View post (What is wrong with me?)

View thread

Slipin Lizard
Registered User
Joined: 11/15/07
Posts: 711
Slipin Lizard
Registered User
Joined: 11/15/07
Posts: 711
01/26/2013 6:38 am
Ok, here goes... I apologize for the length of this post. Hacked on guitar for years (started at 12, I'm 47 now). Played in bands etc... main guitar is a Strat. One thing I NEVER did was sit down and really learn the instrument well, especially lead guitar... I mean, I could play some neat stuff, and knew some scales, but never really did a lot of disciplined practice. Until about just over 2 years ago.

Then I decided "I will learn to play lead guitar!"... I mean as in solid, "oh wow, did you go to MIT" level playing... or as close to it as I could get. Found a couple of great books from MIT, and also this site.

Starting playing MW2 on Xbox, while practicing guitar about 1.5 - 2hrs a day; VERY disciplined practice... warm ups, organized, metronome. Also, bought a Jackson Dinky guitar, which I loved. On top of that, I joined this site and got really into Lisa's Acoustic Fingerpicking lessons.

Things are going great: I'm starting to actually be able visualize the all of the major scale patterns on the fretboard as I play, my acoustic playing has improved by leaps & bounds, and I'm a kick ass sniper on MW2.

It all starts going wrong... I'm getting pain in my wrist, like a big circle around my whole wrist, aching in my forearm and tingling in my fingers after practice. What is going on? Is it the video game playing? Is it the thinner neck of the Jackson? No idea. But, I'm dedicated... thinking first its the gaming, I sell my XBox... still problems. Ok, take a break... then come back to it.. acoustic playing is no problem. Then start back on the electric (Jackson) and all the pain & tingling comes back. I even bought these special wrist straps that are supposed to help, but they don't really. And yeah, I am trying to be totally relaxed in my playing... I'm really using minimal finger pressure for fretting.

I take a break, and we also buy a 1944 house and move. Turns out the house needs to be completely rebuilt. So, no guitar for almost a year. Then I break out the acoustic. No problem, I can play for an hour and not have any pain. Then I break out the Strat. Start practicing again. Now, I get the same pain & tingling. I've done lots of research so I've seen plenty about:
-staying relaxed.
-stretches
-warm ups

I just cannot seem to play without having pain when it comes to lead & my electric. Oddly enough, playing the acoustic seems fine. I don't know what it is. I actually have to fret harder with the acoustic. The only this is I'm not playing lead on my acoustic.

So I'm really close to accepting that it may not be physically possible to continue with playing the electric guitar. I mean, the warm-ups that people recommend combined with "don't practice too long" advice mean that all I can really do is warm up, then its time to put the guitar down or be faced with another round of pain & tingling. If I wait a few days, it goes away. If I play just my acoustic, I don't seem to have any issues. Plug in the electric, and within 10 minutes the pain & tingling starts creeping in.

If anyone has any insight they could offer, I would be very grateful. Its really frustrating right now, as I am in a very good position to achieve my goal (it was going so well!) but its just the physical stuff that is holding me back. I don't know if its the guitar. Some people have said get something with a fatter neck, like a Les Paul Traditional, which I could do, but I don't want to spend that kind of cash if it turns out not to help. Its not the expense, its just the uncertainty of it helping.

Any other angles, solutions, or advice out there from anyone?