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Beginner
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Warm-up Exercises
Maintenance of your hands is extremely important, and warming them up appropriately before putting them through the intensive rigour of guitar playing is essential in this.
If you do not develop good habits for stretching and warming up your hands prior to playing, you risk damaging them permanently. Injuries can present themselves in the form of carpal tunnel, cubital tunnel and other conditions traced back to repetitive strain injury (RSI). Such injuries are notoriously difficult to effectively treat once they emerge and can ruin your musicianship forever. Sprains and strains leading to temporary injury are commonly associated with poor preparation also. One of these could put you out of action for months. It’s not worth it, trust me. The risk of RSI for guitar players is very high and should be taken very seriously from the outset. Since early 2015 I have had my own battles to fight with RSI on a daily basis. It is the specific result of bad habits formerly adopted on my part, and in particular a lack of attention to warming up and stretching properly before playing. Impatience in this area will not serve you. Warm up properly, listen to your hands and stop playing if it begins to hurt - trust me it’s not worth it! * The 2nd video above goes through some self-treatment you can apply if you ever find your hands in unexpected pain as a result of guitar playing or anything else. Remember to do it gently and don’t persist if it hurts too much. * You should adjust your practice habits immediately if you’re injured, don’t play at all if it hurts constantly, and allow your body time to heal. |