trivium91 -> RE: Left Hand Position and Rotation (Oct. 5 2022 15:42:27)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: kitarist quote:
the strain I feel is likely because im too tense everywhere as a result of heavy weight training for years, I wanted to comment on this as I've previously come across people on other forums (or in real life) mentioning weight training as impeding their guitar playing. I have been doing weight training for many years - bench presses, squats, deadlifts, etc. with significant weight. My own experience has been that it does not affect my guitar playing, apart from maybe the hour or so after heavy deadlifts when my arm muscles are just recovering. I've been thinking that unwelcome (feeling of) tension when playing guitar primarily comes from elsewhere - from unconsciously tensing muscles that are not needed for the particular movements and forces we apply when playing. Ideally the brain should activate only what is needed (and relax these muscles immediately after the "stroke" or other action). You see this happening in highly skilled professional players(*) in two ways: 1. Neighbouring fingers stay relaxed (so finger independence as much as human physiology allows); 2. The working finger is completely relaxed before and after its action (so the muscles force is impulse-like - a precisely-timed peak with sharp declines on both sides. In amateur players the opposite was seen. Also, in guitar playing, there is a potential for a lot of more-distant unproductive(#) tension (not just of neighbouring fingers) due to the setup needed to hold and play the guitar - could be shoulders, back, torso, lower body. Not just tensing unneeded muscles, but keeping them tensed for many minutes or hours. (*) Not aware of studies done on guitar players for this, but there are some done on professional (vs. amateur) piano players, which is where I draw the description of the features seen in pro players from. (#) "Unproductive" tension here means tensing muscles that are not needed for the particular movements and forces we apply when playing. The term "parasitic tension" has also been used, likely borrowed from Feldenkrais method or Alexander technique, to indicate the same concept. This is good advice, thanks. I guess I can't use it as an excuse anymore, lol. Though thats likely a good thing, the power of the mind and awareness and all that.
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