Hand strength

[Murph]

I got tired of waiting...

[kidblast]

I gave lessons to a builder/contractor

It was uncanny how regardless of what guitar I gave this guy, he could not play it in tune due to the death grip he had on anything he wrapped his hands around.

He was also a pretty good drummer who was just really interested in trying to play guitar.

He came to the conclusion it wasn't a path he was meant to travel.  

I encouraged him to stay with it, he'd eventually be able to adapt to a lighter touch.

 

[Kwlsky]

I've read a few interviews of professional guitarists who said they wished they learned to have a lighter touch much earlier in their guitar careers. When I taught my kids how to play guitar, in the beginning I always told them to play the game of "How lightly can you fret the strings and still have them ring out." They all rolled their eyes at me, but I think it helped them.

[TomG76]

15 minutes ago, Kwlsky said:

I've read a few interviews of professional guitarists who said they wished they learned to have a lighter touch much earlier in their guitar careers. When I taught my kids how to play guitar, in the beginning I always told them to play the game of "How lightly can you fret the strings and still have them ring out." They all rolled their eyes at me, but I think it helped them.

That's great advice. I'll try that myself. Thanks, Kwlsky.

[Twang Gang]

I think you can get used to either light or slightly heavier touch.  In my youth I played mostly electric guitar with very light gauge strings (.09s), speed was the goal and volume and tone were taken care of by the amplifiers.  A few years ago I pretty much stopped playing electric guitars and am 99% acoustic now.  At first the additional force needed to play heavier gauge strings (.12s or .13s) was tiring but I adapted.  A couple weeks ago I picked up my Les Paul for some fun, and didn't have the right touch for it at all.  Hopefully if I played it consistently for a few days that lighter touch would return.

[Graytone]

I too have very sore hands, from a career in barbering. 

Recently our local luthier suggested I re-fret my J45 with taller frets. I was very sceptical, but at the time couldn’t even do the buttons up on my shirt from so much weakness and pain in my hands. I went for it, and the re-fret was all done to literal perfection using a PLEK machine.   I now notice a few favourable things about the taller fret concept for acoustics:

1. Significantly less pressure required to bar chords, or hold any chord for that matter  

2. Action a little higher near the 12th fret, which took a slight adjustment.  Also sliding up and down the fretboard had initially felt strange and obstructed, but now not at all noticeable.  

3. The playing experience feels… different. At first I panicked, and felt like I had made a terrible mistake, however I’ve quickly grown accustomed to the feel, and now really enjoy it.  

4. I can play for longer, with more clarity and consequently more enjoyment  

5. To my ear, tone is nearly if not identical.  

Not going to recommend this for anyone but the poor bastards who, like myself, play guitar as a way of being, and absolutely must continue to connect with the emotional, spiritual and mental health benefits of playing guitar.  

 

[fortyearspickn]

15 hours ago, Graytone said:

I too have very sore hands, from a career in barbering. 

Recently our local luthier suggested I re-fret my J45 with taller frets. I was very sceptical, but at the time couldn’t even do the buttons up on my shirt from so much weakness and pain in my hands. I went for it, and the re-fret was all done to literal perfection using a PLEK machine.   I now notice a few favourable things about the taller fret concept for acoustics:

1. Significantly less pressure required to bar chords, or hold any chord for that matter  

2. Action a little higher near the 12th fret, which took a slight adjustment.  Also sliding up and down the fretboard had initially felt strange and obstructed, but now not at all noticeable.  

3. The playing experience feels… different. At first I panicked, and felt like I had made a terrible mistake, however I’ve quickly grown accustomed to the feel, and now really enjoy it.  

4. I can play for longer, with more clarity and consequently more enjoyment  

5. To my ear, tone is nearly if not identical.  

Not going to recommend this for anyone but the poor bastards who, like myself, play guitar as a way of being, and absolutely must continue to connect with the emotional, spiritual and mental health benefits of playing guitar.  

 

That's really interesting.   Thanks.  I think several of us here are close to having the same types of issues with our hands.   And, WELCOME !