Avoiding Injuries When Playing Guitar

To avoid any sort of injuries when playing guitar a common sense approach is recommended. Just what do I mean by that?

Well, there are many simple and obvious precautions you can take that will prevent most injuries.

To start with you can adopt the proper technique, posture and hand position.

A good book like Scott Tenant's Pumping Nylon or David Braid's Play Classical Guitar can give you sound basic fundamentals in this area.

With technique keep your movements simple or, as my teacher used to say... "Employ an economy of movement."

If you have less movement you will naturally have less friction and tension and therefore less chance of injury.

Teachers of guitar vary in their interpretation of posture and hand position but in classical guitar at least, there is generally widely accepted agreement on this subject.

You do need to be aware of your posture and hand position when a beginner or intermediate as you are learning habits that will last a lifetime.

I remember my teacher constantly pushing my shoulder down as I played. As I became tense my shoulder would "ride" upwards as my body would tense up.

He was giving me vital feedback on leaning to relax as I was learning basic technique.

It pays to have a good, alert teacher who can short circuit any problems as they appear!

Another point of note is when you begin to play guitar you can often overdo it.

Indeed, Anthony Glise writing in Classical Guitar Pedagogy states...

"Virtually all guitarists injuries are from over-use (simply practicing too much) or misuse (not warming up properly), playing pieces that are too difficult, improper hand positions, overstress, etc."

These are all things that the beginner and intermediate player are prone to.

You must develop your capabilities in line with your common sense and resist the urge to go "too fast too soon."

To quote the cliché..."You gotta crawl before you walk!":)

While we're on the subject of common sense, you need to take breaks in your practice routine.

You know how time flies when you're engrossed in a new and exciting piece. We all have the tendency to play through the pain at times but you must learn to avoid this sort of practice if you want to avoid long term injury. It might be wiser to break your practice sessions into smaller blocks and spread it out over the day rather than all in one hit.

I know we're all "time-poor" these days but is it worth the risk?

Only you can answer that one.

Make sure you build strength and flexibility in your hands and indeed, your body.

You can do this via a healthy lifestyle that consists of diet, stretching (including yoga), meditation and just plain relaxing and taking a break.

If you do all of this and find your still in pain - STOP!

As they say on the advertisement for a prominent pain reliever... "Pain is nature's warning."

If you find you get long term pain, use your common sense again and seek proper medical advice. To play through pain is downright silly.

I hope this brief discussion can give you some direction in this area. :)

Trevor Maurice is an Australian, living in beautiful seaside Maroubra, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney.

He's been involved in playing guitar (mainly classical) for longer than he cares to remember and has also taught the instrument for many years. He is teacher trained, having a Diploma of Education (Majoring in music)

He has also taught Primary (Elementary) school for many years and had a long-held dream to build a quality website for the classical guitar that is of use to anyone even slightly interested in this beautiful instrument. He has now made that dream a reality with the highly rated...

http://www.learnclassicalguitar.com/index.html

Chandler Music Hall continues campaign
Boston Globe, United States - 1 hour ago
RANDOLPH, Vt.—The Chandler Music Hall in Randolph is kicking off the second phase of its $5 million capital campaign. The first $2 million for the ...

Des Moines music festival off to good start
Chicago Tribune, United States - 18 hours ago
AP DES MOINES, Iowa - Organizers say the opening day of Des Moines' new downtown music festival went off without a hitch. Optimism abounded Friday at the ...
DM music festival has harmonious day DesMoinesRegister.com
Music Festival Making First And Last Appearance At Park WHO-TV
'Lollapalooza started just as 80/35 did' UI The Daily Iowan (subscription)
DesMoinesRegister.com - WHO-TVall 21 news articles

Seattle Chamber Music Society's summer festivals: for newbies and ...
Seattle Times, United States - 9 hours ago
The Seattle Chamber Music Society's indoor/outdoor summer festivals offer something for chamber-music newbies and longtime fans. By Sumi Hahn Cellist Toby ...
Free lunchtime and after-hours concerts offer something for everyone Seattle Times
all 2 news articles

Hard Rock Park: Feel the music
Chicago Sun-Times, United States - 7 hours ago
But the Hard Rock Park is in Myrtle Beach, SC, an area better known for golfing than great music. Park visitors watch a fireworks show set to the music of ...

MLive.com
Eco-friendly details added to festival line up
Detroit Free Press, United States - 9 hours ago
While bands such as Widespread Panic and Drive-By Truckers were filling Rothbury with long hours of earthy rock music, the inaugural festival was busy ...
Rothbury: Saturday music preview MLive.com
Lively second day at the Rothbury Music Festival Detroit Free Press
Festival setting the 'green' standard MLive.com
MLive.com - Detroit Free Pressall 41 news articles

Free outdoor music schedule
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN - 19 hours ago
Peavey Plaza: Macy's 24 Hours of Music. Friday: Peavey Plaza South Stage: Buckets & Tap Shoes, noon; Northern Latitudes Mandolin Quartet, 2 pm; ...
Top of the pops Minneapolis Star Tribune
Classical Lite Minneapolis Star Tribune
all 3 news articles

Financial Times
The Music Man, Chichester Festival Theatre
Financial Times, UK - 15 minutes ago
In 1958 The Music Man, a light-hearted romp celebrating the optimism of small-town America, won all the critics’ awards, triumphing over West Side Story . ...

BBC News
Music lovers attend 17th festival
BBC News, UK - 18 minutes ago
Thousands of music lovers have gathered in Surrey for an independent music festival's 17th annual event. GuilFest hosted about 200 acts over the three-day ...

For this banjo picker, it’s all about the music
Murfreesboro Post, TN - 2 hours ago
Bateson moved to Murfreesboro in 2004 from West Virginia to enroll in the recording industry program at MTSU and found a place where his music could grow. ...
Uncle Dave Days brings back childhood memories in its third decade Murfreesboro Post
all 3 news articles

Abba: 'We'll never play music together again'
NME.com, UK - 3 hours ago
Two members of ABBA have said that there is no chance the Swedish pop legends will ever play music together again. Both Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson ...
Mamma Mia, here we go again The Age
ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson: We will never reform Telegraph.co.uk
In all honesty, what would life be ... without Abba in the ... Independent
all 280 news articles

Wind Chimes and more...

Windchimes for great gifts!

How To Play The Violin