Help, tired arm from all the guitar rock.

August 28, 2008 1:47 PM

Guitar Filter: I've been playing guitar for a couple years now and I find my strumming arm getting more & more tired as I try to play faster & more aggressively. Does anyone have any exercises or tips to help me out?

It isn't endurance 'cause how long I play doesn't seem to have any effect. Just raw speed.

A little more info: I play mostly acoustic rock/punk so this is mostly big strums not metallica style speed picking and I'm playing on a big dreadnaught(sp?) style guitar. I tried doing push ups in the morning for a month but it didn't really help.

thanks.

posted by cuando to Media & Arts (9 answers total)

Try jogger's wrist weights and maybe heavier gauge strings to work out with.
posted by knowles at 2:13 PM on August 28, 2008

Practice.

Also, try using more wrist than entire arm. You'll be faster because you're not making such long strides.
posted by chrisfromthelc at 2:17 PM on August 28, 2008

Best answer: maybe practice some different strumming patterns, like country/bluegrass flatpicking stuff, the "Carter scratch," or anything else with an alternating bass. It'll get you using elbow and wrist to one another's advantage and you can get speed without killing your arm and feeling like you need to crush the pick. Look for (for starters) Maybelle Carter and Norman Blake on YouTube and you'll see tons of examples and other sources.
posted by mundy at 2:23 PM on August 28, 2008

Instead of moving your whole arm up and down, hold the pick perpendicular to your palm and rotate up and down. You can go a lot faster if you're twisting than if you're moving the whole arm/wrist/hand against gravity, and you won't get worn out as quickly.
posted by leapfrog at 2:25 PM on August 28, 2008

stretch your arms, wrists and fingers before you play. keep your arm loose when you play and work on your technique - you shouldn't be moving much from the elbow upwards.
posted by gnutron at 2:28 PM on August 28, 2008

Play the stuff slowly first and make sure you have it down. Then, slowly increase the tempo. Knowing the stuff deep down will let you be more relaxed when you play it fast.
posted by ignignokt at 3:24 PM on August 28, 2008

numchucks. just basic figure eights and reverses. there is no part of your arms that will be left out. it's the best break in the middle of a grueling practice session
posted by Redhush at 6:05 PM on August 28, 2008

practice, practice, practice, the stretching definitely helps. try and work through the pain a little at a time. if your playing speed or death metal or the like, holding your hand tight like a tiger paw helps(all 4 fingers mostly closed) for other types, especially classical the middle finger through pinkie should remain loose and open. you can also try finger picking. find something that works for you as everybody is built different. happy experimenting. "if your fingers aren't bleeding, you haven't practiced enough"-Ted Nugent
posted by docmccoy at 11:00 PM on August 28, 2008

A friend of mine who is a guitar teacher swears by 'The Guitar Principles' book - although more as prevention than treatment. The idea seems to be that you have to learn in a very repetitive, focused way - eg playing a single note over and over again until your technique is absolutely perfect and efficient, and you're not using any unnecessary effort. Most people tend to race ahead and learn lots of songs, which is more fun but often results in hitting a wall with your playing ability somewhere down the track, because your basic technique was never honed. I'm know jack about it but like I said, my friend raves about it and wishes he had discovered it much earlier.
posted by 8k at 5:11 PM on August 31, 2008 [1 favorite]