Right Shoulder Tension

[Darran]

For the last 8 months I've been experiencing a lot of tension in my right shoulder (my picking arm). It first occurred when I switched to economy picking, and around the time when I was working a lot of my picking technique.

I've since switched to using both economy and alternate picking but I still find it quite uncomfortable/tense to play, more so when picking on the thicker strings (where the forearm and hand are raised to their highest positions).

I noticed a while back that I lifted my right shoulder a little bit which must have contributed to the tension, but so far as I can tell, I don't raise it so much anymore. However, my right shoulder and neck still feel quite tense, and the pain generally works it way down to as far as my thumb muscle's.

Any of you guys experienced this problem, or have any advice on how to deal with it?

[Greg]

This is unfortunately a common problem. I had this problem myself, until I discovered how to practise correctly (atleast for me). Please read this essey by Jamey Andreas:

Discover your discomfort (http://www.ibreathemusic.com/play/article/5)

If you like what you read, check out his book "the principles of correct practise for guitar". I mention this alot, I know, but believe me when I say it totally changed my view of how to practise!

Good luck.