Pain with Barre Chords

Norman86

Okay, so i have been playing more lately..
i mean, i need to get better right?

Anywho, i find my barre chords are better than they ever were, which is great. Problem is, i cannot practice for longer than around 10 minutes at a time, as my hand cramps.
not my entire hand either, its just the muscle under the thumb.
surely im not the first to experience this? is it just the way im holding the neck?
i have tried with my hand more flat against the neck, but then i cannot barre properly..
My thumb is generally on the tip to flat against the neck, and mostly along the skunk stripe..

any exercises i can try maybe? or do i just have to keep at it and eventually the pain goes away? (though im thinking the pain isnt good.. Natures way of telling you somethings wrong and all..)

ezietsman

Norman86 wrote: Okay, so i have been playing more lately..
i mean, i need to get better right?

Anywho, i find my barre chords are better than they ever were, which is great. Problem is, i cannot practice for longer than around 10 minutes at a time, as my hand cramps.
not my entire hand either, its just the muscle under the thumb.
surely im not the first to experience this? is it just the way im holding the neck?
i have tried with my hand more flat against the neck, but then i cannot barre properly..
My thumb is generally on the tip to flat against the neck, and mostly along the skunk stripe..

any exercises i can try maybe? or do i just have to keep at it and eventually the pain goes away? (though im thinking the pain isnt good.. Natures way of telling you somethings wrong and all..)

I got that too. You are still fighting the barre. Concentrate on not squeezing the neck. Stop when it starts cramping. That muscle will get stronger until you can do it comfortably. Mind you, it still happens to me, I probably don't play full barre chords often enough for long enough. Also, if you keep that index finger right against the fret you don't have to squeeze quite so hard, which helps.

Conrad

When it cramps STOP! I lost about 6 months of practice because I didn't listen to my hand. Don't screw with cramps!

Follow advice in previous post and if it doesn't work, see doctor.

Warren

Play them more often while focusing on applying only enough pressure to get the notes ringing clearly, and you will gradually build up more stamina. Stop and rest if you do start to cramp up.

Don't despair though: I also experience this problem because most of my practice these days does not involve lots of barre chords, so when I play with the band I do sometimes cramp up.

Keira-WitherKay

Speak to your guitar tutor , get shown the correct way to do the barre with minimum strength .... Theres a method to learning this painlessly , the tutor will know how to correct this .

DaFiz

There are tools you could use to strengthen your grip...

Concentrate on the minor barre chords initially, and further up the neck where the frets are closer to each other.
Like C minor and use the free second finger to help the first finger.
http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/index.php?ch=C&mm=m&v=1

And try the F minor http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/index.php?ch=F&mm=m&v=2
and G minor along with it http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/index.php?ch=G&mm=m&v=1
and before you know it y'll be playing the blues ?

vic

Hi Norman....man I 'm almost sure you're doing it wrong....especially the position of your thumb....try pressing the thumb about ~1cm above the skunk stripe ....don't clamp the neck with your other fingers...just press down gently until none of the strings are muted. Cramping means you're are sqeezing too hard on the neck imho.....just relax your hand entirely.
Good luck !