0:00- Intro 0:05- Lesson Overview 0:56 - Tip 1 1:16 - Tip 2 2:06 - Tip 3 2:36 - Tip 4 3:17 - Tip 5 4:02 - Recap

The first time he said "being largely self-taught," I thought he'd said, "being large and seven foot tall." I had to stop and rewind.

Really good practical instruction. Really relevant to beginner intermediates. Especially if personal lessons are not available or affordable. More of this practical stuff wouldbe really good. Thanks a lot

Great video. Keeping a healthy posture while playing is so important and sometimes overlooked. The general rule is to avoid tension whenever possible and stop if you feel pain. You really don't want to injure yourself!

Wish I had seen this video a year ago before I wrecked the tendons in my wrist. Great video thanks.

This was so helpful man thank you sm

Bless you for this! I started playing guitar 12 years ago when I was 10, and was only ever self taught. Due to how tiny my hands were back then I grew into the bad habit of pushing my wrist forward to tackle power chords and bar chords and never was able to knock it as I got older. Gonna practice this and hopefully save myself a lot of wrist pain!

Awesome video! I was worried that my wrist posture wasn’t good and thought I had to bend my wrist more because that’s how you were properly supposed to hold it. Glad to know having a straight wrist is the best because that’s what I’ve been doing! You also saying to control the guitar and don’t let it control you gave me a big surge of punk energy and made me just not care as long as I was comfortable. Thank you!

Right to the point, straightforward but nuanced advice, relatable examples, calm delivery (this is my favorite part -- no need for fake hyperactivity [but also not trying to trash talk the people who do that or have that personality, I know it can be effective!]), nice background track at good volume to fill the air, not superfluously padded to 10 minutes, good use of video chapters. Well done! You make it look easy. Earned a sub & like

Awesome video!! I’ve been playing for a couple years and fixing my left hand posture fixed so many of my issues. Thank you!

The struggle is real my friend. I've reached a plateaux in my speed and precision and I've located the problem being my wrist position. Need to find an optimal position now.

Interesting video, thanks for your views. I have occasional wrist pain and problems with flying fingers when playing scales or fast riffs etc. Many other sites say that thumb placement can cause these issues for me and that your thumb should not be pointing down the neck towards the nut and headstock, but as close as parallel to frets as possible behind the 1st or 2nd finger. While I dont point my thumb direct down the neck, it is often tilted that way. You are the first person i seen that says that is ok, thanks maybe i not the bad after all, but still have problems with flying fingers to sought out. I guess what is most comfortable should be a major factor to consider in thumb placement.

Hi, thank you for making this video. see the wrist position at 1:04 ? That’s the one I keep going back to. It’s very hard to play barre chords or even anything on the low e while keeping my wrist straight...BECAUSE MY FINGERS ARE SO DAMN SHORT. So I’m bending my wrist to allow my fingers to reach those strings. What do I do?

Great info! Worst advice I saw the other day was another guy forcing the perpendicular thumb thing. He lost me at 'you might find yourself doing what feels natural' - like it's a BAD thing lol Slash also does the EVH vertical neck move a lot btw

Which direction should my thumb be if I’m playing power chords? I’ve struggled a lot with pain in my wrist and this video did help.

I’m going to try and start implementing these tips into my playing starting tonight during practice. Much appreciated. After that I’m going to binge watch Peep Show. I forgot all about that show. Two great things to take away from your video. Chers!

Thank you so much for this man! I am concerned that my playing habits might hurt my wrist more, but this is gonna help a lot 👏

Good simple video - Make the guitar work for you!

Whoa that's exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

awesome and helpful

I really wish videos like this showed what a proper straight wrist looks like from an angle you'd actually be viewing yourself. still helpful tho

Maybe just leave the Eddie Van Halen stuff alone. I've been playing "Eddie Style" for 45 years now.... the tendonitis is in my thumb. I've been playing for so long that I have literally tried everything. Hot water, massage, taking a few days off, trying not to keep playing repetitive licks... problem is this; If you want to stay on top of Van Halen stuff, you really do need to practice it daily ... otherwise you WILL forget! Now that he has passed away, I play all of my favorite songs daily.... and my hands are really paying the price. I have perfected the physics of movement and safety, but 'overuse' is what is attacking me now. Back in the day, I played from the time I got up til the time I went to bed. I believe that as you get older (50's) no matter how safe you are, you will develop some issues. Everyone does. Piano players, violinists, any stringed instrument player. The thumb-base has to put an extreme amount of pressure on the neck to be able to play certain licks. The thumb is extremely dynamic. Without it, you wouldn't be able to anchor your hand and even fret a note. The only thing I can say is to use proper dynamics for YOUR hands and YOUR guitar right from the beginning. Maybe you will hold out a little longer than those who always have the bent wrist and fingers that are NOT parallel to the frets. It's an issue, and it can be dealt with. The youngsters won't listen... until it is too late. Take care of your muscles, tendons, joints, tissue, fluid content, health, etc., etc., ... these are ALL important factors in maintaining your abilities for a lifetime. Even Steve Vai has battled issues for years and years now. You can't really tell unless you know what to look for. Most of it is from his "show-off' style of playing, but he has had work done to his tendons over the years, as have many dentists, archers, people in contact sports, etc., etc., ~ don't be in a rush to learn something by over-doing it all the time. Give your hands a rest even if your mind does NOT want to. Trust me on this.

Thanks for this, I am having a difficult time finding consistent sources on proper wrist techniques. How do you keep a straight wrist while playing barre chords? And how much wrist bend is okay?

Definitely exciting. I need this info

Great video! Thanks

Instant subscription.

Hey, I have non-huge hands, and I can't arch my fingers over neighbor strings without extreme wrist angles. So I'm always in the extremely bent form. I've tried moving the neck angle/height with little improvement.

ARGH this all seems so obvious now! can't believe i didn't think of these. Thanks so much this was super informative! With regards to bar chords, I have found that having the guitar at a high angle, close to the body, means that I can comfortably stick my elbow out and have my index finger be parallel to my arm and that feels pretty low tension. Though maybe the issue for most people is finger strength rather than position. Regardless, this will surely save my wrists from the berating they were recieving previously.

Great video. Thank you.

Hey, what kind of chair is that? Do you use this for guitar playing? i'm looking for a really comfortable chair to play

Came for the advice, stayed for the accent, subbed because of the unexpected david mitchell

man, I´m glad to see this, because I´ve learned to play acoustic guitar many years ago and stoped. Now I´ve just started to study guitar and the finger exerc. lessons I saw guy teaches to hold very similar to classic, and bending the wrist so that the thumb goes up and down while playing from 6th to 1st string (similar to 1:04).... I find this very weird, because I feel the need to keep my hand in touch with the neck (like in 2:27, 3:53) both to be practical and feel comfortable.

Hi Jack! Thanks for reminding us. I suppose ergonomics should play an important part in choosing a guitar design. Cheers!

Very true! Thank you

Okay, so how do we find a happy medium playing on out fingertips and wrist posture?

Thank you!!!!

thank you!

Jesus Christ 0:50 got me! Nearly choked 😂😂

Its always the power cords dude. I always get a bunch of wrist pain after playing a bunch if power chords when Im playing a song.

tyty

I have nerve damage in my left thumb.. i lose all strength after a few minutes and cant fret by traditional methods.... I have to pull back with my arm to fret now...its a bitch ,and I dont have the dexterity that I used to have because of it . I wasnt always like this .for 20 years I played with a straight wrist with my thumb on the back of the neck.... now my thumb hardly ever touches the neck...I had to figure out a new way that worked for me to be able to continue to play....if you have issues playing in the traditional posture ,my advise is to play the way that works for you..

Thanks for this. Is there anything you would recommend for 5th string root barre chords?

I’m a beginner and if I keep my wrist straight only my middle finger can reach the top string what should I do

I am a bit late to the video. I am not able to spread my fingers wide apart when keeping my wrist straight . If i do the frist pose ,where the wrist is obviously not straight , i am able to reach more frets. Does someone have any tips?

45° angel is how Randy Rhodes played. He thought rock- n-roll was too slow. He wanted to be a concert classical guitar player

As a student I noticed my fingers are too short for the guitar. Should I use a Capo?

It’s such a pain to have to unlearn this after 15 years of playing wrong

i wish i could only play the bottom 3 strings to correct my position but finger be tiny

Good video man, I've been looking around for content that addresses that very topic and you pretty much nailed it. One more thing tho, what's your take on fretting fingers' angle? I'm currently trying to straighten them as to face upwards instead of being inclined.

I’m really struggling with playing power chords as my wrist has to poke forward and it’s reallly taking a toll on my left wrist Can you give me a little tip because none of those have helped

So basically 25 years of playing and now I gotta start over.

Can someone give me advice. I’m trying to do a spider walk dexterity exercise and whenever I try to place all my fingers across 4 frets of the 6th string, I have problems with keeping my wrist straight to try to reach the strings

my hands are too small to keep my wrist straight so idk what to do

my wrist really looking like some kinda alien creature when i play. i have no idea how it bends the way it does. hoping this helps

definitely _not_ a video about that hand jive

So I cant fully turn my wrist and I want to know if i can still play the guitar like that

my problem is with bar chores my wrist kills me

how to keep your wrist like that when fretting on the top string?

i literly typed how do you play guitar without snaping your wrist becasue i feel like a slit my wrist after playing for 5 minutes also i lefty fliped a right handed guitar so i dont think that helps

What about thumb tendinitis?

im having a lot of trouble keeping my wrist straight, it feels almost impossible to do

ow oww owies ouch my hand it hurties

I'd add a 6th, do some abs:-7

did u really just put a X through the thumb over technique in the beginning? you mean the way Jimi Hendrix and SRV play? seriously?

Matt Greco?!

i'm either able to play the 6th string or spread my fingers, then I'm not able to reach the 6th string

Thumbs down for not getting the joke

Help me sir❤️❤️

All of this for guitars with straps while mitchell decided to give my guitar one peg😶 this hasn't helped at all because I have to play it with the neck horizontal to the floor. Great vid otherwise

Maybe my hand is too mall. Darn it.

lmfaooo lol... but who does master*** with left hand

What joke

this guy just talked 'B.S' ! he has no idea about guitar!