Trying to beat 15+ years of tendinitis and come back to playing guitar. Never seen so much quality tips and details as on your videos. Thank you, and I hope you'll do more videos.
Very important detail! Thanks for reminding me. I didn't have this problem when I was playing non-stop like 6-10 years ago. But nowadays I sometimes don't play much for weeks and I run into problems like this
I appreciate this. Im having issues bending the hell out of my wrist trying to play notes with the tip of my fingers. I will try this next time im practicing.
I hope it helps. Feel free to hit me up here in the comments if you have any questions. And, obviously, be sure to watch the other related videos. Good luck!
(I know this comment is old) but Same! I thought if I wasn’t using the tip of my fingers, I wasn’t playing correctly. Didnt realize you will use different parts of your finger tip for different positions.
This is great stuff, someone finally going into great detail regarding the proper orientation of the fretting fingers and explaining how the different parts of the finger will apply fret pressure as you move up and down the neck….priceless and relieving the frustrations about the mechanics of the proper technique. Thanks again Kevin, these tutorials really help !
These were the exact three tips i've needed. I've only been playing for a couple weeks and noticed some real wrist pain going on whenever i was done playing. Gave myself a week off and am now starting over with the correct technique. My wrist still feels a little sore after playing, even tho my pain was completely gone AND i'm using the correct techniques now. Could that just be because i'm a beginner and my tendons and muscles also just have to get used a little to the new exercise ? I play about 20 minutes a day
I have just started learning to play guitar and my left wrist was in so much pain last week and its only been 4 weeks. 😳 I hope these tips of yours help me. I am curling my wrist to reach the chords because I have small hands and fingers. I am 54 and I feel like my acoustic guitar is kicking my butt between my left wrist pain, my right thumb from picking and my lower back on the left side. I am sad to think this may not be for me but I am startung to enjoy it. I love music. This past week I have been trying to relax, fix my posture and figure out how I can get to the chords while keeping my wrist straight with my forearm. I watched all 3 of these videos so I hope when I practice tomorrow I will be able to figure it out. Thank you for these.
These tips should help. I also have a longer video on left hand technique that may be useful. Two other things to look out for: 1) You may be using too much pressure on the strings. I don’t remember if I said this in the videos but the string only needs to make contact with the fret, not the fretboard. And 2) Check that your guitar is properly set up. This means the the neck is straight and the height of the strings (the action) is set appropriately. If the neck is bowed even a little, the strings may be further away from the fretboard making the guitar harder to play. I’d also recommend lighter gauge strings as that should help as well. Feel free to hit me up with any questions. Good luck!
@@KevinOShaughnessyGuitar Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for responding to me. Yes I geeked out and watched a lot of your videos to learn from you. Appreciate all the tips and advice you share in your videos. I did watch the one video and proper fret technique. So excited to try these when I practice later. I got my acoustic guitar set up for me on Friday. I am excited that I asked for lighter strings and for the action to be lowered. At least i knew on Thursday i was doing something wrong because my wrist started hurting. I found your videos Friday but really jumped in yesterday and started watching more. Thank you again for these videos and responding so kindly.
Yvette I am exactly in the same situation--50 + yo started playing 1 month ago. I stopped playing 3 days ago due to moderate pain on my left wrist (I think it was caused by spider exercise). I am going to follow Kevin's tips and hopefully it will alleviate and prevent the pain from recurring.
@@normie5928 I am sure his tips will help you. My pain is getting better each day now that I am aware and changing how I was playing. Hopefully these tips will help us both.
Thanks! Barely playing for 3 days and already feeling quite a bit of wrist pain... With these videos I noticed I bend my wrist way too much when reaching the higher strings, which is most likely why it hurts that much.. I'll try your advices and see how it goes for the new few days! I'm really enjoying this learning experience so far 😊
I have more detailed lessons on my channel. Find the "Guitar Lessons" playlist and you'll get a lot of information on ergonomics. And feel free to hit me up with any questions. Good luck!
Thanks! I will try to put your suggestion in the queue. In the meantime, I suspect that part of the problem is not only the placement of the thumb but also the amount of pressure being exerted by all of the fingers. If you haven't seen it already, check out this video: th-cam.com/video/incUdhZigHA/w-d-xo.html. I go into more detail about how the hands work and how you can determine how much pressure you need to get good tones. Good luck!
@@KevinOShaughnessyGuitar thanks so much man I just watched the video! I’ve been playing guitar for almost 7 years and I now I just felt a difference in playing almost like a beginner finding something new, thanks so much!
Awsome info thank you. By any chance do you have any advice on right wrist and thumb pain? Notice I'm getting tight while strumming/picking then wrist hurts?
Interesting. I'd say the grip you're using for your pick may be a little off. I've noticed I tend to hold on the to the pick a little tighter when that happens. I'll describe this as best I can. Imagine making an OK sign with your thumb and first finger overlapping at the first digit. Now, insert the pick between those two fingers so that the point of the pick points perpendicularly away from your thumb. Gently curl the remaining three fingers behind your first finger so that they give that finger a little support. A tiny amount of pressure from the thumb should be enough to hold the pick in place while you strum. If you continue through my guitar lessons play list you'll find videos on sitting with the guitar and strumming. Hopefully, something in there will help you. And you can always feel free to hit me up with more questions. Good luck!
What is the trick to do bar chords without wrist pain? When barring a fret, my other fingers can’t push down “perpendicular” enough to play the other strings in the chord. Thank you.
First of all, don’t try to make the fingers perpendicular. Wherever you are on the neck, try to keep your fingers in line with your forearm. This often means creating an “x” shape between your arm and the neck (if that makes sense). Hopefully, this video will help. Check it out. Learn to Master the F Chord th-cam.com/video/xSX0tBvIv_8/w-d-xo.html
Is there anyway we could possibly setup a video chat I’m a complete beginner at guitar. And there’s a few things that I just can’t get straight and was wondering if you could possibly help with that. A bunch of your videos have been very very eye opening. I’m 17 years old and I’m on electric guitar. I absolutely love music so much and how it has an affect on me and I said I want to learn how to play my favorites and some of my own. I know I can do it I just need to know what I don’t know. It’s very frustrating when I just don’t know what I need to do and when some things don’t work and I don’t know what I need to do to improve. Please let me know if absolutely love your help if your willing. Thank you lots.
I'd love to help you out. I can't do a video chat for another few weeks as I'm moving, and currently neck-deep in packing up my entire life. However, if you want to email me specific questions in the meantime, I'd be happy to answer them. You can reach me at kevin@kevinoshaughnessy.com.
Absolutely I’ll definitely email you. It would be a huge help. Please let me know when your done moving to see if we can possibly setup a chat. I’d be very appreciative of that. Thank you very much
Hey man I’m a beginner at playing the acoustic guitar and your vids have helped a lot but I always feel like my pinky finger is all over the place, is there something I can do about it?
It kinda depends on what you mean by "all over the place". No matter what this issue is though, I've found success with two steps: 1) get a clear idea in your head of what your pinky should do. And 2) keep that vision in your mind as you practice slowly and delibrately. This won't fix it fast, but if you apply it consistently over time it will fix it. And if you want to let me know more about the issue I can give you more specific pointers.
@@KevinOShaughnessyGuitar yea I am a beginner as well... and my pinky just always ends up in a wierd position unconsciously and then it's uncomfortable... it's also hard for me to play any chord/striv with my pinky is there any way I can make my pinky more flexible or be able to easily press down the e string without my pinky hurting?
@@emiyakiritsugu9408 Without seeing exactly what you’re doing, I can’t be sure. My general suggestions include setting up the guitar with a low action, use light gauge strings, and warm up with some finger exercises before playing. I found the traditional “spider” exercise to be helpful in developing pinky control. As far as stretching is concerned, try practicing your chords and scales above the 9th fret first, where the frets are closer together. As that begins to feel comfortable, move down one or two frets. Keep repeating the process until you can play the figure where you want to. I hope that’s helpful. Feel free to hit me up with any other questions. Good luck!
@@KevinOShaughnessyGuitar thank you so much .. I was bout to give up 💀 but thanks to you imma keep practicing.. I am pretty young and my high-school is starting from 15th may so I dunno if I am gonna get enuf time for practicing guitar but I will still try my best
@@emiyakiritsugu9408 Don’t give up. It takes time. If you’re a beginner, 15 to 20 minutes of practice 4 or 5 days a week will be enough to help you progress.
If you follow the instructions demonstrated in all three parts then the wrist pain should go away. Be sure to check out my other videos on ergonomics. Combining all of the techniques from the different videos is what has helped most people play without pain.
Always remember we must repent of our sins (sin is transgression The Law Of Yahuah The Father in Heaven. The Law are The Books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy). We must repent of our sins and Have Belief On Yahusha The Messiah. HE Died and Rose three days later so that we can be forgiven of our sins! Come to HIM Today
Trying to beat 15+ years of tendinitis and come back to playing guitar. Never seen so much quality tips and details as on your videos. Thank you, and I hope you'll do more videos.
Very important detail! Thanks for reminding me. I didn't have this problem when I was playing non-stop like 6-10 years ago. But nowadays I sometimes don't play much for weeks and I run into problems like this
Hey, brother. Thank you for taking the time.
I appreciate this. Im having issues bending the hell out of my wrist trying to play notes with the tip of my fingers. I will try this next time im practicing.
I hope it helps. Feel free to hit me up here in the comments if you have any questions. And, obviously, be sure to watch the other related videos. Good luck!
(I know this comment is old) but Same! I thought if I wasn’t using the tip of my fingers, I wasn’t playing correctly. Didnt realize you will use different parts of your finger tip for different positions.
This is great stuff, someone finally going into great detail regarding the proper orientation of the fretting fingers and explaining how the different parts of the finger will apply fret pressure as you move up and down the neck….priceless and relieving the frustrations about the mechanics of the proper technique.
Thanks again Kevin, these tutorials really help !
I ACTUALLY LOVE U TYSM FOR THESE THREE TIPS!!!
My pleasure!
These were the exact three tips i've needed. I've only been playing for a couple weeks and noticed some real wrist pain going on whenever i was done playing. Gave myself a week off and am now starting over with the correct technique. My wrist still feels a little sore after playing, even tho my pain was completely gone AND i'm using the correct techniques now. Could that just be because i'm a beginner and my tendons and muscles also just have to get used a little to the new exercise ?
I play about 20 minutes a day
This is excellent advice! Thank you very much!
I have just started learning to play guitar and my left wrist was in so much pain last week and its only been 4 weeks. 😳
I hope these tips of yours help me. I am curling my wrist to reach the chords because I have small hands and fingers.
I am 54 and I feel like my acoustic guitar is kicking my butt between my left wrist pain, my right thumb from picking and my lower back on the left side. I am sad to think this may not be for me but I am startung to enjoy it. I love music. This past week I have been trying to relax, fix my posture and figure out how I can get to the chords while keeping my wrist straight with my forearm. I watched all 3 of these videos so I hope when I practice tomorrow I will be able to figure it out.
Thank you for these.
These tips should help. I also have a longer video on left hand technique that may be useful. Two other things to look out for: 1) You may be using too much pressure on the strings. I don’t remember if I said this in the videos but the string only needs to make contact with the fret, not the fretboard. And 2) Check that your guitar is properly set up. This means the the neck is straight and the height of the strings (the action) is set appropriately. If the neck is bowed even a little, the strings may be further away from the fretboard making the guitar harder to play. I’d also recommend lighter gauge strings as that should help as well. Feel free to hit me up with any questions. Good luck!
@@KevinOShaughnessyGuitar Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for responding to me. Yes I geeked out and watched a lot of your videos to learn from you. Appreciate all the tips and advice you share in your videos. I did watch the one video and proper fret technique. So excited to try these when I practice later. I got my acoustic guitar set up for me on Friday. I am excited that I asked for lighter strings and for the action to be lowered. At least i knew on Thursday i was doing something wrong because my wrist started hurting. I found your videos Friday but really jumped in yesterday and started watching more.
Thank you again for these videos and responding so kindly.
Yvette I am exactly in the same situation--50 + yo started playing 1 month ago. I stopped playing 3 days ago due to moderate pain on my left wrist (I think it was caused by spider exercise). I am going to follow Kevin's tips and hopefully it will alleviate and prevent the pain from recurring.
@@normie5928 I am sure his tips will help you. My pain is getting better each day now that I am aware and changing how I was playing. Hopefully these tips will help us both.
@@yvettebennett6170 me too. TY.
Thanks! Barely playing for 3 days and already feeling quite a bit of wrist pain... With these videos I noticed I bend my wrist way too much when reaching the higher strings, which is most likely why it hurts that much.. I'll try your advices and see how it goes for the new few days! I'm really enjoying this learning experience so far 😊
I have more detailed lessons on my channel. Find the "Guitar Lessons" playlist and you'll get a lot of information on ergonomics. And feel free to hit me up with any questions. Good luck!
Thank you very much!
Great video man 🎉 I also wanted to know if you can make a video on how to release that thumb muscle tension while strumming chords. That’d be cool!
Thanks! I will try to put your suggestion in the queue. In the meantime, I suspect that part of the problem is not only the placement of the thumb but also the amount of pressure being exerted by all of the fingers. If you haven't seen it already, check out this video: th-cam.com/video/incUdhZigHA/w-d-xo.html. I go into more detail about how the hands work and how you can determine how much pressure you need to get good tones. Good luck!
@@KevinOShaughnessyGuitar thanks so much man I just watched the video! I’ve been playing guitar for almost 7 years and I now I just felt a difference in playing almost like a beginner finding something new, thanks so much!
@@RobertoHernandez-kf8nn Happy to help!
Great explanation. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Awsome info thank you. By any chance do you have any advice on right wrist and thumb pain? Notice I'm getting tight while strumming/picking then wrist hurts?
Interesting. I'd say the grip you're using for your pick may be a little off. I've noticed I tend to hold on the to the pick a little tighter when that happens.
I'll describe this as best I can. Imagine making an OK sign with your thumb and first finger overlapping at the first digit. Now, insert the pick between those two fingers so that the point of the pick points perpendicularly away from your thumb. Gently curl the remaining three fingers behind your first finger so that they give that finger a little support. A tiny amount of pressure from the thumb should be enough to hold the pick in place while you strum.
If you continue through my guitar lessons play list you'll find videos on sitting with the guitar and strumming. Hopefully, something in there will help you. And you can always feel free to hit me up with more questions.
Good luck!
What is the trick to do bar chords without wrist pain? When barring a fret, my other fingers can’t push down “perpendicular” enough to play the other strings in the chord. Thank you.
First of all, don’t try to make the fingers perpendicular. Wherever you are on the neck, try to keep your fingers in line with your forearm. This often means creating an “x” shape between your arm and the neck (if that makes sense). Hopefully, this video will help. Check it out. Learn to Master the F Chord
th-cam.com/video/xSX0tBvIv_8/w-d-xo.html
Thank you
You're welcome.
Is there anyway we could possibly setup a video chat I’m a complete beginner at guitar. And there’s a few things that I just can’t get straight and was wondering if you could possibly help with that. A bunch of your videos have been very very eye opening. I’m 17 years old and I’m on electric guitar. I absolutely love music so much and how it has an affect on me and I said I want to learn how to play my favorites and some of my own. I know I can do it I just need to know what I don’t know. It’s very frustrating when I just don’t know what I need to do and when some things don’t work and I don’t know what I need to do to improve. Please let me know if absolutely love your help if your willing. Thank you lots.
I'd love to help you out. I can't do a video chat for another few weeks as I'm moving, and currently neck-deep in packing up my entire life. However, if you want to email me specific questions in the meantime, I'd be happy to answer them. You can reach me at kevin@kevinoshaughnessy.com.
Absolutely I’ll definitely email you. It would be a huge help. Please let me know when your done moving to see if we can possibly setup a chat. I’d be very appreciative of that. Thank you very much
Hey man I’m a beginner at playing the acoustic guitar and your vids have helped a lot but I always feel like my pinky finger is all over the place, is there something I can do about it?
It kinda depends on what you mean by "all over the place". No matter what this issue is though, I've found success with two steps: 1) get a clear idea in your head of what your pinky should do. And 2) keep that vision in your mind as you practice slowly and delibrately. This won't fix it fast, but if you apply it consistently over time it will fix it. And if you want to let me know more about the issue I can give you more specific pointers.
@@KevinOShaughnessyGuitar yea I am a beginner as well...
and my pinky just always ends up in a wierd position unconsciously and then it's uncomfortable... it's also hard for me to play any chord/striv with my pinky
is there any way I can make my pinky more flexible or be able to easily press down the e string without my pinky hurting?
@@emiyakiritsugu9408 Without seeing exactly what you’re doing, I can’t be sure.
My general suggestions include setting up the guitar with a low action, use light gauge strings, and warm up with some finger exercises before playing. I found the traditional “spider” exercise to be helpful in developing pinky control.
As far as stretching is concerned, try practicing your chords and scales above the 9th fret first, where the frets are closer together. As that begins to feel comfortable, move down one or two frets. Keep repeating the process until you can play the figure where you want to.
I hope that’s helpful. Feel free to hit me up with any other questions. Good luck!
@@KevinOShaughnessyGuitar thank you so much ..
I was bout to give up 💀
but thanks to you imma keep practicing..
I am pretty young and my high-school is starting from 15th may so I dunno if I am gonna get enuf time for practicing guitar but I will still try my best
@@emiyakiritsugu9408 Don’t give up. It takes time. If you’re a beginner, 15 to 20 minutes of practice 4 or 5 days a week will be enough to help you progress.
you don't talk about eliminating wrist pain??
If you follow the instructions demonstrated in all three parts then the wrist pain should go away. Be sure to check out my other videos on ergonomics. Combining all of the techniques from the different videos is what has helped most people play without pain.
Always remember we must repent of our sins (sin is transgression The Law Of Yahuah The Father in Heaven. The Law are The Books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy). We must repent of our sins and Have Belief On Yahusha The Messiah. HE Died and Rose three days later so that we can be forgiven of our sins!
Come to HIM Today
you commented on my comment kevin respond
Which comment was that?
you said acusation arent real
On what video? I’m sorry but this isn’t ringing a bell.