| Author |
Topic: Finger aches |
Ray Shakeshaft
From:
Kidderminster, Worcs, UK.
|
Posted 28 Feb 2006 2:20 pm |
|
I have recently started playing lap steel so I put in a fair amount of practice but after about 90 minutes the fore finger of my left hand (the one that rests on the top of my SP2 bar) aches like hell. Am I doing something wrong or do others have the same problem?
Can you still get those old fashioned tablet shaped bars because I just do not seem to be able to control a bullet (I cannot pick it up off the strings easily)
Thanks,
Ray
|
|
|
 |
Gerald Ross
From:
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
|
|
|
|
Dan Sliter
From:
Dardanelle,Arkansas
|
Posted 28 Feb 2006 3:26 pm
|
|
Ray,
Hang in there it will get easier to control and you will get use to it. I remember when i had the same problem and from time to time i still have it.I think you need to relax more.
Just hang in there. |
|
|
|
Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
|
Posted 28 Feb 2006 4:54 pm
|
|
Personally, I'd put the guitar back in the case and concentrate for a couple of hours over a couple of days, the simple manipulation of the bullet bar. DON'T WASH YOUR HANDS or have any kind of shaving lotion or other oily substances on your left hand.
Place the bar in your hand then pick it up and move it all over; you'll learn to handle it in time. To do otherwise might be short changing yourself in the long run.
After you've mastered that, move on to placing it on the strings etc., |
|
|
|
Jesse Pearson
From:
San Diego , CA
|
Posted 28 Feb 2006 5:41 pm
|
|
| Ray S., are you an older guy with arthritic problems? If not, I would recommend that you wash your hands with soap and keep at it until the pain goes away. Brads page of steel has a nice version of "Aloha Oe" by Mr. Tipkin in the tab section, great song to work out beginning slants. Everyone has a hard time at first, practice makes perfect. Don't forget to use a tuner to tune up; you'll develop a good point of reference to judge pitch. When playing in a bar with lots of noise, a tuner gets rid of all the hassles of hearing the notes over the crowd. |
|
|
|
Gerald Ross
From:
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
|
|
|
|
basilh
From:
United Kingdom
|
Posted 1 Mar 2006 1:21 am
|
|
Ray .. you can 'phone me anytime on 0781-687-2166 and we'll chat about 'workarounds' for your difficulties.
BTW ever hear of "Po Mahina" Ukes?. I bought the wife one. |
|
|
|
Don J. Dixon
From:
Canandaigua, NY , USA
|
Posted 1 Mar 2006 3:08 am
|
|
Ray,I take my bar right to the sink and wash my hands and the bar at the same time with soap and water... washes away skin oils and butter from the popcorn to make the bar a lot easier to hold on to. Just don't drop it in the sink or you'll be buying a new sink. and don't carry the bar in your breast pocket. I did that and then bent over to pick up the cat's food dish- split the dish right in two! It will get easier as you get more used to it and start to relax more. Keep at it!
Don
------------------
GFI Ultra D-10, Airline 6-string lap steel
steelsanta@aol.com
steelsanta@aol.com
|
|
|
|
Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
|
Posted 1 Mar 2006 3:20 am
|
|
Your hand hurts because you are using certain muscles in new ways in repetitive movements that are causing muscle fatigue. (I'm not a doctor but I play one on the forum). The most important thing is to stop when it hurts! Take a break for a few hours or even a few days. It takes time to train your hand to use a steel guitar bar. Warming your hands in water before playing may help. Take it slow and you'll get over the hump and enjoy this great instrument.
Here's an article by John Ely on the perils of bad steel guitar techinque ....
http://www.hawaiiansteel.com/learning/injury_prev.html [This message was edited by Andy Volk on 01 March 2006 at 06:46 AM.]
|
|
|
|
Adam Camster
From:
Suffolk, UK
|
Posted 1 Mar 2006 6:01 am
|
|
Andy is so right, go easy. I played standard guitar 10hrs plus a day..
Trashed my left hand so bad that I ended up playing lapsteel! wont make that mistake again.. Happy accident I suppose.
Adam.[This message was edited by Adam Camster on 01 March 2006 at 06:02 AM.] |
|
|
|
Ray Shakeshaft
From:
Kidderminster, Worcs, UK.
|
Posted 1 Mar 2006 6:10 am
|
|
Many thanks for the helpful comments and reading between the lines a number of you seem to be suggesting returning to the bullet bar but I have no problems with the SP2 for the first hour or so, I will give your suggestions a try though because i do have both styles of bars.
Whilst I do come into the 'older' bracket I am extremely active and I do not suffer with any kind of arthiritic/rheumatoid disorder. My latest thoughts were that having the guitar close to the body on my lap then it forced the fore finger on the top of the SP2 into an un-natural position. I was toying with the idea of having a stand for the guitar so that I could put a little more distance between me and the playing surface. Does that make sense?
Hi Basil,
Generally Pomahinas are a nice uke but not everything that comes out of Hawaiia is that marvellous and quality control does not figure too highly in some island factories' scheme of things (even the wellknown brands) so it can be difficult to make judgments without playing the uke.
Ray
[This message was edited by Ray Shakeshaft on 01 March 2006 at 06:13 AM.] |
|
|
|
