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Picking hand gets cramped up a lot when playing...how to fix this

MovingPitchers

MovingPitchers

Jun 9, 2013
8,509
12,039
Canada
#1
I play with pretty thick picks, i believe .84mm thickness. I don't know what else to do to prevent my hand from cramping up after five minutes.

Warming up beforehand is a must and definite for all techniques but even after, it tends to cramp up.

Ugh. Can anyone help or fix this problem before it's too late?
 
#2
How tightly are you holding your pick? Relax.. sounds to me like you're gripping that pick for dear life and using too much muscle to pick. Can't say in all my years of guitar/bass playing that my plucking hand has ever been the one to suffer cramps.

Make sure your wrist is hanging relaxed, don't stiff wrist it, and you only need enough pressure on the pick to keep from dropping it.. no more no less.

If this is already what you're doing I'd consider the possibility that it is a medical issue, but I hope for your sake that this is not the case.

While a strong attack can make some cool noises "WHEN YOU WANT TO", you really just need to lightly roll the pick over the string. It shouldn't be overly forceful.

Not sure if I've been much help but I hope you work this out.

Might I also recommend learning a two finger technique? Make sure you're always playing through your amp as well, it will truly show you how beneficial a light touch can be.
 
#3
Only other thing I could possibly think of is, how are you using your pick? When I use one my arm movement is as if I'm turning a doorknob (only enough to pick the strings I'm using) with a bent and highly relaxed wrist. If you're picking by trying to move you arm back and forth from the elbow I could see some forearm cramping as a result.. but.. that isn't how I'd ever try to use one.
 
#6
Matty Koff said:
How tightly are you holding your pick? Relax.. sounds to me like you're gripping that pick for dear life and using too much muscle to pick. Can't say in all my years of guitar/bass playing that my plucking hand has ever been the one to suffer cramps.

Make sure your wrist is hanging relaxed, don't stiff wrist it, and you only need enough pressure on the pick to keep from dropping it.. no more no less.

If this is already what you're doing I'd consider the possibility that it is a medical issue, but I hope for your sake that this is not the case.

While a strong attack can make some cool noises "WHEN YOU WANT TO", you really just need to lightly roll the pick over the string. It shouldn't be overly forceful.

Not sure if I've been much help but I hope you work this out.

Might I also recommend learning a two finger technique? Make sure you're always playing through your amp as well, it will truly show you how beneficial a light touch can be.
Click to expand...

Matty Koff said:
Only other thing I could possibly think of is, how are you using your pick? When I use one my arm movement is as if I'm turning a doorknob (only enough to pick the strings I'm using) with a bent and highly relaxed wrist. If you're picking by trying to move you arm back and forth from the elbow I could see some forearm cramping as a result.. but.. that isn't how I'd ever try to use one.
Click to expand...

I do seem to notice I'm holding on for dear life. Maybe that's why. But if I don't, I feel like I'll drop it, even though there five picks planted in my pickguard for easier access. Would a thicker pick allow me to loosen my grip a bit?
 
#8
On the topic of picks, I'm looking for something that'll contribute to the growly tone I'm looking for. Stock P-Bass MIM pickup with GHS Boomers are the setup and I like the way it sounds. The Boomers certainly live up to its name!
 
#11
MovingPitchers said:
I play with pretty thick picks, i believe .84mm thickness. I don't know what else to do to prevent my hand from cramping up after five minutes.

Warming up beforehand is a must and definite for all techniques but even after, it tends to cramp up.

Ugh. Can anyone help or fix this problem before it's too late?
Click to expand...

are you strumming one direction or up and down. I notice if I used to only down stroke my arm and hand would kill. Until I learned to actually neatly go up and down it was hell.
 
#13
If the problem is simply that you're squeezing the pick too hard, using a thicker pick might help a little -- but that won't in itself solve the problem: You'll still have to work on loosening your grip. But using a pick that just feels different from what you're used to might help remind you to do so. With that in mind, you might also experiment with different sizes and shapes, not just different thicknesses, until you find one that you can comfortably hold onto without squeezing too hard.

I'd also look at other aspects of your technique that could be causing strain in your hand. Two things I can think of that could cause the same kind of cramping are: (1) if your right wrist is bent while you're picking -- either because of your arm position or because you are wearing the bass too low; and (2) if you are anchoring your picking hand on the body, below the strings, with your pinky and/or ring finger (as many guitar players do). Is either of these a possibility?
 
#14
Lobster11 said:
If the problem is simply that you're squeezing the pick too hard, using a thicker pick might help a little -- but that won't in itself solve the problem: You'll still have to work on loosening your grip. But using a pick that just feels different from what you're used to might help remind you to do so. With that in mind, you might also experiment with different sizes and shapes, not just different thicknesses, until you find one that you can comfortably hold onto without squeezing too hard.

I'd also look at other aspects of your technique that could be causing strain in your hand. Two things I can think of that could cause the same kind of cramping are: (1) if your right wrist is bent while you're picking -- either because of your arm position or because you are wearing the bass too low; and (2) if you are anchoring your picking hand on the body, below the strings, with your pinky and/or ring finger (as many guitar players do). Is either of these a possibility?
Click to expand...

1. I'm not sure, actually. I'll have to evaluate myself next time and look in the mirror for any of these. My bass is not that low. When standing, I have it resting on the area between my lower torso and my bladder area..sorry IDK how else to describe it. Just find pictures of Guy Berryman or Nate Mendel and it'll be similar to that.

2. I never saw anyone do that so I guess this is out of the equation. I DO rest my picking hand on the body, on the arm contour though.
 

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