hands...question for guitar/bass players

  • Thread starter Thread starter CDT-sHaG
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CDT-sHaG

CDT-sHaG

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I'm experiencing something lately that is new to me.

my band practices in my drummer's basement.

Lately, it has been so cold in there that when i get my guitar out and begin warming up i start to feel a tightning in my hands. My fingers are cold to the touch for about 15min. the guitar neck is cool.

depending on what i am playing, it can be my fretting hand if i am stretching it out on some chords or scales...and if i am strumming for a long period, my picking hand.

it's mainly in the fleshy area under the thumb and the top of my hand.

to me they start to look and feel swollen and tight and start to ache...

after about 15 minutes they settle down (once my hands are warm)..

I have played guitar for a long time and this just began over the last few weeks when he took out the heater....

It's not a sharp pain or anything..my wife says it may be arthritis...eh? i'm pretty young (early 30's)...

I'm going to start wearing gloves from the car to inside and leave thenm on until the room warms..

I've had slight carpel tunnel before from excessive computer use but this is totally different.

any ideas or suggestions?
 
Get one of those hand warmers that you break and it heats up.. And hold that for awhile between songs... I used to have to warm my hands with the stage lights...
 
I used to get a bit of pain in my fingers for a while, really started to worry me. Ever since then I always do a full hand and wrist warm up before I pluck a note. I don't have any problems now, and hopefully I won't for a whille at least.....
 
arg... I hate when my hands get cold too.
It's not just your skin... it feels like the chill is in the bones themselves. Loss of agility and accuracy are common signs.
What hard about heating up is that most of the time you just end up heating the skin and flesh....taking quite some time to get to the actual tendons.

Try this.... For the first song, play something really fast and intense. Don't have to be acurate, but it will heat up the hands faster than external devices.
Play hard!! =)
 
my room is in the basement of my house, so i have this problem. and my band practices in the basement of my friends house. so its a constant. your hands and fingers get cold, and then they feel like your playing in tar, its not fun. before i go to play, i try to warm them up the best i can, which helps some.

freak
 
It's about blood circulation. It's not just your hands - when it's cold your whole body wants to slow down, blood vessels shrink to minimise heat loss. That's why your hands are less responsive, as Bass Freak says.

If you can work out some way of exercising (without looking like a total prat - I know it's not easy) to get your body temp and heart rate up b4 you start it will definitely help.

(Disco Dave where in London are you - I'm in Islington)
 
thanks guys..

we do have a kerosene space heater..my drummer's been lazy about hooking it up lately....

i do play hard....very percussive acoustic style....


to warm up......i think "jumpin' jacks" might help lol:D
 
just start thrasin around when you play, that might work :-D

freak




im working on throwing my bass behind me, its not working to well lol, ya know, the whole spin it around thing
 
I don't actually live in London anymore. I changed jobs and now live in Kent. One day i'll get round to updating my profile.

Used to live in Hammermsith. It had it's advantages, but where I live now is half the price and i'm not living on top of my neighbours which is good when I feel like giving the 4*10 a bit of a work out!
 
My hands have hurt lately, im 50. I have noticed it happens alot after some kind of hard work with the hands. Chopping wood, playining tug of war with the dogs, etc.
I thought it might be arthritis so I had it checked out but it was neg.
My whole hand aches when I play.
The last two times I have played at band practice it was ok.
I have also noticed the cold doesnt help either so I try and keep them warm before i play.
It is beginning to get me worried.
 
hey big guy dragonworks

ive always wondered what happend to gutiar players when they got old, like with the arthritis and all. that cant be good that its hurting. i jacked up my right wrist throwing the shot put in track. i rolled a 12lb shot off my fingers and they bent back and touched my arm. so now it locks up now and then, which isnt that great of a feeling.

im guessing if you put some icy hot or bengay or something like that on your hands before you played that might help :D

freak
 
CDT-sHaG said:
we do have a kerosene space heater..my drummer's been lazy about hooking it up lately....
Click to expand...
Don't use this indoors or, at the very least, don't do it without a (working!) CO detector.

And a (working!) fire extinguisher.

In most places, it's illegal to use these indoors, with good cause. Friends of mine have had narrow escapes with them. Please be careful!
 
Have you tried masturbating right before you play? Depends on if you play right or left-handed guitar. You may have to switch spanking hands.:)
 
LOL SS!:D

I like to wash my hands with hot water before I play. Helps 'em to loosen up and makes your strings last longer.

Don't forget to stretch out your fingers, hands & wrists too in between songs to avoid carpal tunnel!
 
lol..

choppin' wood? masturbating? rinse in hot water? breath in some kerosene fumes? that should keep me jamming for a while..haha..

seriously though, i crushed my picking hand wrist in a car accident a long time ago, and it bothers me some,

we turn on the heater just until it gets the room warm...then turn it off..about 15min...

need to get a co detector though...


thanks..
 
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