As we get older, those aches and pains in our joints and muscles tend to and visit us more frequently, and stick around a little longer.
We aren’t able to jump out of bed in the mornings as spryly as we did in our twenties, and the muscle soreness from a weekend of semi-strenuous yard work can easily last through mid-week!
The vast majority of my guitar students fall into the “over 40” category and I receive emails quite often from new students that are experiencing bouts of pain emanating from hands, fingers, wrists and forearms, while in the early stages of learning to play guitar.
When first starting to play guitar, at any age, there are a number of new aches and pains to expect. In the beginning days, you are trying to make reluctant fingers, hands and muscles do things they’ve never done before – so a certain amount of soreness is inevitable.
But when we cross that 40 threshold, those new aches and pains can become more pronounced, and linger much longer.
What can we do, at this stage in life, to ease to pain of learning guitar?
There are low impact exercises that you can do to build up some of the muscle groups involved in playing guitar.
For example, lightweight dumb bells are a great way to strengthen the lower arm and wrist muscles. Also, hand tension exercise devices can help with finger strength.
But these exercises, as good as they are, can only go so far. There are muscles used for playing guitar that you can only develop one way…by playing guitar.
The first days of holding a guitar and attempting to form chords will feel clumsy and awkward. And, after a 30 minute session you may feel some pain or discomfort in the forearm, hands and fingers.
Keep in mind, this is perfectly natural. We all go through it. Take plenty of breaks and don’t try to overdo it.
The soreness you will feel on the tips of your fingers is natural as well. It’s the result of exposing the virgin flesh of your fingers to the harsh metal strings. But this too is a temporary situation and will pass eventually as calluses begin to form.
Keep in mind that, from a physical point of view, learning to play guitar is like starting a new workout program. There will be some pain and soreness in the beginning as muscles strengthen and finger tips toughen up. But with just a few minutes a day of regular practice, you will be amazed at the progress you make and the stamina you will build.
And regardless of age, each and every one of us that has ever picked up a guitar goes through it. It’s just that as we get older it may take a little longer to build up muscle groups, and the discomfort may be prolonged a bit. But hang in there, before long you won’t even notice it!
