muscle tension while playing
 

I posted this on the Acoustic Guitar forum, but thought I'd post it here too because I'd like as much input as I can get.

I just started playing again a few months ago after taking a 22-year break from the guitar. Yesterday my teacher told me that all my problems with technique, etc., appear to flow from muscle tension. I carry tension in my fingers, hands, forearms, shoulders, etc.

I'd like to know what other guitarists have done to alleviate this problem. (I know I can do stretches and deep breathing exercises before playing, but what do you do about tension, such as shoulder tension, that has been there so long it feels normal?)

This is very difficult to alleviate. I'm also trying to get rid of tension. FWIW, this is what I'm doing.

Play VERY, VERY slowly. Play it so slow that you can concetrate on allowing everything to relax as much as possible. Then very slowly increase your speed, but make sure to remain relaxed. Eventually you should be able to play at any speed without any tension. At least that's the theory.

Hope this helps.

David

Get a metronome and set it for 60 bpm. Play one note. Count the next three beats. Play on the one count etc. During the time you are counting pay attention to the state of your body, i.e. shoulders, back, abs, jaw. Think about relaxing and where your fingers are headed. It's amazing where tension comes from. I think it's a constant battle. See www.guitarprinciples.com for more tips. Also do a search on mapletrees posts. He talks about this sometimes.

Those are good suggestions. Thank you.

Kevin, what language is "tovu vabohu" and what does it mean?

Sandy

It's Hebrew. This is the English letter spelling, since you have to jump through a lot of hoops in order to print the actual Hebrew text. It essentially comes from Genesis 1:2 and means formlessness and emptiness. Or, more poetically, chaos and confusion.

Speaking of muscle tension - I received the BB-King DVD where BB is sort of interviewed and shows how he plays some of his famous licks. I was trying to follow as best I could, and now my wrist is sore! :eek:

Fear causes tension; its part of our bodies' fight/flight response. Intense focus or concentration must be somehow yoked to that. I wonder if some of us remain in that state of "readiness" throughout our entire day, and only become aware of the tension/pain we are holding when we do something that requires constricted movement...like typing at the keyboard for me. Fear can be an innapropriate learned response to a performance task, for lots of reasons ( criticism, self-driven perfectionism, etc. Right?)
It seems that one remedy might be to try to become more and more aware of what your bodyfeels like when you are relaxed, so that you can mindfully transfer to that state from that of the fear response. How? T'ai chi , yoga, shiatsu...all these things put you back into your body because you consciously utilize the breathe while moving.
This is the second post where I've recommended shiatsu; it IS a coincidence! I'm really not trying to push my business, although if anyone wants to fly/drive to PA for a treatment, I'll be glad to help you!

I've struggled with muscle tension for years. The more I play (in one sitting, the more "rigid" my fingers get. I have to mentally remind myself to have very soft fingers. I play much better when I achieve a certain "looseness" in both my mind and body. On the flip side, I've gained very strong fingers for rock climbing! :)

Buy Jamey's book & a metronome
 

Playing slowly is critical, the problem is that nobody ever quantitatively defines what is meant by "slow". And, nobody (I'm referring to instructional materials) ever provides a systematic way to increase the speed from near zero movement all the way up to 120 bpm.

It's all in Jamey's book:

http://www.guitarprinciples.com

I'm glad this thread popped up again. Last Sunday I did a fingerstyle piece for my church. The first three measures were a disaster. I was so tense. The song is O Jerasulem arranged by Martin Simpson. I had played it perfectly 10 times that morning before church. Then almost butchered it on stage. By the time that 4 minutes was up I was exhausted. So, the battle to fight tension is an ongoing thing!

I don't have any problem with tension until I try to strum fast, and then it immediately becomes debilitating. Especially something simple like Johnny Be Goode, just downstroke after downstroke, just plain exhausts me so much that I usually am forced to play it in halftime using upstrokes, even though this definitely takes away from the energy of what comes across.

I know I need to relax for my wrist to loosen up enough to move correctly, but it just has never happened for me in 20 on-and-off years of playing. :(

Since I first started this post I've learned that if I'm using a pick, and I make a conscious effort to hold the pick so lightly that it almost slips through my fingers, that gets rid of tension all the way up to my shoulder. Now I just need to figure out how to do it for fingerpicking.

Someone suggested the same thing to me, but I literally kept dropping the picks. (My signature sound is a pick rattling around inside my guitar) I tried some of those Orbit picks with the rubber loop you put on your finger and adjust so the pick falls between your thumb and index finger. My friends laughed at me, but the silly things worked great. Every Labor Day weekend, I go with friends to a place in Berger, Missouri where we hook up the amps and play all day and all night for 3 days. Having the Orbit picks was the only thing that saved me last year.

There are lures that catch fish, and there are lures that catch fisherman... YMMV