@@JbfMusicGuitar No, actually I assumed it somehow made guitar hard, because you said it caused problems or something. Anyway, yeah, I got it all straight eventually! :)
Really good practical instruction. Really relevant to beginner intermediates. Especially if personal lessons are not available or affordable. More of this practical stuff wouldbe really good. Thanks a lot
Thanks dude! Yeah, it's not the most sort of exciting topic, but this stuff has really helped me out; have you got any suggestions for more practical stuff? Had thought about doing something on playing standing up, or just an assortment of "guitar hacks" for lack of a better phrase that can make small stuff a bit easier. Let me know!
Hi back from the UK. I'm an old dude doing something he should have done a long time ago. Thanks for asking my opinion. Learning guitar really is a journey with lots of mistaken detours and many of us get lost. If I wasn't so stubborn and loved the learning process I could have given up. I've had lessons tried to learn through you tube etc. What helped me focus better was just picking a song that I love, whatever it might be, and learn to play a version of it, close enough to recognise it in your head and just enjoy playing rhythmical something. And enjoying yourself. The songs that you may love are probably technically, at the moment, beyond what you can play. IF you can play something you enjoy for 80% of the time you have. You can spend some time on theory or improving. So if you could take some classic songs and transpose them into (chord ) versions beginners can get to maybe with a capo to help. Then I think that wouldbe a great trick. I transposed Voodoo Chile into chords that I can jam (standing up) with my drummer mate. The "standing up" bit has been a challenge. Barre chords that you play easily sitting down F, G etc become painful on the wrist. So I am now trying to play them without the low E and with a flatter wrist. That might fit in with your standing up lesson. Hope that helps.
Great video. Keeping a healthy posture while playing is so important and sometimes overlooked. The general rule is to avoid tension whenever possible and stop if you feel pain. You really don't want to injure yourself!
@@CutiePie232 Hey thanks for your concern. I haven't played guitar for almost 3 months and my wrist is gradually healing. I'm hoping to gradually phase back into playing again next month.
@@CutiePie232 I didn't get a formal diagnosis. It was a sharp stinging pain on the palm side of my wrist, and going all the way to my elbow. If you are in any doubt, take a break from playing until it gets better.
Awesome video! I was worried that my wrist posture wasn’t good and thought I had to bend my wrist more because that’s how you were properly supposed to hold it. Glad to know having a straight wrist is the best because that’s what I’ve been doing! You also saying to control the guitar and don’t let it control you gave me a big surge of punk energy and made me just not care as long as I was comfortable. Thank you!
Right to the point, straightforward but nuanced advice, relatable examples, calm delivery (this is my favorite part -- no need for fake hyperactivity [but also not trying to trash talk the people who do that or have that personality, I know it can be effective!]), nice background track at good volume to fill the air, not superfluously padded to 10 minutes, good use of video chapters. Well done! You make it look easy. Earned a sub & like
Cheers mate! Yeah I try to think 'what would I want from this as a learner?' and make stuff as kinda 'user friendly' as possible (the chapters are a huge help!). Nothing worse than sifting through 20 mins for that 10 seconds worth of info!
Bless you for this! I started playing guitar 12 years ago when I was 10, and was only ever self taught. Due to how tiny my hands were back then I grew into the bad habit of pushing my wrist forward to tackle power chords and bar chords and never was able to knock it as I got older. Gonna practice this and hopefully save myself a lot of wrist pain!
Been a real game changer for me, stamina in particular has improved the most! I think because it feels better, it's not been too trick to relearn, still need to keep an eye on it, so I don't revert to my old habits though!
Thanks bud, hope there are some useful idea in here for you! Certainly have helped me with that horrid tense, wrist fatigue I thought was just part of playing guitar for so many years, lol
No problem! I always need to check back in with this stuff- I've got a lot of bad posture habits, it's a slow process, but all these little things really do help :)
The struggle is real my friend. I've reached a plateaux in my speed and precision and I've located the problem being my wrist position. Need to find an optimal position now.
I’m going to try and start implementing these tips into my playing starting tonight during practice. Much appreciated. After that I’m going to binge watch Peep Show. I forgot all about that show. Two great things to take away from your video. Chers!
Hi, thank you for making this video. see the wrist position at 1:04 ? That’s the one I keep going back to. It’s very hard to play barre chords or even anything on the low e while keeping my wrist straight...BECAUSE MY FINGERS ARE SO DAMN SHORT. So I’m bending my wrist to allow my fingers to reach those strings. What do I do?
A smaller scale guitar or one with a thinner neck might help? I really don't like the neck profiles on classical guitars- too wide for me! The thumb round the back for the low E string might work? The best idea is to hold a bar chord, then go through these different tricks one by one; see which ones help and if you can combine them. ^ Let me know if you have any luck with that, if not I'll see what else I can think of :)
Jbf Music & Guitar ok, i figured it out. First I swallowed my pride and brought my guitar up a little higher, and tiled the neck up. Then i worked on my technique so there is no tension in my wrist or thumb. My fingers do all the work. For bar chord i try to maintain the most relaxed natural wrist position i can without sacrificing accuracy. I play mostly rock and blues fusion so perfect accuracy is not my goal anyway.
@@kenjoseph2946 Glad you figured out which tricks work best for you! Tightening the strap and having the guitar a few inches higher feels a bit lame... but it's just so much easier to play, lol!
man, I´m glad to see this, because I´ve learned to play acoustic guitar many years ago and stoped. Now I´ve just started to study guitar and the finger exerc. lessons I saw guy teaches to hold very similar to classic, and bending the wrist so that the thumb goes up and down while playing from 6th to 1st string (similar to 1:04).... I find this very weird, because I feel the need to keep my hand in touch with the neck (like in 2:27, 3:53) both to be practical and feel comfortable.
Glad it helps mate! It's good to have a grasp on this stuff if you're picking the guitar up again. These tips certainly made playing fro long periods of time way easier for me!
Great info! Worst advice I saw the other day was another guy forcing the perpendicular thumb thing. He lost me at 'you might find yourself doing what feels natural' - like it's a BAD thing lol Slash also does the EVH vertical neck move a lot btw
Thanks for this, I am having a difficult time finding consistent sources on proper wrist techniques. How do you keep a straight wrist while playing barre chords? And how much wrist bend is okay?
No bother- its something I'm fairly new to; considering how long I've played for that's pretty appalling, lol. Adjusting the neck position helps; consider the Hendrix thumb trick, or missing out the low E or A strings. As little as possible! I mean, you're unlikely to run in to serious problems with a little bit of a bent wrist here and there- the trick is to try and limit it as much as possible. This may involve 'unlearning' certain habits. The idea being that an overly bent wrist will start of work it's way out of you playing over time :) Hope that helps? Let me know either way!
ARGH this all seems so obvious now! can't believe i didn't think of these. Thanks so much this was super informative! With regards to bar chords, I have found that having the guitar at a high angle, close to the body, means that I can comfortably stick my elbow out and have my index finger be parallel to my arm and that feels pretty low tension. Though maybe the issue for most people is finger strength rather than position. Regardless, this will surely save my wrists from the berating they were recieving previously.
Cheers, yeah I stumbled across these over the last few years; as they say it's easy when you know how, haha! Elbow out to the side- good one hadn't thought of that!
@@jn03 Not necessarily- if it keeps your wrist straight most of the time it should be alright. If you notice a frequently bent wrist; as result of your elbow position; maybe think about adjusting it :)
Totally! It's not a very ergonomic instrument at all is it?! I've seen a few interesting developments in the past few years, will be interesting to see if any of them take off. What do you reckon is your most comfortable to play guitar? Tends to be smaller necked, Strat types for me
It depends a bit on your guitar's neck width, how far up the fretboard you're playing and hand/finger size- sorry Joshua I know that's a terrible answer! I'd suggest having your thumb over the side of the neck, more or less pointing at your 1st finger, then try moving it until it's pointing as the headstock. ^ Those are probably the extreme positions it can still be comfortable in, so I'd slowly move it from one to the other and see which position feels the best. You might find it changes a bit from chord to chord, which is totally normal 🎸🎶 Please let me know if that makes any sense and if you manage to figure out what works best for you?
It's a Songmics office chair- my main goal was to find one with folding arms, so I could play guitar on it as well as desk work, there weren't many like that, so it really narrowed by choices down! But yeah, I'll use if when I'm practising sometime, sometimes I'm just on the couch, but need to pay more attention not to hunch, when I do that lol. It's a decent enough chair, haven't had it that long, but seems durable enough. It's not uncomfortable by any means, but I wouldn't really sit in it to relax- if that makes sense? Ideally you'd want to sit in a few chairs as see what feels best :)
It just varies from person to person, so it's difficult to find a on size fits all solution. All I can recommend is to jot down these tips and try applying them individually and also combine them where you can, give me a shout if none of that works and I'll have a think, if there's anything else that might help
Hey, I have non-huge hands, and I can't arch my fingers over neighbor strings without extreme wrist angles. So I'm always in the extremely bent form. I've tried moving the neck angle/height with little improvement.
Tough to say without seeing what you're doing. I'd try these tips one by one again and make sure to start with an easier chord shape- what one are you currently trying?
I am a bit late to the video. I am not able to spread my fingers wide apart when keeping my wrist straight . If i do the frist pose ,where the wrist is obviously not straight , i am able to reach more frets. Does someone have any tips?
For me, in terms of lead playing I've found not anchoring my hand to really help out here- can use the tips of my fingers, less tension and keep a straight wrist. For chord/rhythm stuff is more about the neck angle and height. Have a mess about with the variables in this and hopefully you'll find the right combination for you!
Lmao, there's a triple whammy I didn't see coming, cheers fro the sub! Maybe I should put in more Mitchell... or see how many comedians I can awkwardly wedge in to videos?
Good video man, I've been looking around for content that addresses that very topic and you pretty much nailed it. One more thing tho, what's your take on fretting fingers' angle? I'm currently trying to straighten them as to face upwards instead of being inclined.
Cheers dude, hope it helped out! Not totally sure what you mean, but I find that if my fingers point sort of towards my face (rather that straight up at the ceiling) I tend to get a better reach and keep a straighter wrist. If that makes any sense? If not just let me know :)
@@JbfMusicGuitar Yep, exactly what I was after. I'm trying to reach the best angle possible for fretting fingers and wrist. Thank you a lot man. Keep up the good work.
@@osamamagdy1476 No problem! Yeah angled fingers are better for me- just keep an eye on your wrist and it some thing feels like it's causing strain, try to avoid it!
Can someone give me advice. I’m trying to do a spider walk dexterity exercise and whenever I try to place all my fingers across 4 frets of the 6th string, I have problems with keeping my wrist straight to try to reach the strings
Have you tired the tips in this video? I'd wager that moving the guitar away from you, having it at the 45 degree angle and letting you hand move (not anchoring it) - or a combination of these would sort that out!
Ideally, get a guitar teacher! Other than that, just work on building finger dexterity and strength (trying different chords, playing scales, etc), keeping these tips in mind
I’m really struggling with playing power chords as my wrist has to poke forward and it’s reallly taking a toll on my left wrist Can you give me a little tip because none of those have helped
Hmmm, hard to do without seeing you play. But I can try! First up, I'd give these tips another try. Spend maybe 5-10 mins with each one. After that, try combining them. I've never met someone who's bent wrist couldn't be improved by at least one of these! Secondly, play power chords in different positions and on different strings. For example; try one on the low E string at the 12th fret and see what your wrist looks like. You might find it's fairly straight. Move this the power chord chromatically down one fret at a time and see at which point your wrist becomes too bent. Then analyse why this has happened- eg. what about your arm's position has change? Third, try using a different finger; so instead of doing a power chord with your 1st and 3rd fingers, try your 1st and 4th- I do this quite a lot to try and keep a straighter wrist. Let me know if any of that is useful and if it's not I'll have a think about other factors which might help :)
A thinner neck might help? As someone with fairly short fingers myself Lisa X; particularity older clips where she's even smaller are a pretty good source of inspiration!
I switched to using my 1st and 4th finger for power chords a while back and that really helped out, combine that with the neck at more or a 45 degree angle and that should sort it out! Give those a go and let me know how you get on?
You can use a capo, if that helps I suppose? Or you could always look for a smaller guitar to play on as well. The other thing is that if you're relatively new to playing in time your fingers tend to learn how to stretch in a way they couldn't do before!
Maybe just leave the Eddie Van Halen stuff alone. I've been playing "Eddie Style" for 45 years now.... the tendonitis is in my thumb. I've been playing for so long that I have literally tried everything. Hot water, massage, taking a few days off, trying not to keep playing repetitive licks... problem is this; If you want to stay on top of Van Halen stuff, you really do need to practice it daily ... otherwise you WILL forget! Now that he has passed away, I play all of my favorite songs daily.... and my hands are really paying the price. I have perfected the physics of movement and safety, but 'overuse' is what is attacking me now. Back in the day, I played from the time I got up til the time I went to bed. I believe that as you get older (50's) no matter how safe you are, you will develop some issues. Everyone does. Piano players, violinists, any stringed instrument player. The thumb-base has to put an extreme amount of pressure on the neck to be able to play certain licks. The thumb is extremely dynamic. Without it, you wouldn't be able to anchor your hand and even fret a note. The only thing I can say is to use proper dynamics for YOUR hands and YOUR guitar right from the beginning. Maybe you will hold out a little longer than those who always have the bent wrist and fingers that are NOT parallel to the frets. It's an issue, and it can be dealt with. The youngsters won't listen... until it is too late. Take care of your muscles, tendons, joints, tissue, fluid content, health, etc., etc., ... these are ALL important factors in maintaining your abilities for a lifetime. Even Steve Vai has battled issues for years and years now. You can't really tell unless you know what to look for. Most of it is from his "show-off' style of playing, but he has had work done to his tendons over the years, as have many dentists, archers, people in contact sports, etc., etc., ~ don't be in a rush to learn something by over-doing it all the time. Give your hands a rest even if your mind does NOT want to. Trust me on this.
That's an interesting take, you're quite right, Steve Vai has had some problems recently. I wonder if guys like Guthrie Govan, Paul Gilbert, John Petrucci have any issues? Maybe guys like Jake E Lee, or George Lynch who tended to do more of the stretchy stuff have problems? Someting I haven't heard many players talk about!
I have nerve damage in my left thumb.. i lose all strength after a few minutes and cant fret by traditional methods.... I have to pull back with my arm to fret now...its a bitch ,and I dont have the dexterity that I used to have because of it . I wasnt always like this .for 20 years I played with a straight wrist with my thumb on the back of the neck.... now my thumb hardly ever touches the neck...I had to figure out a new way that worked for me to be able to continue to play....if you have issues playing in the traditional posture ,my advise is to play the way that works for you..
Sorry to hear that dude, glad you've found something that works for you! I know a few guys that play with their thumb totally floating off the neck, feels weird to me, but they totally own it!
I'd keep at these 5 tips, make sure to combine them, don't worry too much about a little bit of wrist bending. You should find that as you get more experience playing guitar you'll build more hand/finger muscles and also improve your reach. I certainly don't have a huge hand span, but my fingers have learned to move to where they're supposed to be!
Try going through the different tips, combine them and see if you can keep your wrist straight. If not, just let me know what specifically is happening and I'll try to think of some other solutions :)
@@JbfMusicGuitar ok so i can't spread my fingers out on the top string and keep my wrist straight at the same time. ive just started learning and i'm trying to play the the peter gunn theme exercise . if i keep my wrist straight my fingers just refuse to move
@@BuildingBandits Ok, what results did you get from trying each of the tips in the video? As a side note- Make sure the fretboard is facing away from you- when we start learning most of us tend to have the fretboard pointed up towards our eyes, rather than facing forward. It's easier to see the frets, but means your wrist needs to bend even more. Also, your fingers don't need to be very spread out. Rather than having them pointing up at the ceiling, you can get a wider reach by pointing them a bit more towards your face.
@@BuildingBandits Awesome! So happy you've cracked it! Nah man, not stupid at all- I'd been playing for years before I found this stuff out. It seems simple when you know it, but until you do, total mystery, well it was to me anyway, lol!
Preach! On the plus side, this particular technique overhaul has been easier than I thought it would be- whenever I noticed pain in my wrist I'd just use one of these tips to relieve it. I'm guessing because it feels better and makes playing more streamlined it was easier to internalise to muscle memory. Still find myself sitting in stupid positions from time to time, but nowhere near the level of fatigue I had before.
They can be tough to hold for, for sure! I tend to not bar the low E string, or push the neck/headstock away from my body to help straighten my wrist up. Other than that it's just a case of building the finger strength I suppose?
@@JbfMusicGuitar yes i have, to be more clear i have trouble pressing down on the strings when my wrist is straight. its like my fingers cant reach the strings
@@briberies4282 With anything in particular? For example, if I play a barred F major chord, I generally need to bend my wrist a tiny bit, or really angle the guitar and push the neck away from me.
i literly typed how do you play guitar without snaping your wrist becasue i feel like a slit my wrist after playing for 5 minutes also i lefty fliped a right handed guitar so i dont think that helps
Haha, oh man I know that pain all too well! They're such simple ideas, but if you don;t know them, like me, there's just a whole world of fatigue and strain! Hope there were some useful idea in here for you?
@@JbfMusicGuitar yea they were achuly it's still not perfect but that's more now because I have the volume and tone nobs and the audio cable digging into my wrist but I plan to buy an achule left handed guitar and that will get rid of that issue
All of this for guitars with straps while mitchell decided to give my guitar one peg😶 this hasn't helped at all because I have to play it with the neck horizontal to the floor. Great vid otherwise
Sorry to hear that. On the plus side, some of these are applicable to sitting down as well! In terms of height & angle of the neck; you can try the classical method; guitar body on your left leg, with foot on a pedestal to raise it- generally more ergonomic, but might take some getting used to! Even with the guitar on your right leg, there is a fair amount of scope in terms of adjusting the neck angle, by tiling it up or down. Back posture; how hunched or straight is your back? Keeping more upright can help; perhaps more psychologically than anything else! Are you looking at the side of the fretboard, or have you got the guitar rotated so you can see more of the fretboard? The latter will mean your wrist it more twisted. You can push the neck away while sitting down, if your wrist is bend inwards. Paying attention to if your thumb- is pointing up to the ceiling, towards the headstock, or towards the neck. Hopefully some of those help out? Either way; or any questions; please do let me know!
Made this a while back, so I'm not sure which part you're talking about- I think I suggest a thumb over the top for easier bar chords at some point though? If you look at how bent the wrist it, I'd guess that's what I was crossing out, just like the Thumbnail. Let me know the timestamp and I'll have a look to clear it up!
@@SilkySalmon514 Oh dear, that's not so good! holding the guitar at a near 45 degree angle, adjusting guitar height and moving the neck away from your body will make pretty much anyone's wrist straighten out, it's physically impossible for anything else to happen, you must be a medical anomaly! My only other suggestion would be getting a guitar teacher and hoping that they have more things to try, best of luck!
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0:00- Intro
0:05- Lesson Overview
0:56 - Tip 1
1:16 - Tip 2
2:06 - Tip 3
2:36 - Tip 4
3:17 - Tip 5
4:02 - Recap
The first time he said "being largely self-taught," I thought he'd said, "being large and seven foot tall." I had to stop and rewind.
Lol! You must have been like, "good for you... what that got to do with anything, bud?" At least you deciphered it!
@@JbfMusicGuitar No, actually I assumed it somehow made guitar hard, because you said it caused problems or something. Anyway, yeah, I got it all straight eventually! :)
Really good practical instruction. Really relevant to beginner intermediates. Especially if personal lessons are not available or affordable. More of this practical stuff wouldbe really good. Thanks a lot
Thanks dude! Yeah, it's not the most sort of exciting topic, but this stuff has really helped me out; have you got any suggestions for more practical stuff? Had thought about doing something on playing standing up, or just an assortment of "guitar hacks" for lack of a better phrase that can make small stuff a bit easier. Let me know!
Hi back from the UK. I'm an old dude doing something he should have done a long time ago. Thanks for asking my opinion. Learning guitar really is a journey with lots of mistaken detours and many of us get lost. If I wasn't so stubborn and loved the learning process I could have given up. I've had lessons tried to learn through you tube etc. What helped me focus better was just picking a song that I love, whatever it might be, and learn to play a version of it, close enough to recognise it in your head and just enjoy playing rhythmical something. And enjoying yourself. The songs that you may love are probably technically, at the moment, beyond what you can play. IF you can play something you enjoy for 80% of the time you have. You can spend some time on theory or improving. So if you could take some classic songs and transpose them into (chord ) versions beginners can get to maybe with a capo to help. Then I think that wouldbe a great trick. I transposed Voodoo Chile into chords that I can jam (standing up) with my drummer mate. The "standing up" bit has been a challenge. Barre chords that you play easily sitting down F, G etc become painful on the wrist. So I am now trying to play them without the low E and with a flatter wrist. That might fit in with your standing up lesson. Hope that helps.
Great video. Keeping a healthy posture while playing is so important and sometimes overlooked. The general rule is to avoid tension whenever possible and stop if you feel pain. You really don't want to injure yourself!
Truth! I'm still working on not hunching too much- yet another bad habit I've got to try and iron out, lol XD
Wish I had seen this video a year ago before I wrecked the tendons in my wrist. Great video thanks.
Offft, sorry to hear that, hope your wrist is doing better!
How are you now
@@CutiePie232 Hey thanks for your concern. I haven't played guitar for almost 3 months and my wrist is gradually healing. I'm hoping to gradually phase back into playing again next month.
@@JDGuitar82 did you get any diagnoses of it? How does it feel like? Cuz im going through the same too
@@CutiePie232 I didn't get a formal diagnosis. It was a sharp stinging pain on the palm side of my wrist, and going all the way to my elbow. If you are in any doubt, take a break from playing until it gets better.
Awesome video! I was worried that my wrist posture wasn’t good and thought I had to bend my wrist more because that’s how you were properly supposed to hold it. Glad to know having a straight wrist is the best because that’s what I’ve been doing! You also saying to control the guitar and don’t let it control you gave me a big surge of punk energy and made me just not care as long as I was comfortable. Thank you!
I thought a bend wrist was the proper technique for waaaay to long, lol!
Yeah!!! Punk energy & comfort- what more could we want as players?!?! 🤘
Right to the point, straightforward but nuanced advice, relatable examples, calm delivery (this is my favorite part -- no need for fake hyperactivity [but also not trying to trash talk the people who do that or have that personality, I know it can be effective!]), nice background track at good volume to fill the air, not superfluously padded to 10 minutes, good use of video chapters. Well done! You make it look easy. Earned a sub & like
Cheers mate! Yeah I try to think 'what would I want from this as a learner?' and make stuff as kinda 'user friendly' as possible (the chapters are a huge help!). Nothing worse than sifting through 20 mins for that 10 seconds worth of info!
Awesome video!! I’ve been playing for a couple years and fixing my left hand posture fixed so many of my issues. Thank you!
Awesome, glad this helped you out! Took me way too long to address this problem much better now though, lol
Bless you for this! I started playing guitar 12 years ago when I was 10, and was only ever self taught. Due to how tiny my hands were back then I grew into the bad habit of pushing my wrist forward to tackle power chords and bar chords and never was able to knock it as I got older. Gonna practice this and hopefully save myself a lot of wrist pain!
Been a real game changer for me, stamina in particular has improved the most! I think because it feels better, it's not been too trick to relearn, still need to keep an eye on it, so I don't revert to my old habits though!
He man! How has the practicing come along a year later? Im self taught as well and am having trouble with wrist pain and pushing my wrist forward.
Whoa that's exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!
Awesome. Hopefully it'll help out with fatigue and pain; they seem simple but these little adjustments have made the world of difference for me!
Great video. Thank you.
Thanks bud, hope there are some useful idea in here for you! Certainly have helped me with that horrid tense, wrist fatigue I thought was just part of playing guitar for so many years, lol
Great video! Thanks
Glad you liked it, hope these tips are as useful for you as they have been fro me!
Thank you so much for this man! I am concerned that my playing habits might hurt my wrist more, but this is gonna help a lot 👏
No problem! I always need to check back in with this stuff- I've got a lot of bad posture habits, it's a slow process, but all these little things really do help :)
Definitely exciting. I need this info
Glad to hear it! Hope it helps your wrist out as much as it has for mine!
The struggle is real my friend. I've reached a plateaux in my speed and precision and I've located the problem being my wrist position.
Need to find an optimal position now.
Nice one Richard! It's a total pain relearning stuff like this, but well worth it 🤘
awesome and helpful
Glad you thought so! Hope they help out your wrist!
This was so helpful man thank you sm
Awesome! It all seems obviously in hindsight, but it took me so long to come across all this stuff!
Very true! Thank you
Glad you agree, hope the tips helped out!
I’m going to try and start implementing these tips into my playing starting tonight during practice. Much appreciated. After that I’m going to binge watch Peep Show. I forgot all about that show. Two great things to take away from your video. Chers!
Haha, awesome! These have been total life savers and a Peep Show binge is always a good shout- such a consistently great show 🤘
Good simple video - Make the guitar work for you!
Thanks, glad you liked it! Exactly, when in doubt that's the main takeaway- you're the boss! 🎸🎶
Thank you!!!!
No problem Daniel! I'm really late to learning these tricks myself, but they've really been a game changer!
thank you!
You're welcome, hopefully some useful tips in there!
Instant subscription.
Thanks Gavin! Can't express how much these wee changes have helped me out!
Hi, thank you for making this video. see the wrist position at 1:04 ? That’s the one I keep going back to. It’s very hard to play barre chords or even anything on the low e while keeping my wrist straight...BECAUSE MY FINGERS ARE SO DAMN SHORT. So I’m bending my wrist to allow my fingers to reach those strings. What do I do?
A smaller scale guitar or one with a thinner neck might help? I really don't like the neck profiles on classical guitars- too wide for me!
The thumb round the back for the low E string might work?
The best idea is to hold a bar chord, then go through these different tricks one by one; see which ones help and if you can combine them.
^ Let me know if you have any luck with that, if not I'll see what else I can think of :)
Jbf Music & Guitar ok, i figured it out. First I swallowed my pride and brought my guitar up a little higher, and tiled the neck up. Then i worked on my technique so there is no tension in my wrist or thumb. My fingers do all the work. For bar chord i try to maintain the most relaxed natural wrist position i can without sacrificing accuracy. I play mostly rock and blues fusion so perfect accuracy is not my goal anyway.
@@kenjoseph2946 Glad you figured out which tricks work best for you! Tightening the strap and having the guitar a few inches higher feels a bit lame... but it's just so much easier to play, lol!
man, I´m glad to see this, because I´ve learned to play acoustic guitar many years ago and stoped. Now I´ve just started to study guitar and the finger exerc. lessons I saw guy teaches to hold very similar to classic, and bending the wrist so that the thumb goes up and down while playing from 6th to 1st string (similar to 1:04).... I find this very weird, because I feel the need to keep my hand in touch with the neck (like in 2:27, 3:53) both to be practical and feel comfortable.
Glad it helps mate! It's good to have a grasp on this stuff if you're picking the guitar up again. These tips certainly made playing fro long periods of time way easier for me!
Great info! Worst advice I saw the other day was another guy forcing the perpendicular thumb thing. He lost me at 'you might find yourself doing what feels natural' - like it's a BAD thing lol
Slash also does the EVH vertical neck move a lot btw
Thank mate! Slash is a great point of reference, when he does that couching over thing? Spot on, keeps with wrist really straight
I really wish videos like this showed what a proper straight wrist looks like from an angle you'd actually be viewing yourself. still helpful tho
Ahh, that would have been good! Never though of that
Thanks for this, I am having a difficult time finding consistent sources on proper wrist techniques. How do you keep a straight wrist while playing barre chords? And how much wrist bend is okay?
No bother- its something I'm fairly new to; considering how long I've played for that's pretty appalling, lol.
Adjusting the neck position helps; consider the Hendrix thumb trick, or missing out the low E or A strings.
As little as possible! I mean, you're unlikely to run in to serious problems with a little bit of a bent wrist here and there- the trick is to try and limit it as much as possible. This may involve 'unlearning' certain habits. The idea being that an overly bent wrist will start of work it's way out of you playing over time :)
Hope that helps? Let me know either way!
ARGH this all seems so obvious now! can't believe i didn't think of these. Thanks so much this was super informative! With regards to bar chords, I have found that having the guitar at a high angle, close to the body, means that I can comfortably stick my elbow out and have my index finger be parallel to my arm and that feels pretty low tension. Though maybe the issue for most people is finger strength rather than position. Regardless, this will surely save my wrists from the berating they were recieving previously.
Cheers, yeah I stumbled across these over the last few years; as they say it's easy when you know how, haha!
Elbow out to the side- good one hadn't thought of that!
@@JbfMusicGuitar i always have my elbow in is thar bad?
@@jn03 Not necessarily- if it keeps your wrist straight most of the time it should be alright. If you notice a frequently bent wrist; as result of your elbow position; maybe think about adjusting it :)
Hi Jack! Thanks for reminding us. I suppose ergonomics should play an important part in choosing a guitar design. Cheers!
Totally! It's not a very ergonomic instrument at all is it?! I've seen a few interesting developments in the past few years, will be interesting to see if any of them take off. What do you reckon is your most comfortable to play guitar? Tends to be smaller necked, Strat types for me
@@JbfMusicGuitar Strat type body shape for me too. Since I love playing the upper frets, I'm inclined to go for contoured neck joints.
@@guitardev9399 Good shout, the standard bolt on neck is always a bit of a struggle to get up there, especially with bigger stretches
Which direction should my thumb be if I’m playing power chords? I’ve struggled a lot with pain in my wrist and this video did help.
It depends a bit on your guitar's neck width, how far up the fretboard you're playing and hand/finger size- sorry Joshua I know that's a terrible answer!
I'd suggest having your thumb over the side of the neck, more or less pointing at your 1st finger, then try moving it until it's pointing as the headstock.
^ Those are probably the extreme positions it can still be comfortable in, so I'd slowly move it from one to the other and see which position feels the best. You might find it changes a bit from chord to chord, which is totally normal 🎸🎶
Please let me know if that makes any sense and if you manage to figure out what works best for you?
@@JbfMusicGuitar okay thanks I really appreciate it! I’ll lyk once the pain in my wrist subsides😝
@@yopierre6081 Good stuff 🤘
Hey, what kind of chair is that? Do you use this for guitar playing? i'm looking for a really comfortable chair to play
It's a Songmics office chair- my main goal was to find one with folding arms, so I could play guitar on it as well as desk work, there weren't many like that, so it really narrowed by choices down!
But yeah, I'll use if when I'm practising sometime, sometimes I'm just on the couch, but need to pay more attention not to hunch, when I do that lol. It's a decent enough chair, haven't had it that long, but seems durable enough. It's not uncomfortable by any means, but I wouldn't really sit in it to relax- if that makes sense? Ideally you'd want to sit in a few chairs as see what feels best :)
Thanks for this. Is there anything you would recommend for 5th string root barre chords?
It just varies from person to person, so it's difficult to find a on size fits all solution. All I can recommend is to jot down these tips and try applying them individually and also combine them where you can, give me a shout if none of that works and I'll have a think, if there's anything else that might help
Hey, I have non-huge hands, and I can't arch my fingers over neighbor strings without extreme wrist angles. So I'm always in the extremely bent form. I've tried moving the neck angle/height with little improvement.
Tough to say without seeing what you're doing. I'd try these tips one by one again and make sure to start with an easier chord shape- what one are you currently trying?
I am a bit late to the video. I am not able to spread my fingers wide apart when keeping my wrist straight . If i do the frist pose ,where the wrist is obviously not straight , i am able to reach more frets.
Does someone have any tips?
tyty
Okay, so how do we find a happy medium playing on out fingertips and wrist posture?
For me, in terms of lead playing I've found not anchoring my hand to really help out here- can use the tips of my fingers, less tension and keep a straight wrist. For chord/rhythm stuff is more about the neck angle and height. Have a mess about with the variables in this and hopefully you'll find the right combination for you!
Came for the advice, stayed for the accent, subbed because of the unexpected david mitchell
Lmao, there's a triple whammy I didn't see coming, cheers fro the sub! Maybe I should put in more Mitchell... or see how many comedians I can awkwardly wedge in to videos?
Good video man, I've been looking around for content that addresses that very topic and you pretty much nailed it. One more thing tho, what's your take on fretting fingers' angle? I'm currently trying to straighten them as to face upwards instead of being inclined.
Cheers dude, hope it helped out!
Not totally sure what you mean, but I find that if my fingers point sort of towards my face (rather that straight up at the ceiling) I tend to get a better reach and keep a straighter wrist. If that makes any sense? If not just let me know :)
@@JbfMusicGuitar Yep, exactly what I was after. I'm trying to reach the best angle possible for fretting fingers and wrist. Thank you a lot man. Keep up the good work.
@@osamamagdy1476 No problem! Yeah angled fingers are better for me- just keep an eye on your wrist and it some thing feels like it's causing strain, try to avoid it!
Jesus Christ 0:50 got me! Nearly choked 😂😂
Can someone give me advice. I’m trying to do a spider walk dexterity exercise and whenever I try to place all my fingers across 4 frets of the 6th string, I have problems with keeping my wrist straight to try to reach the strings
Have you tired the tips in this video?
I'd wager that moving the guitar away from you, having it at the 45 degree angle and letting you hand move (not anchoring it) - or a combination of these would sort that out!
I’m a beginner and if I keep my wrist straight only my middle finger can reach the top string what should I do
Ideally, get a guitar teacher!
Other than that, just work on building finger dexterity and strength (trying different chords, playing scales, etc), keeping these tips in mind
I’m really struggling with playing power chords as my wrist has to poke forward and it’s reallly taking a toll on my left wrist Can you give me a little tip because none of those have helped
Hmmm, hard to do without seeing you play. But I can try!
First up, I'd give these tips another try. Spend maybe 5-10 mins with each one. After that, try combining them. I've never met someone who's bent wrist couldn't be improved by at least one of these!
Secondly, play power chords in different positions and on different strings. For example; try one on the low E string at the 12th fret and see what your wrist looks like. You might find it's fairly straight. Move this the power chord chromatically down one fret at a time and see at which point your wrist becomes too bent. Then analyse why this has happened- eg. what about your arm's position has change?
Third, try using a different finger; so instead of doing a power chord with your 1st and 3rd fingers, try your 1st and 4th- I do this quite a lot to try and keep a straighter wrist.
Let me know if any of that is useful and if it's not I'll have a think about other factors which might help :)
i wish i could only play the bottom 3 strings to correct my position but finger be tiny
A thinner neck might help? As someone with fairly short fingers myself Lisa X; particularity older clips where she's even smaller are a pretty good source of inspiration!
Its always the power cords dude. I always get a bunch of wrist pain after playing a bunch if power chords when Im playing a song.
I switched to using my 1st and 4th finger for power chords a while back and that really helped out, combine that with the neck at more or a 45 degree angle and that should sort it out!
Give those a go and let me know how you get on?
45° angel is how Randy Rhodes played. He thought rock- n-roll was too slow. He wanted to be a concert classical guitar player
Good reference, wouldn't have thought of him! makes sense I suppose, he had that neoclassical influence going on!
As a student I noticed my fingers are too short for the guitar. Should I use a Capo?
You can use a capo, if that helps I suppose? Or you could always look for a smaller guitar to play on as well. The other thing is that if you're relatively new to playing in time your fingers tend to learn how to stretch in a way they couldn't do before!
Maybe just leave the Eddie Van Halen stuff alone. I've been playing "Eddie Style" for 45 years now.... the tendonitis is in my thumb. I've been playing for so long that I have literally tried everything. Hot water, massage, taking a few days off, trying not to keep playing repetitive licks... problem is this; If you want to stay on top of Van Halen stuff, you really do need to practice it daily ... otherwise you WILL forget! Now that he has passed away, I play all of my favorite songs daily.... and my hands are really paying the price. I have perfected the physics of movement and safety, but 'overuse' is what is attacking me now. Back in the day, I played from the time I got up til the time I went to bed. I believe that as you get older (50's) no matter how safe you are, you will develop some issues. Everyone does. Piano players, violinists, any stringed instrument player. The thumb-base has to put an extreme amount of pressure on the neck to be able to play certain licks. The thumb is extremely dynamic. Without it, you wouldn't be able to anchor your hand and even fret a note. The only thing I can say is to use proper dynamics for YOUR hands and YOUR guitar right from the beginning. Maybe you will hold out a little longer than those who always have the bent wrist and fingers that are NOT parallel to the frets. It's an issue, and it can be dealt with. The youngsters won't listen... until it is too late. Take care of your muscles, tendons, joints, tissue, fluid content, health, etc., etc., ... these are ALL important factors in maintaining your abilities for a lifetime. Even Steve Vai has battled issues for years and years now. You can't really tell unless you know what to look for. Most of it is from his "show-off' style of playing, but he has had work done to his tendons over the years, as have many dentists, archers, people in contact sports, etc., etc., ~ don't be in a rush to learn something by over-doing it all the time. Give your hands a rest even if your mind does NOT want to. Trust me on this.
That's an interesting take, you're quite right, Steve Vai has had some problems recently.
I wonder if guys like Guthrie Govan, Paul Gilbert, John Petrucci have any issues? Maybe guys like Jake E Lee, or George Lynch who tended to do more of the stretchy stuff have problems? Someting I haven't heard many players talk about!
Thanks for sharing
I have nerve damage in my left thumb.. i lose all strength after a few minutes and cant fret by traditional methods.... I have to pull back with my arm to fret now...its a bitch ,and I dont have the dexterity that I used to have because of it . I wasnt always like this .for 20 years I played with a straight wrist with my thumb on the back of the neck.... now my thumb hardly ever touches the neck...I had to figure out a new way that worked for me to be able to continue to play....if you have issues playing in the traditional posture ,my advise is to play the way that works for you..
Sorry to hear that dude, glad you've found something that works for you! I know a few guys that play with their thumb totally floating off the neck, feels weird to me, but they totally own it!
What about thumb tendinitis?
This is a subject I know nothing about! Please feel free share any info you have?
my hands are too small to keep my wrist straight so idk what to do
I'd keep at these 5 tips, make sure to combine them, don't worry too much about a little bit of wrist bending. You should find that as you get more experience playing guitar you'll build more hand/finger muscles and also improve your reach.
I certainly don't have a huge hand span, but my fingers have learned to move to where they're supposed to be!
So I cant fully turn my wrist and I want to know if i can still play the guitar like that
I'm not too sure what you mean my fully turn?
@@JbfMusicGuitar I cannot turn my wrist all the way straight
@@ethanportillo9262 Have you tried methodically going through the tips in this video? You can combine them as well; sometimes that helps?
It’s such a pain to have to unlearn this after 15 years of playing wrong
Tell me about it! Same boat dude, but well worth it! On the plus side it's been fair easy to correct, just because it feels better!
my wrist really looking like some kinda alien creature when i play. i have no idea how it bends the way it does. hoping this helps
Lmao, I know the feeling you look at your wrist
and it's like; you alright there bud? So... what exactly is going on here?
how to keep your wrist like that when fretting on the top string?
Try going through the different tips, combine them and see if you can keep your wrist straight.
If not, just let me know what specifically is happening and I'll try to think of some other solutions :)
@@JbfMusicGuitar ok so i can't spread my fingers out on the top string and keep my wrist straight at the same time. ive just started learning and i'm trying to play the the peter gunn theme exercise . if i keep my wrist straight my fingers just refuse to move
@@BuildingBandits Ok, what results did you get from trying each of the tips in the video?
As a side note-
Make sure the fretboard is facing away from you- when we start learning most of us tend to have the fretboard pointed up towards our eyes, rather than facing forward. It's easier to see the frets, but means your wrist needs to bend even more.
Also, your fingers don't need to be very spread out. Rather than having them pointing up at the ceiling, you can get a wider reach by pointing them a bit more towards your face.
@@JbfMusicGuitar I figured it out, i'm stupid XD i just had to lift my arm up more so my wrist came level
@@BuildingBandits Awesome! So happy you've cracked it!
Nah man, not stupid at all- I'd been playing for years before I found this stuff out. It seems simple when you know it, but until you do, total mystery, well it was to me anyway, lol!
So basically 25 years of playing and now I gotta start over.
Preach! On the plus side, this particular technique overhaul has been easier than I thought it would be- whenever I noticed pain in my wrist I'd just use one of these tips to relieve it. I'm guessing because it feels better and makes playing more streamlined it was easier to internalise to muscle memory.
Still find myself sitting in stupid positions from time to time, but nowhere near the level of fatigue I had before.
my problem is with bar chores my wrist kills me
They can be tough to hold for, for sure! I tend to not bar the low E string, or push the neck/headstock away from my body to help straighten my wrist up. Other than that it's just a case of building the finger strength I suppose?
im having a lot of trouble keeping my wrist straight, it feels almost impossible to do
It's a tough thing to learn (or relearn in my case!), have you been trying these tips out and combining them?
@@JbfMusicGuitar yes i have, to be more clear i have trouble pressing down on the strings when my wrist is straight. its like my fingers cant reach the strings
@@briberies4282 With anything in particular?
For example, if I play a barred F major chord, I generally need to bend my wrist a tiny bit, or really angle the guitar and push the neck away from me.
i literly typed how do you play guitar without snaping your wrist becasue i feel like a slit my wrist after playing for 5 minutes also i lefty fliped a right handed guitar so i dont think that helps
Haha, oh man I know that pain all too well! They're such simple ideas, but if you don;t know them, like me, there's just a whole world of fatigue and strain! Hope there were some useful idea in here for you?
@@JbfMusicGuitar yea they were achuly it's still not perfect but that's more now because I have the volume and tone nobs and the audio cable digging into my wrist but I plan to buy an achule left handed guitar and that will get rid of that issue
@@Arrow8D Good stuff! Ach, there's always a bit of give and take when finding something that works best!
definitely _not_ a video about that hand jive
I don't even know what you could possibly be insinuating 🤣
Help me sir❤️❤️
Will if I can, are these tricks not working for you?
ow oww owies ouch my hand it hurties
The struggle is real
Matt Greco?!
I have no idea who that is! But I'm gonna assume I either look or sound like them?
I'd add a 6th, do some abs:-7
Or just drink less beer, lol that seems to have worked
i'm either able to play the 6th string or spread my fingers, then I'm not able to reach the 6th string
For chords or lead playing??
@@JbfMusicGuitar i'm a beginner... just started practicing yesterday... FOR CHORDS mainly
All of this for guitars with straps while mitchell decided to give my guitar one peg😶 this hasn't helped at all because I have to play it with the neck horizontal to the floor. Great vid otherwise
Sorry to hear that. On the plus side, some of these are applicable to sitting down as well!
In terms of height & angle of the neck; you can try the classical method; guitar body on your left leg, with foot on a pedestal to raise it- generally more ergonomic, but might take some getting used to!
Even with the guitar on your right leg, there is a fair amount of scope in terms of adjusting the neck angle, by tiling it up or down.
Back posture; how hunched or straight is your back? Keeping more upright can help; perhaps more psychologically than anything else!
Are you looking at the side of the fretboard, or have you got the guitar rotated so you can see more of the fretboard? The latter will mean your wrist it more twisted.
You can push the neck away while sitting down, if your wrist is bend inwards.
Paying attention to if your thumb- is pointing up to the ceiling, towards the headstock, or towards the neck.
Hopefully some of those help out? Either way; or any questions; please do let me know!
did u really just put a X through the thumb over technique in the beginning? you mean the way Jimi Hendrix and SRV play? seriously?
Made this a while back, so I'm not sure which part you're talking about- I think I suggest a thumb over the top for easier bar chords at some point though?
If you look at how bent the wrist it, I'd guess that's what I was crossing out, just like the Thumbnail.
Let me know the timestamp and I'll have a look to clear it up!
Maybe my hand is too mall. Darn it.
It's possible, but I've got pretty small hands as well, where there's a will there's a way!
Thumbs down for not getting the joke
Haha, I can respect that decision!
@@JbfMusicGuitar good tips tho helped me with my wrist pain
@@mlgquickscoper8122 Good stuff!
lmfaooo lol... but who does master*** with left hand
I don't know what you're talking about, this is a guitar video, none of that smut in here! (also, maybe left handed people?)
What joke
Exactly!
this guy just talked 'B.S' ! he has no idea about guitar!
How so? Did none of these solve your wrist problems?
@@JbfMusicGuitar nah it made it worse for me
@@SilkySalmon514 Oh dear, that's not so good! holding the guitar at a near 45 degree angle, adjusting guitar height and moving the neck away from your body will make pretty much anyone's wrist straighten out, it's physically impossible for anything else to happen, you must be a medical anomaly!
My only other suggestion would be getting a guitar teacher and hoping that they have more things to try, best of luck!