Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

I am recovering from carpal tunnel and I have noticed my strumming hand experiences pain (tension/discomfort). I was strumming with an open grip almost like an okay sign (fingers flared out) with my pointer finger pointing forward towards the edge of the pick and my thumb horizontal. After watching many different videos on guitar wisdom I noticed my pick grip needs to change and both my thumb and pointer finger should be horizontal and it looks like your other fingers are always closed loosely. Is this how I should position my other fingers? Also when strumming should my wrist be loose? I feel like a lot of motion comes from my wrist however it looks like you dominantly use your forearm and swing from your elbow. I tend to swing mostly from my wrist, is this incorrect technique? How much should I be using my wrist, if at all? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi Jacob!

Sorry to hear your wrist is hurting. I'm not a doctor but as much as I love guitar once I feel a pain (not discomfort or muscle soreness), like sharp pain, which I do from time to time, I stop whatever I'm doing right away. Permanent injury isn't worth it even for guitar. Gasp! I know, right?

Might I suggest a good warm up with stretches and massaging, and then doing some warm up guitar exercises as well. I'm old so I kinda have to do it to say in tip top shape.

For strumming technique, there are indeed many ways to play using just the wrist and the arm/forearm. Just make sure the technique is sound and without stress. Try to loose and free.

Finally, if pain continues, as much as Tomo is a great guitarist and teacher, the best advice would be to connect with a doctor or physiotherapist for medical advice. As well, since you have had surgery, are you starting to play too soon before you have recovered?

Finally, if you are worried about just using a wrist, let Thom Yorke show you that you can indeed just use a wrist to great affect without significant injury. Great tune, too, by the way :)

Hi Jacob,

Thanks for starting this thread. I am sorry to hear you are dealing with pain in your strumming hand. You are doing PT and have the go-ahead to keep playing (in moderation), so perhaps adjusting your technique would be a good experiment!

Check out these supplemental videos Tomo made for Guitar Wisdom students during the Chromatic Scale Challenge

- Tomo's picking technique (Proper way to hold a pick)

I think that the information and camera angle in these videos will give you a better idea of what to focus on. For some students, using a guitar strap ended up helping with shoulder pain! I share that because it is easy to get caught up in the location of the pain and forget the larger picture—everything is connected, so I think it's worth trying a different technique and seeing how your body responds.

Do let us know how you're doing in the coming days and weeks. I am sure many others have similar experiences and advice to offer!

Best,
Sammi

Hi Jacob
Carple tunnel problems are not good my wife has had the operation.
As to the strumming I think you have the right idea. I have always use a bent wrist (not a good position for carple issues possibly) to strum but am now trying to strum and play chords from the elbow with a straight relaxed wrist. Regarding my fingers I curl them in relaxed but tight to my palm otherwise I find a finger nail touches a string making a noise. It's a work in progress.
Michael is right, you can very effectively strum from the wrist as show by Tom Y's great playing.
Hope the wrist calms down
All the best
Andrew