A guitar book that's good for my wrists?

June 16, 2009 3:06 PM

I suffer from a tendency to develop tendonitis in my wrists. Gyorgy Sandor's On Piano Playing has helped me learn to play piano in a way that keeps my wrists happy. What similar book exists for guitar?

My wrists recently flared up again and I decided it was time for a technique reboot on the instruments I play. Sandor's advice, things like keeping the active finger(s) in line with the respective muscles in the forearm, has really helped me to play in a way that doesn't cause me pain or damage. I've been trying to apply his general principles to guitar playing (all kinds, but mostly with a pick), but the ways in which they might be applied aren't always obvious to me. Is there a similar book that you recommend for guitar, that focuses on anatomically healthy technique that allows you to get maximum effect with minimum tension?

posted by invitapriore to media & arts (5 comments total)

I've heard good things about the Guitar Principles book. I seriously doubt that it will be some kind of "holy grail" that will make you a massively better guitarist, but it does seem to focus on things like muscle tension, so it might help for that.
posted by mmoncur at 7:45 PM on June 16

Go to the Harmony Central Guitar Lessons page and read the "Right and Left Hand Technique" articles by Tim Fullerton. It's only a few articles but he gives a lot of info and exercises about how to hold and play the guitar.
posted by PFL at 7:12 AM on June 17

Also wanted to throw in one more thing:

You might want to look into a book on Classical guitar method. They're really religious about form and hand position and so on, and a lot of it could apply to your style of playing too.
posted by mmoncur at 2:34 AM on June 18

mmoncur: Yeah, I played classical guitar for about two years and it helped, but I found it hard to get really well-tailored advice concerning my personal tension issues. "Religious" is a good word because it seems like a lot of classical guitarists (and classical musicians in general) get handed down the rules about things like that, rules that had solid practical reasons for existing, without necessarily knowing the principles behind why it should be that way. It sounds like the Guitar Principles book focusses on exactly that, so I'm hoping it will help. Thanks!
posted by invitapriore at 2:00 PM on June 19

You should read On Guitar Tickling by Constance Auerbach.
posted by HotPants at 11:21 PM on June 28