. This positioning allows your left hand fingers to apply the most amount of pressure when pressing down the strings to form your chords.
If you are playing chords, which is what I assume you're aiming at, look up some one or two finger chords to start with. You can play in G major using a one finger G chord, a two finger C chord and a D chord, which is a very simple 3 finger chord.
I have severe arthritis in both hands, but I can still play.
A few questions about the instrument itself. What is the "action" like? ie. how high above the fret board to the string sit before you press them down?
How wide is the fret board? For beginners, a wider fret board is actually easier to play, although there can be some uncomfortable moments.
The bottom line is, learning to play a guitar will play hell with your left hand for a time. Your fingers need to learn to move in unaccustomed ways, and you will form callouses on the tips of your fingers from the contact with the strings.
Playing any musical instrument requires many hours of practice to simply learn the basics, and the guitar is no exception. My first few months of playing I spent hours per day, with little discernible progress. The minimal progress will pile up into proficiency, but the process to take you from novice to a decent chord strummer will require some 100-200 hours of practice, at a minimum.
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Post by Amaranth on Oct 8, 2009 0:24:11 GMT -5
Sky,
Tabulature is ridiculously easy to use for the most part. You might want to look up some stuff there and practice that way. It won't help with technique (Though with Youtube, you can probably even find some lesson videos specifically on technique), but it can help you learn without sheet music. Guitarists are notoriously shitty sightreaders anyway.
....Which is why I was born to play guitar.
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