Hand fatigue again.

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Jouni

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Man, this shit is starting to get on my nerves!! :mad:

We were gigging in a small party last night, as the last act.
First gig with new guitarists, it went OK, the singer that we were afraid would get stagefright went berserk and raved and screamed and nearly hit me in the head with the mic-stand. :D

...but my friggin pickhand did it again, went dead on me.

After like 4 songs I opened a beer can, and wetted the hand and the pick, soon after that, maybe the moisture, or the excitement, but could hardly keep a pick in my fingers.
Really had to cut back on the playing, which sucked on a big way.

But this is the second gig I had this problem, not in rehealsals for years now. but only at gigs!! :eek: :mad:

Should I cut back on the beer??
Maybe increase intake to rid myself of excitement???
 
Two things:
1.) Picking technique. If you use your wrist and fingers as your primary axis of rotation fatigue will happen. I use a straight arm technique most of the time.
2.) Try drinking some Gator Aid. In tense situations the body looses fluid and eletrolytes that can cause this type of fatigue. I used to take salt tablets during concerts that were under bright lights or any other situations where the the room temperature was hot enough to cause exsesive sweating. I have been in playing situations were I have sweated off a few pounds during a performance.
 
This is excellent advice. Gatorade has potassium salts in it, which will extend your muscle's fatigue limit and prevent cramps. A bannana about an hour before your gig will also provide much needed nutrients.
It is wise to be extremely careful about repetitive stress problems. They don't go away, they just get worse, and surgery doesn't always help. A few different hand positions when picking will help prevent troubles later. In an emergency, hot water can bring back feeling, but if you are having this problem you would be well advised to seek physical therapy ASAP.
 
Just save the beer for after the show and drink plenty of water or Gatorade.
Booze will make you dehydrate a lot quicker than normal.
 
I would consider 2 things also;

1) Call a chiropractor, maybe start a regimen of once-a-month maintenance sessions. I have issues with not only carpal tunnel, but also nerve passages through my neck and shoulders that cause a lot of numbness problems...

2) Start some stretching habits to limber up before playing. I can virtually eliminate my hands' desire to go numb with a few stretching exercises. A good sports therapist could wind up being your best friend...

I've never had a drink on a gig, besides water...Couldn't help you with that one. I like the banana/Gatorade suggestion as well...I'd have brought up glucosamine/chondroitin, but that stuff gets expensive after a while and is more for the joint/arthritic bunch...

Eric
 
Another vote for the Gatorade, a bass player and drummer I played with several years back had the same symptoms as you. As long as they drank Gatorade they didn't have the problems.
 
I don't believe it's dehydration after only four tunes. I struggle with the same issue, and it's all about tension. The fact that you don't have the problem practicing, just at gigs, is the clue.

You feed off the energy of the gig and dig in harder than you do at home. I've been lucky enough to be gigging quite a bit over the last couple of years - my group works 2-4 nights a week. I still have issues. Absolutely stay hydrated, but you could also try stretching, deep breathing, and really focus on RELAXING when you are on the stage.

It could be other things, and massage therapy, chiropractic, accupuncture, etc. may all help, but the root of the problem is muscle tension.

I'll say it again - relax. Think about every part of your body and look for muslces you are clenching that you don't even notice. It's amazing how much tension we can walk around with and not realize. Gotta get it out before you play. (You'll play better as well). :)
 
Jouni said:
Man, this shit is starting to get on my nerves!! :mad:
Click to expand...


You are correct. You are doing something that is pinching the nerve to that hand. Shoulder, elbow or wrist. Go see a doctor, dude. Self help is great and all, but you are developing a condition that will not go away on it's own. I'm not trying to scare you, but you need to find out exactly what the problem is before you can treat it. Maybe with the help of a physical therapist, you can avoid any type of surgery. Treat this as a work related injury, and get some help.
 
My guess is you have your guitar too low. Yes, it looks cooler, but you are prone to injury.
 
I always get hand fatigue but usually in my left hand. Actually, more in the wrist. I'm probably not doing something right. But it happens when playing a bunch of barre chords for too long on acoustic. I don't think the 13 gauge strings help with that though...
 
OK thanks for the advice here.



Yes, I wear it too low, but since it's not bugging me while rehearsing, it may not be the culprit here?..

The dehydration... could actually be at least partially.. I drove 1200km to visit a dying father of mine and started drinking the night before, didn't get to home for sleep but passed away someplace and woke up to roading gear to the place zipping beer the whole day.
Because I didn't wanna fuck up by being drunk I had four "RedBull"-energy drinks and like a half liters of water during the day.

Its hard trying to stay sober enough to play when everyone else around are wasted. :D
The opening act was totally wasted, so were the guitarists in my band... and the vocalist?....phewww!!... :eek:
Someone viseotaped it, I'll post clips. :D

The drummer also suffered cramping in his hi-hat-side arm.
It was a hot summer day.

Dunno, soon as I get clips I'll post, they might explain something...

It might very well be the tension too.
 
ez_willis said:
My guess is you have your guitar too low. Yes, it looks cooler, but you are prone to injury.
Click to expand...
+1 . It doesn't look so cool when your hand goes dead. When your guitar is too low your arm is straight which causes you to use mainly your wrist. By raising the guitar and playing with your elbow bent you will eliminate the problem.
 
Could be nerves too. I've been in really intense playing situations (intense as in really good) where I get over excited and my hand stiffens up. One thing to try is stop playing for a second, relax your hand, breathe deep and shake it off. Adrenaline can cause you to tighten up.
 
I really like it when my left hand locks up on the neck and I have to pry it off with my right hand.
 
Hopefully nobody negs me for the bad advice here, but I heard somewhere that not everybody drives a chevy... :D

My opinion is nerves and, as previously mentioned, guitar height. Bring the guitar up and get tanked. I know it's not healthy by any means, but if it's only happening at the gigs (I am the same way), that seems to say "hey, I'm not as comfortable with X amount of people watching me play". So, have a few drinks (but not so much that you fall over drunk), and enjoy the experience.

But I have also heard, from a very wise man, a quote that may help you if it is a situation with "stagefright".... He said "Fuck them. Get up there and play for yourself. If they don't like it, then fuck them."

Hope that helps! ;)
 
Yep, the fact that it only happens at gigs sounds like mostly performance anxiety to me too. (Thats right, the same as the bedroom kind, just a different body part). Maybe learning a bit of relaxation techniche might help.

Other things to consider: Does your band tend to get charged up and play faster at gigs? It could be that little extra tempo is all it takes to push you over your threshold of what you can comfortably play at for any sustained perioid of time, especially if anything your playing is right at the edge of your ability to begin with.

Do you warm up? Sometimes a little pre-gig parking lot jam can work wonders but anything you play that will help get you into a comfortable relaxed flow before you start is good too. As an example, I always like to loosen up with some funk and laid back melodic picking before digging into anything more ridgid and endurance oriented like speed metal. Consider there also may be some kind of deficiancy in your technique that your not yet aware of which could be contributing to this. A good instructor can help identify what that is and give you specific exercizes to overcome it.

Maybe switching to a lighter pick just for gigs could help prevent at least some of that fatigue too.

Good Luck!
 
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