Jittery FINGS

[Heyjoe87]

Whenever I hover my fingers above the strings they seem to jitter. It seems uncontrollable... I don't do drugs so ... Is there any methods to like calm my fingers. maybe verbally telling my fingers to stop. I've come to conclusions why my fingers have miniture strokes. 1.They do crack when i'm not looking. And by doing crack they get jittery, 2. It could be that I slept on my hands, 3. My fingers need a deep tissue massage. or maybe i need more water in my system. so my question is "What methods can I do to gradually eliminate the jitteriness?" there you go. Thanks for reading this. really thanks

i'm gonna go eat

[smallbusrider]

Some of us are just wired that way...my friend dave has constant jitters...he gave up guitar and played drums!!!!lol

[bnazzz]

Expirement with subtle movements of your arm, wrist and hand. See if resting your fingers lightly against the strings stops it. That kind of thing can be a result of unecessarily exerted energy. Are you holding your elbow out? Play around with all the different points that contribute to your posturing, and the angle at which your hand approaches the guitar, from your core outward (start at your back and torso and then examine your limbs), and see what you can relax. I find I get jitters if I try to hold myself in an unnatural position, and the idea is that resting your hand over the fretboard should be a natural position, one way or another. Hope this helps.

Brian

[Ehvam]

More than likely its muscle tension. Practicing with that "rushed" feeling of trying trying to improve too quickly can cause alot of tension. But it might also be other things like diet. You say you dont do drugs, but do you drink? Smoke? Drink too much caffeine (yeah colas count)? If theres too much sugar in your diet it can make you jumpy. So can low blood sugar. Just a few things to keep in mind.

[Heyjoe87]

Some of us are just wired that way...my friend dave has constant jitters...he gave up guitar and played drums!!!!lol
hahaha

[Heyjoe87]

Expirement with subtle movements of your arm, wrist and hand. See if resting your fingers lightly against the strings stops it. That kind of thing can be a result of unecessarily exerted energy. Are you holding your elbow out? Play around with all the different points that contribute to your posturing, and the angle at which your hand approaches the guitar, from your core outward (start at your back and torso and then examine your limbs), and see what you can relax. I find I get jitters if I try to hold myself in an unnatural position, and the idea is that resting your hand over the fretboard should be a natural position, one way or another. Hope this helps.

Brian
I think its because i've been playing at 40bpm all week and monitoring my left hand movement like a hawk. My elbow doesn't stick out due to tention or at all...hmmmm...Maybe its my torso when i'm breathing. Maybe I need to concentrate on my breathing while i'm playing to see if i'm playing fully relaxed. Oh and the posture of my back sucks LOL! thats probably it (I saved the best for last lol)

[forgottenking2]

Relax. Stop thinking about how fast so and so plays or whatever it is that is causing you anxiety. Give up cofee (just kidding! We all know that is impossible lol ) Seriously it's all muscle tension, eventually it'll go away as you get more confident.

[Heyjoe87]

More than likely its muscle tension. Practicing with that "rushed" feeling of trying trying to improve too quickly can cause alot of tension. But it might also be other things like diet. You say you dont do drugs, but do you drink? Smoke? Drink too much caffeine (yeah colas count)? If theres too much sugar in your diet it can make you jumpy. So can low blood sugar. Just a few things to keep in mind.
I have been trying to improve quickly by practicing everything at 40bpm.I slowed things down so I can make more efficient finger movements. I noticed slight tention in my fingers when i curled them, so i'm thinking of doing Jamie andres finger flapping technique when i practice and also be aware of how my fingers hit the strings. but as I said earlier its probably how i position myself with the guitar that gives off stress even the the tinyest increments. like my back posture and my shoulders...it sucks

[Heyjoe87]

Relax. Stop thinking about how fast so and so plays or whatever it is that is causing you anxiety. Give up cofee (just kidding! We all know that is impossible lol ) Seriously it's all muscle tension, eventually it'll go away as you get more confident.
LOL I recently bought Steve vai in Austria london and that kinda made me more critical but in a good way to where its a motivator not a monster. so i started practicing slowly (40bpm-50bpm) and notice that i was playing with iddi biddi tention in my fingers whenever I slightly lifted them from my strings and I thought to myself..."I don't smoke crack or do any drugs (or any prescription or non-prescription for that matter), and I don't drink soda at all ,and I absolutely dislike coffee because it makes me all spaztic lol so if I were to have just a teaspoon i'd be spazing out LOL. I also eat organic foods (I'm a freak like that) because of all the pesticides,herbicides and fungicides irraditates the foods. But I really think my posture sucks..no I don't think..I know my posture sucks lol.(I'm working on it as we type or speak) and I need to be more attentive in my practice sessions.well i g2g man, but thank you forgottenking and thank you all for the advice you've given me. kudos to you all and have a nice day


-REuBeN RayA

[delicious]

sometimes playing too slow can be a bit awkward...try walking at 1/4 your normal speed:p

[Heyjoe87]

sometimes playing too slow can be a bit awkward...try walking at 1/4 your normal speed:p
you mean like work my way down to super slow speeds...like i'll start at 80bpm and work my way down to 40bpm? I'll try something of that nature. thanks

[delicious]

no what i meant was try to play at a slightly faster tempo. I remember Petrucci said somewhere before that playing super slow is just as difficult as playing super fast. the walking thing is just an example of how it might be difficult, at least for me:p.

[Heyjoe87]

you mean like finger walking exercises?

[delicious]

oh my exaplanations sux;((((, ignore the whole walking thing

[Heyjoe87]

hahaha I kinda get it....