General Music Chat

I know what you were thinking, you dirty-minded basta-h-ds!

Anyways.. I've been practising a few songs on the acoustic a whole lot, and I've come to the conclusion that my left thumb (on the fretboard hand) doesn't like me. It hurts quite a bit right at the joints.

It's always at the back of the fretboard "supporting" the other fingers while I play, so it's pretty damn important.
So, I play -say, an intro- and then stop. Play a coupla chords or a buncha notes.. and then stop again. I wanna play the whole damn song or at least the parts I know.
Any ideas on how I can get rid of this pain quickly? Is there a better way to position my left hand so I can avoid all this?

Thanks.

First, I would say, try to start learning to play with a lighter touch. It really doesn't take a whole lot of finger pressure on the fretboard to accomplish what you want to. In fact, the lighter you play, the faster you'll get.

Second, if your hand is hurting that bad, where you can't get through one whole song. Put the guitar down for a day or two. Don't keep pushing it. Wait 'till you fell like it's somewhat healed, and go for it again.

I've been trying different things with the whole pressure thing for a while. If I exert less pressure, I lose tone quality and/or power. If I overdo it, I also lose tone quality and I get cramps. So, I found the middle ground already.

Keeping in mind also that the acoustic requires more pressure than the electric.
Thanks, man.

Yea, acoustics do take a little more pressure. If your strings are too high, you can find yourself really pressing down hard, that can be the case sometimes. But if you adjust your truss rod for the strings to get closer to the fretboard, it might help ease your pain a little.

Look also at the wrist position. Propper anitomical alignment is crutial.
Flex and stretch your fingers and wrist as you warm up. If you look into the anatomy of the forearm in particular the route of ligaments and tendons you will see that more often than not hand / finger pain is resultant from wrist / forearm strain.

It sounds like you apply pressure with the tip of your thumb thus overloading the joint, if your hand is big enough to wrap around the back of the neck I’d try to built up the strength of your left hand and use the whole length of the thumb, this will distribute the pressure through/out the length of the thumb rather then concentrate it only at the tip, you may have to pick up a guitar with a narrow neck to achieve this combined with lighter gauge strings.

Check out any Hendrix’s video to see what I mean particularly when he plays chords, he plays the low E strings and even the A string with his thumb, he bars the E,B,G, and D strings with the index finger, the E and A strings he bars them with his thumb, when he is playing riffs he uses the index, middle and ring fingers but his thumb is always wrapped around the back of the fret board, this allows a G-tar player to play open strings and let then ring out in any position on the fret board although this technique can be achieved by barring all the six strings with the index finger.

I know exactly what you're saying, Fretwork. I tried that, but it feels awkward. My hand isn't huge, but I'll get used to that. I do sorta wrap my thumb around the neck, but not enough to bar strings.. maybe mute the E string.

Andragon, I've been playing for some time, and I go through this once in a while.
There is no quick fix.
If you stop playing for a few days, it'll get a little better.
What you'll find is that you can play a little longer before it starts hurting again. It'll eventually return to normal. Expect 3 - 5 weeks, depending on what you do. It can be the same amount of healing time as a broken bone.
And - if you're anything like me, then you can't stop playing for a few days.
But you're going to have to back off on the pressure, or it will get worse. And worse, and worse. Back off a little; don't kid yourself.
Hey - your choice . . .
You've gotta give your body a break, man, or you can start a problem that never completely goes away.
.
Here is what you need to do.
Understand that you don't need to use the end of your thumb for every chord.
Lie the neck flat in your palm. No thumb at all.
For example, you can play A, G, C, D, E, and a 4-string F, - without any part of your thumb even touching the guitar.
Use your palm - you don't need your thumb for everything. Just let it stick out.

If you've never done thsi - now's the best time to learn.
If it's a new technique for you, it'll take you all of 10 minutes to be playing open-chord songs that sound just like normal.

haha yup kinda addicted to playing. I did try the no-thumb trick. Found it uncomfortable, but I was able to play a few chords with it.
Really appreciate your input. My thumb is kinda getting better. I submerged my thumb for a while in hot water n a lil bit of salt. (Someone said it should help).. it's better now. Thanks again.

Gosh lil bro, I play my Taylor 810 ( diff nut spacing,wider than most fretbaords) all day and nite and never have any pain?..I have smaller hands also..Hmmm....Lets break this down .. Im assuming you meant back of the NECK being where your thumb is? When playing bar chords, the thumb is forced to be in the center of the neck BUT, is the fleshy part of your thumb anchoring or do ya have it curled up with the LH side applying pressure???..Im thinkin that might be YOUR case since ya said when playin open chords, you kinda "curl" the thumb over top of the fretboard aittle..Im sittin here tryin it both ways with the 2 major barred positions and I gotta tell ya, The second I curl my thumb to the side, It KILLS ME..Puts a kink in the wrist, right at that bone where your wrist and palm meet...Yeah, if ya havent tried already , try playin with the fleshy part of the thumb FLAT on the neck...Also, try to not let your fingers be part of the "gripping process"..In that I mean , let the base on your index finger against the side of the neck serve as your anchor, just as the the thumb is doing on the opposing side so the fingers can move freely applying the pressure as needed, and not forced by the gripping of the fingers.Open chords , on the other hand , I have my thumb pretty much riding the binding sticking up maybe a 1/4 in higher than the fingerbaord.
Yeah , I cant help thinkin YOUR causing something to give ya pain...Anyway, just thought Id add to your list of things to try and ponder.
Lets get this whipped while your YOUNG..

John

Acoustics tend to have fatter necks than electrics, that's a huge problem for me, after a tendon was severed when I was 12 and surgically reconnected. I have a lot of trouble finding an acoustic that doesn't hurt my entire forearm, but mostly the wrist.

I always set the bridge height (not the truss rod, never touch it unless it absolutely needs to be adjusted for proper backbow) so that the strings are as close to the frets as I can get them without buzzing. Some bolt on necks are made so they tilt, the action is adjusted there instead of lowering the bridge, but that's usually on electrics, not acoustics. Usually you have to file the bottom of the saddle down to lower acoustic action. (that's the proper name for the white bone or plastic piece the strings sit on at the bridge) The truss rod has to be set for a slight backbow, so that it bows away from the frets in the middle, and if your hand is giving you trouble switch to a lighter gauge strings. If it's still a problem, find a guitar with a slimmer neck. That's the main thing for me, I have to search for slim necks, and I never even think about purchasing an acoustic until I play it several times, 30 minutes each time and be sure it won't cause pain once I get onstage with it.

You can check it pretty easily, sight down the neck from the tuning key end, if you see the neck very slightly bow away fromt he strings in the middle, the truss rod is OK. Capo at the 1st fret and fret at the last, it should have around .010-.012" clearance in the middle, .015" at most, you can check it with a feeler gauge. If you see an upbow, toward the strings, that needs to be adjusted, of it's straight and does not buzz, leave it alone. A straight neck is not a problem, but will tend to buzz if you drop the strings very close to the frets. don't touch the truss rod unless it is definitely needed, it's really easy to break and the repair is more expensive than most guitars, unless you happen to have one that's worth more than $500 or so...and are really attached to it...it's not worth it. Most local guitar techs can't even think about doing it either, you'll have to send it off, probably to the factory.

Strings open and unfretted, tuned to concert pitch, you should have no more than about 1/8 inch clearance at the octave, maybe a 64th more or so. I like a bit less for an acoustic. Around 3/32-7/64" is good for me. If it's higher, pull the saddle and sand the bottom lengthwise LIGHTLY. Replace and check, repeat until it gets good action but does not buzz. If you sand too much, it can be shimmed with a thin plastic strip, or brass if you can get some shim stock from a machine shop. I was a machinist for 8 years, I still have some .001" - .015" shim stock lying around that I use.

My guess is you have a guitar with a fat neck and the strings are too high.

Right now I have a Takamine that is great, and most Ovations I've played have slim enough necks I can pick up just about any one and play it. Most Takamines too have usable necks for me, most other brands I have to be really picky. Haven't played any Taylors though, only one. it seemed to have a nice neck but I only played it for a couple of minutes, not long anough to really tell.

Get your guitar set up better, lower the strings, switch to a lighter gauge, and some of the suggestions already made are worthwhile too. My thumb is all over the place, depending on what I do. Sometimes I wrap it around the neck, sometimes I use it to assist with barre chords, sometimes it's barely touching at all.

My guess is you have a guitar with a fat neck and the strings are too high.

Pretty much.
You're right, John. My thumb tends to twist a lil to the left unintentionally. I'll try to work on that. Thanks, everyone.