How I Healed My Tendonitis From Guitar | 7 Bad Guitar Habits to Avoid

[@timsmith190]

I've watched several of your videos for a few weeks now and aside from the content and delivery really appreciate the precision with which you communicate. Thanks for posting and teaching.

[@Yeargdribble]

It's always a red flag to me when people say they are practicing 5-8 hours a day. Among pianists in a particular and music major in general it becomes a bit of a pissing contest. But like you, I've found that REAL practice is so mentally taxing that it would be impossible to go that long. I can play for hours on end, but I certainly can't practice that way. I use a lot of relatively short, very focused sessions throughout the day and the thing is... even if I have more time, low stress, and nothing else going on that day, I simply can't just add more practice time. Sure, I could sit and play, but I find a point where trying to do any sort of deliberate practice is impossible because my brain is just too fatigued cumulatively. I keep trying to tell people... practice well, feed your brain good, accurate practice, and then get plenty of sleep on that practice. There was a time I would've spend 30m-1h hashing at one thing, but just the nature of working full time as a musician, I have to learn to much music to have time for that and I didn't need that time anyway. 5 minutes of focused practice on a section or technical issue once a day or even once every 2nd or 3rd day (depending on my workload) is honestly more than enough. I can now accomplish more cumulatively in 5-15 minutes across an entire week than I would've gotten out of 4-5 hours across that same week when I was younger. Your brain tells you that you need to keep going and that 5 minutes isn't nearly enough, but I find that when I come back to it later, it's almost MAGICALLY easier even with just a tiny amount of very focused practice with a solid goal. More time just leads to practicing until you're tired (before you even realize it) and letting sloppiness creep in... stubbornly beating your head against a problem that just needs time to marinate. And then you end up learning tension, bad habits, mistakes, maybe you misread something and are literally practicing the wrong notes, etc. So often I'll go back to a section with a bit more clarity and catch things I over looked. Carrying an accidental, a better fingering choice, and obviously as I'm no longer thinking as much about technical execution I catch subtle things with articulations that I can focus on. It makes me so glad I didn't spend an hour ingraining mistakes because I wanted to be a hero and practice for hours on that one thing. And for students (as well as myself) if means if you stop spending an hour each on 3-4 things you can instead cover potentially dozens of things, each with more focus and improve much more wholly as musician rather than just getting good at a few pieces of music that frankly, if you're not investing in your overall skills, will simply be learned by rote muscle memorization and will be forgotten without constant refreshing of that muscle memory.

[@timsmith190]

I hear this again and again. Five minutes of focused practice, then sleep on it (to consolidate the muscle memory). I get much more from this approach than spending hours in one day.

[@fannyingabout]

Absolutely correct advice.

[@greg6162]

Yeah, that’s me Lol. Not because it’s a pissing contest but because as a beginner (6/months) I’ve been leveling up every time I play and it’s addicting. But my 3/hr practice sessions are taking their toll. I love playing so much I forget to eat sometimes but I’ve been more aware setting a timer. But playing with bad technique makes my long sessions so much worse. I’m fretting way too hard… so my fingers and thumb hurt. You can play for hours if your technique is good. However, I recently started a band with some coworkers and we started rehearsing once a week

[@avrilcadabra]

It was the picking arm for me, and I did a real number on it. after 15 years of not being able to play I am working through rehabilitating all the specific muscles and can currently play for about 30 minutes so I try to make the most of that 30 mins with thoery and study. Agree with all you said, be flexible, look after your strength, get the nutrients you need,I think the most important thing is learning what pain is ok (like sore skin on fingers or tired muscles) as opposed to inflamed tendons, joints and muscles.

[@StarDarkAshes]

Me too. The picking hand. It’s really bad for like 2 years. Super depressing. Any tips?

[@ericsplittgerber5154]

awesome video. i have insane tendonitis in both arms right now and will be applying this as I get back into guitar shape.

[@williamkitchin9946]

Very interesting Jared. Over the past year After having blunt force trauma to my right hand, I have been doing much to change my way of playing and being more consience of how I am playing. I do multiple excercises daily prior to playing. The end result is that I have gained much more agility and technique in how I play. A lot of it involves what you have shared.

[@fredsmith6324]

Great vid, thanks. My tendonitis is in the fingerpicking hand, but a lot of this still applies.

[@johnathanschaaf8731]

Great video on a much overlooked topic!

[@quicklooksentertainment3217]

Good one, Jared! You shared many good points which are very helpful. Like many guitarists who own many guitars, we get in the habit of playing our same guitar that introduces us to bad techniques. I played my Adamas 12 string ( @ regular pitch) as my go-to for many years and couldn't shake the habit of pressing too hard on the strings. Now, I often play my low-action classical nylon and my tele to teach and keep me from grasping so hard. Of course, holding and playing a comfortable guitar makes a big difference with our personal ergonomics : ). Thank you for this video. Aloha*

[@catsven1973]

oh yeah .this channel will help improve my arrangements..I subscribe

[@soundguitar]

Thanks for the sub! :)

[@uberjam-sam8512]

Very important topic. Lots of players have warned me and Tim lerch covers this very topic though related to aging. Thank you!

[@awesomeisasawesomedoesyo182]

So important! Thank you.

[@waynecaswell5727]

Great lesson and information. What is the massage technique you used on the arm? This is where my problems are located. Thanks, Wayne

[@StarDarkAshes]

That’s how I am right now with my right hand. It started about two years ago because like a dumb dumb I kept playing because I was inspired and the pain just kept getting worse and worse and I just kept hoping it would just go away and then I had to stop all together. But anybody who is a real musician and can’t live without it knows how hard it is to not pick up your guitar and so for a year I would just play it every once in a while, but it was so unsatisfying because as soon as I would get warmed up, it would start hurting again. And then I found this channel that taught me some massages and it worked for a little while but then it came back again and then the second time I tried to do the massages it wasn’t working so well so right now I’m kind of trying to find this balance and I’m thinking I might need to go to a proper massage therapist instead of doing it myself, which is kind of weird unless you have these really strong hands to get deep into the tissue. I’m still trying to figure out what to do and it’s kind of depressing.

[@ElectroFokkusuNakatsukasa]

managed to solve anything? im currently in a hiatus too because of arm pain

[@Tslayer1966]

Going through this with my strumming hand also. Been about 9 months and I have tried everything even cortisone shots. The only relief I am getting is by using the Graston Technique. You can search KZbin for videos of it. Good luck!

[@StarDarkAshes]

@@Tslayer1966 Thanks!!!

[@StarDarkAshes]

@@Tslayer1966Is your issue on the top of your wrist or the palm side? Do you do it yourself or go to a clinic? I looked up tools on AliExpress and they’re not too expensive. I’m probably going to try to buy some of them and see if I can use them on myself. Basically, my condition is chronic, but I have learned to use my right wrist in a less tense manner and it’s allowed me to at least still play a little bit, but I definitely cannot play as much as I would like to or used to be able to play.

[@stuartarnold4495]

My problems are more age related, according to my doctor. I do daily exercises because it helps with arthritis and together with your tips I keep problems to a minimum. Thanks for the time taken to make people aware.

[@kenhazlin5860]

Thank you! Do you have suggestions on how to hold the guitar in certain positions to relieve tension? Are there any hand stretching methods that have been helpful? I have heard using a small rubber ball can help relieve tension in the hands.

[@anthonypowles4100]

Thanks for this video. I'm dealing with this right now and once I'm done resting I'm planning on using your advice to prevent further injury. Do you have any advice on using less tension in regards to bending and bar chords? I could totally see how using less pressure on single notes can be helpful, but I feel that when it comes to bar chords and bends, much more force and tension is needed. Was this a roadblock for you at all during your recovery? Thanks in advance :)

[@resb1714]

Besides what you mentioned ... I went more or less through the exact same stages. Started with serious wrist pain (solved it for a while with bee poison and cheating around it). The problem traveled to the elbow ... further to the shoulder blade ... to finally torture the entire arm. Tried about everything you did yourself until I got the idea to warm up without the picking hand and guess what? ... I found myself playing extremely tense! far from what I usually managed to play using both hands! So I started to build and practice single note exercises without the picking hand plus relax breathing to the rhythm ... and doing the things you talked about in point seven. It finally solved the problem - what doesn't mean that I stopped doing those things - we all tend to fall back in one or the other way. Plus, with the age your hands/fingers start to wear out what causes some aching here and there 😜✌️!

[@markdickens6426]

Hmmm. I laid off the guitar for 20 years, then dug my 12-string Epiphone out of the loft. Long story short, I went at it like a bull at a gate. All those songs that I couldn't work out before, were now available for learning on the Internet. I punished my pension-age body, stooped into awkward positions in front of a screen, trying to master the intro to "Michelle", spending days on the intricate tabs to "Love of my life" .... Many of Jared's symptoms harmful practices and resultant symptoms crept up on me. Referred pain from my lower back into my shoulders, caused by not flexing and stretching after long hours in awkward positions. Obligatory hard pressing down on the 12 strings, to produce clean sound, was easy 20 years before, but resulted in stiffness in the fingers, that no amount of stretching and flexing would shift. Trying to play "Blackbird" without buzzing and duff notes defeated me. I treated myself to my boyhood dream Hummingbird, and went at it like a bull at a gate. More hours in awkward positions, insufficient stretching, but beautiful clean notes coming out of my 6-stringer. But the cost .? Back pain .. shoulder pain .. ever more stiff and painful fingers. Classic repetitive strain injury, and I felt I was on a downward spiral, with the real prospect of having to give up playing my beautiful bird. But maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel. I started forcing myself to do mobility exercises after each session. Standing up and twisting 50 times each side at the waist, arms raised to shoulder level, has eased off the stiffness and pain in my back and shoulders. Cutting back on practice time has been forced on me, as I try to keep finger joint and tendon pain at bay. I had been stretching and flexing for several weeks, with no improvement, which was my prime concern. I have been on holiday for 10 days now, though, with a complete break from playing, stretching my fretting hand regularly. No improvement, until today. My fingers are less stiff and painful, and I'm hopeful that over the next few days on holiday, regular stretching and flexing will banish the pain and restore mobility. Did I say, "Long story short" ..? Hmmm. If I've gone on a bit, it's because I'm pleased to have found that I'm not the only sufferer of guitarists' ailments, and more importantly, that a guitarist of Jared's quality has suffered from them, and shared a workable way back. Thank you, Jared. after treating myself to my boyhood dream Hummingbird

[@greenup9913]

WoW I got this wrist problem really bad when I was @ 22 years old and always put it down to my job as a plasterer my left hand gripped the handboard tight all day while moving the wrist around with plaster on the board but also gripping the neck and stretching for chords on the guitar, it was that bad I needed an operation and I was told it was to decompress my tendon leading to my left hands thumb I think the medical term /tendon is called APL Abductor Pollicis Longus. the pain was caused through the slightest touch in a downwards motion on the thumb, this had a terrific eletric shock type of pain in the wrist when the thumb was slightly touched like this. From the age of 14, I always had guitars and spent alot of time trying to play, just loved 2 string riffs kinda thing but remember as I got to @ 21/22 I had to stop playing because of the pain, but I always thought it was down to my job, in hindsight it was probably a good mixture of both, but in my job I have suffered with tendonites , in the sides of my knees, and tennis elbow, luckily both were cured with steroid injections. Been back on the guitar for a week now after a 43 year lay off and I am now 65 years old and still stretching for the chords, and the wrist is starting to ache, this video has just brought everything back, and with your excellent advice I will really take it in. thank you.

[@simpson6700]

currently also having these pains, i too think #4 is the biggest reason for it.

[@ericwillett8709]

Hey Jared, I may have missed the video where you talked about the injury, but what exactly was your injury? I am so bad at the moment I have not been able to practice and had to quit worship team and gigs. I have left thumb tendinitis and a little bit of carpal tunnel. The thumb tendinitis is so bad I can barely hold my phone and cannot fret chords or notes at all. Just wondering if our injuries are related and if you think your suggestions could help my problems? Love your content. Thanks for everything you do

[@tristanschroeder3403]

Hi, greetings from the UK. I am really enjoying your chord series at the moment I have learnt so much! I was wondering, have you ever considered doing a video on West African guitar style? Such as that of Toumani Diabeté or Ali Farka Touré. Such fantastic pentatonics and rhythms! Would be awesome to see and understand it better, in case you're looking for ideas Anyways keep up the good work it's appreciated :)

[@emilyspector2728]

I needed this because my arm is starting to hurt lol! And this is just practising scales!!!! I am actually nodding as you are mentioning these tips…lolol 😂😂

[@watchfan6180]

Thanks

[@zubat0532]

I've got a question, did you play through those 3 years of recovery? or did you have to take a complete 3 year break?

[@soundguitar]

I played through it. I had to because it was my job fortunately in some ways and unfortunately in others. I have a big interview with physical therapist coming out soon, we go over all the recommendations for when, how, and why to take breaks and when to play through and how much while recovering. Keep an eye out.

[@zubat0532]

@@soundguitar thank you for your response!!! also do all of your tips apply for electric guitar players? since I notice there are some technical differences when it comes to laying the guitar on your right leg as opposed to your left one, also when it comes to using a variety of grips on the fretting hand like the hendrix style grip and the classical straight grip

[@ValeCardonaH]

How long is too long? 4:38

[@kuse4280]

Jared you look like Magneto bro

[@soundguitar]

HAHAHA I'll take it :) 🧲

[@joebeamish]

It would be so cool to have an informative video on this topic in 2 minutes instead of 11.