what todo when you cant play

Heath

what does a person do that is guitar related after receiving 2nd degree burns on there left hand and been told you cant play for a few weeks. any ideas.

CDee

Try and get a lefthanded guitar and play that way... ?

Bad luck dude, what happened? :'(

Ray

Do some theory. And use your amp to control the heat of the sun.

Bob-Dubery

Tail0n wrote what does a person do that is guitar related after receiving 2nd degree burns on there left hand and been told you cant play for a few weeks. any ideas.

I know something of your frustration. Just over a year ago I had surgery on my left hand and couldn't play for a while.

One thing I would suggest is to seek advice from a physio about how to maintain strength and flexibility in your hand. If necessary take along some photos or video footage of the sort of movements you need to be able to make in order to play guitar. Simple exercises can probably be devised.

Oh... and also seek advice about how to manage the scarring. It can be minimised.

Werner-Carstens

This might not be much consolation, but years ago I couldn't play guitar because I just did not have one available at that time (only 3 months). When I started playing again I was a much better player. It was almost as if my mind had time to digest everything that I crammed into it. Since then I have been repeating it anually to stop playing for about 2 weeks. It is very frustrating at the time but every year I find it very worthwhile.
If you can't play now is the time to really listen to all those wonderfull guitarplayers you have on cd and dvd. When you know you can't pick up the guitar and jam with them you start to listen much more intensly and pick up subtle nuances that you might have missed previously.
I hope you recover quickly - all of the best.

AlanRatcliffe

Some slide playing maybe? Depends on how mobile/sore/bandaged your hand is.

Heath

now there is an idea slide guitar i still have one working finger and a slide lying around somewhere. but if i start playing country . kill me

AlanRatcliffe

Think Gilmour man... Dave Gilmour ?

Riaan-Combrink

Alan Ratcliffe wrote Think Gilmour man... Dave Gilmour ?

Yes!!!!!! ?

Still haven't bought Live in Gdansk yet. :-[ He's put out so much product of late.

Bob-Dubery

Tail0n wrote now there is an idea slide guitar i still have one working finger and a slide lying around somewhere. but if i start playing country . kill me

Plenty of less disreputable options there. Ry Cooder, Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Little Feat (Lowell George and Paul Barrerre), David Lindley, Jimmy Page .... OK not all of this is anything you'd call Death Metal, but maybe it's a chance to broaden horizons ? The original Fleetwood Mac with Jeremy Spencer and Peter Green. Loads of great blues and cajun players. ZZ Top. Mick Taylor laid down some slide for the Stones.

If you want to challenge your notions about "country" then you should check out lap-steel monster Jerry Douglas. An amazing player.

Loads of fun to be had there.

Riaan-Combrink

Bob Dubery wrote David Lindley

Now there's a player I love. He's done some amazing stuff with Jackson Browne down the years!

NorioDS

Wow, an awesome thread. I haven't played guitar for a while (lack of amp) and I agree about taking the time to re-listen to your favourite music and pick out new things you might've missed before.

I took the time to pick out songs and licks I wanted to learn. Now I need to just start ?

Attila

Whistle, hum or sing your tunes, sorry to hear ...speedy recovery TailOn

Sean

CDee wrote Bad luck dude, what happened? :'(

Yeah, what happened?

Bob-Dubery

Riaan C wrote
Bob Dubery wrote David Lindley
Now there's a player I love. He's done some amazing stuff with Jackson Browne down the years!

Played with all kinds of people, and recorded a couple of his own albums. But Browne is his most notable gig.

I recently bought a DVD entitled "Jackson Browne and David Lindley - Acoustic". The camera work and editing is amateurish - but the music is great. Lindley is such a fine player, and Browne turns out to be a better player than I'd thought (and also turns out to have quite a guitar collection).

I loved Lindley's playing, and his killer tone, on Browne's "Running On Empty" album.

JoEllis

I wasn't able to play too now for a week or two after I stuck a steak-knife right through my left-hand between my index- and middle-finger (luckily no serious damage to nerves, tendons, etc.). I always give bands who record at my studio a braai the night before they leave. So I was braaiing with a band and my wife made her famous bread-rolls covered in toffee. After we ate I took my steak-knife to get some pieces of toffee still stuck in the bowl. The knife slipped and went straight through my hand, sticking out about 2cm on the other side.

I used the time I had to lay off the guitar to watch some shows by my favorite players to really tudy their technique a bit (both guitar-skills, performing-skills and songwriting-skills), but I also played whatever other instruments I could (keys, etc.) I find that this opens up a whole world that I don't explore all that often.

We're starting gigging again in about a week's time, so I've had to catch op on practicing a bit, but I've found it to be true: Now that I'm back after the break I feel like I'm completely refreshed in my playing.

Squonk

@ JoEllis

Those Toffee covered bread rolls sound good!

Riaan-Combrink

Squonk wrote @ JoEllis
Those Toffee covered bread rolls sound good!

I was thinking the same thing, but was a bit scared to say so as a result of what happened to you! But now that Squonk's taken the plunge ( ?), how about a recipe? Do you just melt toffee and roll the rolls through it?

Sorry for being a bit off-topic guys, but I have to know! :-[

JoEllis

Riaan C wrote
Squonk wrote @ JoEllis
Those Toffee covered bread rolls sound good!
I was thinking the same thing, but was a bit scared to say so as a result of what happened to you! But now that Squonk's taken the plunge ( ?), how about a recipe? Do you just melt toffee and roll the rolls through it?

Sorry for being a bit off-topic guys, but I have to know! :-[

I'll ask my wife for a recipe and post it in the off-topic area. It's a mixture of cream and sugar and stuff that she pours over the rolls before she bakes them, which then forms a thin layer of fudge/toffee. It's DANGEROUSLY delicious! ?

Heath

hell i want the recipe as well they sound good