Members ndemattheis Posted November 30, 2007 Members Posted November 30, 2007 I have been using one because I spend a lot of time away from my guitar, usually driving. I think it has improved my hand strength, but I don't know whether this has made any improvement in my playing. Does anyone else use this or similar hand excercise equipment? Thoughts?
Members Virgman Posted November 30, 2007 Members Posted November 30, 2007 I would advise you to be careful with devices like that, especially if you are older and already play a lot. Your hands need rest too. Repetitive stress injuries can happen. Frankly I don't think there is a carryover to playing the guitar from using those things.
Members mrsolearyscow Posted November 30, 2007 Members Posted November 30, 2007 I do, but not for my guitar fingerwork.
Members GreenAsJade Posted November 30, 2007 Members Posted November 30, 2007 I would advise you to be careful with devices like that, especially if you are older and already play a lot. Your hands need rest too. Repetitive stress injuries can happen. Yeah -- this is a totaly bummer. I'm older and play a lot, and my hand is falling to pieces What can I do about this? Seems like nothing other than "stop playing for a while". Nooooooo!GaJ
Members Virgman Posted December 1, 2007 Members Posted December 1, 2007 Seeing a doctor would be a good first move. Jimmy Bruno, the great Jazz guitarist had carpal tunnel. He had an operation and recovered. If you have to reduce your playing then you have to do it. Or take a day off between playing. I had a trigger finger operation a few years ago on my right hand. My pinkie was locking up. It worked out but now I'm careful. It wasn't from playing but it scared me a bit.
Members Knottyhed Posted December 4, 2007 Members Posted December 4, 2007 I have been using one because I spend a lot of time away from my guitar, usually driving. I think it has improved my hand strength, but I don't know whether this has made any improvement in my playing. Does anyone else use this or similar hand excercise equipment? Thoughts? It probably has improved your grip strength, but that's not neccessarily going to help play guitar. If you're playing lead or holding down chords correctly you won't need alot of hand strength... you should be able to do it relaxed with minimal force and good technique. I guess endurance can be important if trying to get through a long song with alot of bar chords, but the best way to build that up is to just play guitar. If you're bothered about the down time in your car there's probably better (and safer) ways of improving your playing... making CD's to practice ear training, listening to recordings of your practice sessions (invaluable for spotting what your problems are as a guitarist) etc. I often spend the morning commute repeatedly listening to tracks I'm trying to learn, if you've worked it out already you can visualise yourself playing it as you listen - this really does help. Or if trying to work out a solo, learn it in your head first, sing the notes etc. - when you get round to figuring it out for real it'll be alot easier.
Members BERT1FLORES Posted December 6, 2007 Members Posted December 6, 2007 I do, but not for my guitar fingerwork.
Members pewing33ny Posted December 6, 2007 Members Posted December 6, 2007 i find a lot of players press down harder than they have to. it adds a lot of extra stress in the hands, messes with your intonation and stunts your speed/agility/feel of the instrument. john scofield has one of the lightest touches ever and he always sounds great and you can hear the control he has over the instrument. I've worked on it a lot myself and even for the most far apart jazz chords i don't need to put any tension into my hands. I wouldn't get a gripmaster, it isn't necessary and probably hurts your hands more than helps them. Your ligaments in your hand weren't meant to take that kind of abuse that you would get from using that thing all day. I think it would be a lot more productive if you thought about what chords you could play over a song and run through the sounds of different scales in your head. the mental part of your playing is much more important than the physical part.
Moderators Jed Posted December 6, 2007 Moderators Posted December 6, 2007 I wouldn't get a gripmaster, it isn't necessary and probably hurts your hands more than helps them. Your ligaments in your hand weren't meant to take that kind of abuse that you would get from using that thing all day. I think it would be a lot more productive if you thought about what chords you could play over a song and run through the sounds of different scales in your head. the mental part of your playing is much more important than the physical part. Well said. I can't imagine the value of building muscle (risking injury) when lightness of touch is the goal. Focus on learning music - forget the gimmicks. cheers,
Members Auggie Doggie Posted December 7, 2007 Members Posted December 7, 2007 The one major conditioning problem I have with playing the guitar is warming up; it just takes me WAY too long. I've found that those Chinese exercise balls are an EXCELLENT tool for working out your hands gently.Gripmasters are evil and those who sell them to you should be flogged.
Members thor666 Posted December 7, 2007 Members Posted December 7, 2007 As mentioned, you don't need a lot of finger strength to fret. you need strength for bending, but I don't think a Gripmaster allows you to train that. (I have one lying around, never really used it.) I find left hand finger dexterity and accuracy more important. Practicing "spider" and chromatics at a slow tempo of 80 and noting just the right amount of finger strength forces my fingers to "remember" the fretting and improves my playing a lot.
Members scolfax Posted December 10, 2007 Members Posted December 10, 2007 Slightly OT, but when I play Guitar Hero the muscles in my left hand get a real workout - I can only play about 3 songs on Hard before I'm too sore to continue. I don't have this problem playing real guitar at all.
Members Klisk Posted December 10, 2007 Members Posted December 10, 2007 My friend, who I should note is a really AMAZING/impressive guitarist, swears by gripmaster. It might be placebo, but he says it helped his finger coordination a lot.Granted, I still believe it's placebo, but y'know. It can't be all bad. You probably get better results with Guitar Hero, like the previous poster said. Haha.
Members c+t in b Posted December 13, 2007 Members Posted December 13, 2007 Id recommend the gets paw. Its stretches and strengthens the extensor muscles (the ones your flexing while playing guitar)http://www.alimed.com/ProductDetail.asp?style=73262&fprd=AliMed%26reg%3B+Cat%27s+Paw&oid1=&oid2=
Members slight-return Posted December 13, 2007 Members Posted December 13, 2007 I use, of all things, coin sleights for warm up
Members DarkHorseJ27 Posted December 13, 2007 Members Posted December 13, 2007 I wonder why any guy would buy a gripmaster. We already come equipped with one.
Members e021708 Posted December 14, 2007 Members Posted December 14, 2007 i find a lot of players press down harder than they have to. it adds a lot of extra stress in the hands, messes with your intonation and stunts your speed/agility/feel of the instrument. john scofield has one of the lightest touches ever and he always sounds great and you can hear the control he has over the instrument. I've worked on it a lot myself and even for the most far apart jazz chords i don't need to put any tension into my hands.I wouldn't get a gripmaster, it isn't necessary and probably hurts your hands more than helps them. Your ligaments in your hand weren't meant to take that kind of abuse that you would get from using that thing all day. I think it would be a lot more productive if you thought about what chords you could play over a song and run through the sounds of different scales in your head. the mental part of your playing is much more important than the physical part. ithere are many players who just do not put any soul, feel, etc into their playing and it really shows. Sometimes, I think it is harder to play lightly and still have, great sustain, vibrato, etc. like bb king for example. When, I want to make a single note with my first finger on the high e string sound alive, for example. (I'm not talking about shredding), it take a definite and intentional, effort. I do have the techniquie and it does not hurt and I can do it for hours a day but. I used practice vibratos over and over until i could not do any more. and then do it more and more until it became easy. I definately put some pressure, where necessary to get the sound I want. Not all the time on every note but sometimes if you put some soul into you playing it takes a stength, mental and physical IMO.
Members pewing33ny Posted December 14, 2007 Members Posted December 14, 2007 ithere are many players who just do not put any soul, feel, etc into their playing and it really shows. Sometimes, I think it is harder to play lightly and still have, great sustain, vibrato, etc. like bb king for example. When, I want to make a single note with my first finger on the high e string sound alive, for example. (I'm not talking about shredding), it take a definite and intentional, effort. I do have the techniquie and it does not hurt and I can do it for hours a day but. I used practice vibratos over and over until i could not do any more. and then do it more and more until it became easy. I definately put some pressure, where necessary to get the sound I want. Not all the time on every note but sometimes if you put some soul into you playing it takes a stength, mental and physical IMO. obviously there are times when you need to put a little muscle behind your playing but it shouldn't get to the point where you have to "work-out" your fingers unless you're trying to be ridiculous and play with like .15 strings but i think when you're getting to those types of extremes you're doing it for attention and not for function.
Members e021708 Posted December 15, 2007 Members Posted December 15, 2007 obviously there are times when you need to put a little muscle behind your playing but it shouldn't get to the point where you have to "work-out" your fingers unless you're trying to be ridiculous and play with like .15 strings but i think when you're getting to those types of extremes you're doing it for attention and not for function.yep. there is nothing more boring than to watch a bored guitarist (many pros ) who execute technique with no effort but also no feeling. just standing there in there own little world. i prefer to see one hit the guitar hard not touch / tickle it...
Members sumpm1 Posted December 15, 2007 Members Posted December 15, 2007 I wonder why any guy would buy a gripmaster. We already come equipped with one. nice , will do that now
Members puppets_dream Posted December 15, 2007 Members Posted December 15, 2007 in my opinion, if you dont play your instrument, whatever that is, it wont help you.i use it sometimes when we are in the buss , i mean when im going to play somewhere and have some time to spend before, but no practice room for guitar, so i can use that as well, or the chinese balls, as someone mentioned ...also i agree , it can hurt your hands...botom line, thers no supstitute for the real instrument...also i prefer good streching fingers exercises, and masages, or something, even before gripmaster, cause you dont go to run before some stretchuing as well, dont you?i realy like the wy john petrucci explains it in rock discipline, so if havent seen it yet , sure do!cheers
Members sumpm1 Posted December 16, 2007 Members Posted December 16, 2007 bottom line, theres no substitute for the real instrument... True... But it is still possible to get SOME practice without an instrument. For example, I can "air guitar" the chords and strumming to a song I know. I don't have to look like a fool doing it, it is just a feeling that you get, and you can practice the "feel" of playing that song. Also, I have gained alot of skill in drumming just by practicing while driving or sitting at work. You can gain some of the coordination skills for both guitar and drums in this fashion.
Members puppets_dream Posted December 16, 2007 Members Posted December 16, 2007 yes, exactly... i dont know if i wrote it, but thats exactly thing i do, as i said when im one the road, sometimes i need like 5 hours by bus to get to the venue, so i have some time during the driving to use g.master. or when im walking or whatever, u can use it to do some stuff like chromatics or something like that. so, yeah, i would say it works, but only as some second hand help, to put that way... heh...
Members puppets_dream Posted December 16, 2007 Members Posted December 16, 2007 also here are some things that i usualy do... 1 2 3 4 1 3 2 4 4 3 4 2 4 1- excelent for pinky... 4 2 3 1 2 1 3 4 3 1 2 4 and 1 and 3 at the same time and 2 and 4 also... so as u can see lots of variations this is like a reminder... i hope it helps
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