Hey, I started the practice module, chord perfect to 1 minute changes today.
I am facing stiffness/ pain at the base of my thumb, above the palm.
In the final few seconds of the last exercise chord change D to A, I slow down a lot & lose all technique (mute & buzzy), and I just want to stop due to the discomfort.
Is this normal or does this indicate a bad technique?
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The usual reasons for discomfort are poor technique, as you noted, and also poor strength.
You do not want to push past the point where you damage your hand and then need to stop all play to recover. Playing guitar is like any physical training - you need to work up to the endurance levels you will need to play a few songs all at once. This goes for your practice sessions as well.
For technique:
- are you gripping your chords too hard - this will certainly fatigue your hand quickly. You only need to hold down hard enough to avoid the buzzing against the fret.
- are you holding your hand in a lot of tension - if you are very stiff, like holding ALL the muscles tight not just the ones to push a string down, then you are again working too hard and need to relax unnecessary muscles. This takes some self examination and mental training, but is well worth doing as soon as you can.
- Iâm going to lump a poor guitar setup here. You need to make sure the guitar is set up to be easily played, so that means string height (action), your sitting or standing position, guitar supported so you are not holding the neck up with your fretting hand.
For endurance training:
- Justin is aware of the strength needed. There will be some chords later that will require a well developed strength to hold down. The first chord lessons tell you to keep your thumb on the back of the neck, not to let it wrap over the top. This is to help you build the strength over the next few months so you have it when you need it.
- Make sure you give yourself time to recover between practice elements and sessions. I like to have two to three 20-30 minute practices a day when I can. Think of this a lot like training for any physical activity and donât push too hard. Stop and recover when you start to feel fatigue. Stop and assess why when you feel pain.
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Thanks for such a detailed reply
are you gripping your chords too hard - this will certainly fatigue your hand quickly. You only need to hold down hard enough to avoid the buzzing against the fret.
I think I am gripping my chords pretty hard, especially on the A chord. I usually find the G string muting, so I apply more pressure, but to do that, I think I am applying pressure on other fingers too.
are you holding your hand in a lot of tension - if you are very stiff, like holding ALL the muscles tight not just the ones to push a string down, then you are again working too hard and need to relax unnecessary muscles. This takes some self examination and mental training, but is well worth doing as soon as you can.
Yes, this also feels true. My hand is not relaxed at all while pressing chords.
Iâm going to lump a poor guitar setup here. You need to make sure the guitar is set up to be easily played, so that means string height (action), your sitting or standing position, guitar supported so you are not holding the neck up with your fretting hand.
I measured my acoustic guitar using a steel ruler:
12th Fret, top of fret to bottom-ish of string
High E - <2mm
Low E - 3mm (±0.1 mm)
Justin is aware of the strength needed. There will be some chords later that will require a well developed strength to hold down. The first chord lessons tell you to keep your thumb on the back of the neck, not to let it wrap over the top. This is to help you build the strength over the next few months so you have it when you need it.
Yes, he did mention this. I am not bringing my thumb to the top of the fret. Surprisingly, it didnât feel comfortable to me anyway when I tried it. At first, I assumed my thumb is hurting precisely because I am not using a supposedly comfortable position, but then I thought it probably shouldnt be hurting at my level.
Make sure you give yourself time to recover between practice elements and sessions. I like to have two to three 20-30 minute practices a day when I can. Think of this a lot like training for any physical activity and donât push too hard. Stop and recover when you start to feel fatigue. Stop and assess why when you feel pain.
Yes, I am on it, thanks!
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For reference:
Wifeâs classical (I joke this is better measured in light-years)
String 6 (E) - about 3.5mm
String 1 (e) - about 3.1mm
My highest action electric:
String 6 (E) - 2.6mm
String 1 (e) - 1.8mm
I have other guitars with lower action, one intentionally low so I can get some slap on string 6 against the frets. I cannot play my wifeâs guitar. It seems like this is lower end of the low budget in quality. She hasnât played it in 35+ years and only keeps it around for sentimental reasons. The electric I measured here I am sitting with now. I struggle a little with getting the strings down in time on this one after playing others with lower action.
An idea for this:
grab the fretting for an A, test if each string sounds ok.
Slowly lift finger 3, plucking until it buzzes, then press back a little so it is good again.
Repeat for finger 1, then 2.
Practice learning this feeling by slowly raising the finger and pressing it back down, then testing if it is too little, enough, or too much.
For finger 1, I buzz that one on A sometimes. It is usually because I am too far back from the fret. Fiddle a little with placement to find a position that works to cram that finger in there and make a good sounding string. Take note of that finger position and how it feels. Some of this will also improve as your fingertips harden over time and you wonât need to hold so hard to overcome the softness flexing around the string.
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It seems like my action is in the right ballpark, especially considering acoustic with steel strings, right?
I will definitely try your suggestion!
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Hey!!
I gave your advice a try, and I was immediately able to relax my hand.
I also ended up changing my sitting posture, which helped a lot too.
Results (hand hurty | relaxed):
A to D: 20 | 30
D to A: 19 | 34
So, thanks a lot!!
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Woohoo! I got 46 my first try but I could tell they were somewhat sloppy. Those anchor fingers really come in handy for fast chord changes.
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Hi everybody! Iâm a newbee and just finally got 32 cord changes in 30 seconds last night (great feeling) then I played my first song ever today. AWESOME feeling!! Was very simple song (John Lennon Give Peace a Chance), but still floating on cloud nine to hear myself play along with an actual song. This course is great.
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Thatâs fantastic, Scott. Itâs a lot of fun, isnât it? Congratulations and welcome to the community.
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Well done, Scott @Scotty369! Looking forward to hearing from you as you continue your journey. If you feel like it, maybe pop over here and tell us a bit about yourself.
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Youâre off to a great start! As you continue learning, youâll be able to add more complexity to this âsimpleâ song, play it with more complicated strumming patterns, add embellishments, play it fingerstyle or with a pick, be able to play the vocal melody as well as the chords, etc. etc.
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Justin mentions a practice routine generator. Where is that? I tried looking for it.
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Hi Nathaniel @NWoerner2024, Welcome to the community! Keep going through the lessons in Module 1. Youâll get to a lesson called Module 1 Practice Routine. I think youâll find what youâre looking for there!
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Very interesting, so you said we should ideally be looking for some kind of flow when moving from D and A chords which will allow us to develop speed and accuracy.
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Hi guys, just joined up and Justinâs site is brilliant, but I canât seem to set up any routines, add items or anything under the practice tab as the âsaveâ button isnât highlighting. Is anyone having the same issue?
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Welcome to the community, Damon 
I should update my practice routines, so I tested a bit what happens when I try to add a new routine from scratch. I noticed that the âsaveâ-button wonât highlight unless I fill in the duration. Maybe thatâs the issue in your case?
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Thanks Nicole
Youâre a champion, that did the trick, thanks very much! 
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Glad to hear Have lotâs of fun playing
Oh ⊠If you like you can introduce yourself here
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Hi all! Is the optimum of 60 whilst playing the chords cleanly? Same with the 30, before moving to next module. I know Justin mentioned it is not important to hit the chords cleanly but not sure if that is just in teh beginning.
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Welcome to the Forum
You play like you practice. So if you practice sloppy chord changes you will play sloppy chord changes. At first youâll have no choose but as you get past 30 changes a minute you should be getting 99% of them clean.
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