soloing after barring

[hillibilly]

After I play I song with bar cords for awhile then go into a solo, my hand is all crapmed up and is really hard to get my fingers to do what I want them to do. Any advice?

[Barnwood]

what chords are you barring mostley?

F form?
A form?

What I try to do is pick a different spot to play the same chord. i.e. you could play a G major chord on the third fret in F form or on the tenth fret with the A form. this keeps your hand loose from not having to keep the same shape the whole song.

[t_shirtsnjeans]

Fo sho find different ways to keep chords running smoothly so your hands don't cramp. Are you doing a full barred chord? You may try doing a partial barr instead so that your index can get some rest and then you can play the solos.

[martinedwards]

Practice and build up those muscles!!

Also, if you CAN play any of the chords as opens it gives your hand a rest for a second....

[mishmannah]

I know that agony well....

I have fingerpicked for so long now, that my hand protests like mad when I barre....

I was miffed the other day when our church had a visit from some people from venezuela, a chap had a guitar, and he was barring like no-one business.

Wonder if he had low action????

[martinedwards]

Well it sure helps!!!!

My Yamaha 12 I can barre in the 8th fret with no probs. And NO!! It's not for sale.......

[Tingly]

hillibilly!

I've had similar problems.

The above posted advice is great, but I didn't see "fretting pressure" specifically addressed.

You may not have to press down as hard as you are! I learned something about this just a few weeks ago, and it's improved my playing and stamina already.

Maybe you already covered this in your training, but take a minute to check out this thread from October 23rd, 2004:

http://guitar.zentao.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8770

If that doesn't work, do a search for left hand strength, or go direectly to the url below. The full name of the Jam Session thread was: "Useful article on left hand strength." It was started by RickM. Anyway, the thread, in turn, referred the reader to:

http://guitarlessons.webmelon.com/lessons/lefthand.php

That article essentially talks about how to learn THE MINIMUM force you need to fret your instrument. (The key is where to fret, not how hard.) It may help with your cramping. It has with mine.

Even Stone Dragon himself commented to RickM: "Good find." Y'know, that's like praise from The Guitar God!!!

[Griffin]

hi hillbilly...
Have you tried using a capo to replace those chords? Personally, I do not play out of F. I'd rather capo to 3 and play in D, for example. Also, your tunes...which ones are you playing that require so much barre chords? All barres can be translated into triads as well if you're in a pinch. I used to have to do that on "Sultans of Swing" when I was playing rhythm. We had an acoustic version but my wrist couldn't keep it clean for the whole song.

[ModestCargo]

Practise practise practise. Used to happen to me a lot, now it doesn't happen at all.

[fused]

It all comes down to "ACTION"!

A guitar that causes cramping, in my opinion, is either not set up correctly...or not the right guitar for you. Take it to a guitar tech, have it evaluated and see if its not actually a great playing guitar that just needed a little tech time.

Personally, I won't even keep a guitar that would cause cramping...or even pain...

This is where the search for the right guitar is extremely important. Not just buying a guitar because it looks great or because it sounds nice.... It should do both...but it should also play nice.

I setup my own guitars...and in my opinion, most can be made to play nicely...of course, within limits depending on the guitar. Cramping.....should not be tolerated...

fused

[Horrible Tango]

you can have any guitar you like, from a vintage Dobro to a modern Stagg, and it wouldnt matter. the only thing that will make the cramps go away is practice, pratice and painkillers? :p just push yourself and play and play until the cramps go away, they will :D

[Peaceful]

I have a different problem. Having worked my fingers to the bone all my life, my index finger is so bony (how bony is it?) It is so bony that no matter how hard I press some strings still buzz as they are not being fully depressed. It sure makes me fully depressed as I struggle with it.

Any suggestions? Diet, maybe? Finger muscle enhancers? Gloves?

[hillibilly]

Thanks for all the tips. Over summer I have become a barring-machine. Thanks again for all the tips lord knows I used everyone of them.!

[GuitarChick]

I never read any guitar sites untill I had really started playing. So I didnt give bars any big thought. They've never been to hard for me.

[mr mungbeen]

who's valvetronix????? did he make you write that up there?

[GuitarChick]

ValveTronix is my boyfreind, we live together. He didnt make me write that. Lol. Ive just never thought bars we're difficult at all.

[mr mungbeen]

just curious as to why you write it all over your profile... have you had a bad internet experience?

[GuitarChick]

I'm not sure what you mean 'a bad internet experience?'

[Calkid]

Barres can give me trouble, especially when most of the song is just back and forth barres.. I kinda skimmed the above posts so i didn't get too much detail, but i don't think i saw string gauge mentioned. I went from lights to mediums on my acoustic and oh man, killer on the wrist. But I managed to get used to it, just takes a little time. Keep doing progressions with the barres and you should overcome the problem.