picking hand cramps....

[Carnage]

Hi everyone,

I often experience cramps in the mouse of picking hand. It feels like I'm about to lose the pick and it's really hard to play those fast parts. I only have this when playing live, I seldomly have it when rehearsing.

Anyone else having this problem, or knowing some good warming-up excercises to prevent this?

 

[Needlefeast]

Well, I hate to say it but I have no idea what to do to help, although it happens to me too, sometimes.
However, that picture of Megatron fucking rocks, as I love that movie

 

[oneshotendsthiswar]

i dont get hand cramps that often but sometimes it helps me to just relax a little bit, my whole arm tenses up at shows sometimes cause im playing so hard and if i back it down a little bit i keep my speed without locking up.

 

[yabba]

it's because you're tensing up too much (which naturally people tend to do more when playing live, which is why it's not nearly as a much of a problem for you at rehearsals)

just focus on relaxing that hand and arm.

 

[Carnage]

Ok, thanks for the replies..... Maybe I should light me a big joint before playing

 

[demondeath]

well before when i was playing live and when the time comes when i feel a cramp comin up. i just give it all. i just think this my fuckin last day of playin and i gota fuckin do it ryt for the last tym. i dunno if it works w/ oders but it worked a couple of times for me.... well i dunno for the big joint. sometimes when im fuckin stoned i forget some parts and got trouble on tuning my guitar. my mind just goes off. hehe

 

[Gin_from_the_bottle]

yeah, sometimes after a big spliff, i have trouble even picking strings!
but a small spliff is always good.

 

[Pita Bread]

Do you play sitting down mostly while practicing? If so, you might want to practice while standing up, so your hand is used to the slightly different position, especially if you wear your guitar lower.

 

[EmperorMalignus]

Try washing your hands with very hot water (don't burn yourself) then warm-up SLOWLY (that's the most important) start by ascending scales, arpegiate chords etc...
try to look if your right hand position is "normal"
stay "relaxed" don't stress your hands
don't play too low (stand-up)

hopes it helps

 

[Hexer]

stretch hands and fingers (I also stretch my arms a bit) before playing and do some warmup (playing scales, chromatic, some easy rythm-stuff, ......)
stretching and warming up helped me quite a bit with stuff like cramps

 

[xenophobe]

Definitely do the following (repeating what was said and condensing ):

1) stretch your fingers, your hands and your arms
2) take time to slowly warm up
3) pay attention to how hard you're holding the pick

The washing your hands with hot water sounds like a good idea, it may help to loosen your muscles a bit. You really shouldn't be holding your pick very hard. I generally hold it very lightly... even when I'm tremolo picking. I find that when a pick starts getting a little worn (after several songs, I tend to start holding tighter, so I throw it out and grab a new one).