I’d like to share the story about my right (picking) hand’s condition which I’ve been suffering from. I’m sure that there are musicians who are completely unaware of this condition, just like I was.
I picked up a guitar when I was ten (it was 1988), studied mostly classic rock riffs and solos (Blackmore, Page, Vai, Satriani, Van Halen, etc.), also some jazz stuff and classical repertoire (like Carcassi). At the same time I was studying clarinet at a music school.
Back then (90s) it was very difficult to obtain ANY material about rock guitar technique, but I was lucky to get several instructional videos, namely Vinnie Moore, Gilbert and Al Di Meola, and shortly after I was able to repeat more or less all the stuff from those videos. McLaughlin-like 2nps/4nps stuff was also no problem. It all felt natural and effortless.
As far as I understand, after a few years I developed, in CtC terms, a decent UWPS technique. I think I was 15-16 at the time. The default technique was alternate picking, and when I tried to play something “really fast”, it felt that the picking hand switched by itself in some “economy mode” – a mixture of legato and sweeps between neighbour strings. My hand was completely relaxed at all times. Descending sweeps were natural, ascending sweeps were awkward and never happened “by itself”. I tried to learn ascending sweeping after seeing Gambale instructional video, but it wouldn’t work for me at all.
At the same time I learned that there’s stuff which is difficult to play with “alternate picking” – like 3nps scales – I couldn’t figure out why – this was explained to me years later with Troy’s stuff.
Then for some years I lost interest for guitar playing in general… I think I haven’t touched a guitar in 2-3 years (I didn’t even own an instrument). Instead I played piano and keyboards. When I regained interest for guitar playing and got several new guitars, I discovered that my guitar skills are the same and hadn’t degraded in any way.
So I enjoyed playing/learning/studying/transcribing/exploring different guitar stuff and generally took those playing skills for granted. Although there was that annoyance when some things just felt awkward to play no matter how I practiced them (aforementioned 3nps scales). I talked to several guitar instructors and none of their answers satisfied me. Basically the answers were “well, just don’t play those inconvenient licks”, “play only stuff which is playable for YOU”. Another funny answer was “hmm, I’ve never thought about that; you’re really geeky man; why don’t you forget about technique and just play the music?!”
It worth mentioning that at the same time I played and studied other musical instruments – electric bass, piano and woodwinds (recorders, clarinet, EWI).
And then there was Cracking the Code. It was very exciting and satisfying, it seemed like I eventually could play anything while being fully aware of what is going on. I wanted to master DWPS, in order to be able to play fast economy ascending licks similar to Malmsteen and Joe Stump. I was also interested in TWPS to be able to play 3nps stuff seamlessly. Rotary movement was a discovery for me, my hand never performed that kind of movement! It was a completely new territory.
I practiced those different new techniques for some time, and at first it felt absolutely great! 3nps runs, for instance, sounded and felt significantly better when I was doing that rotary movement.
And… here the sad part starts. In June 2018, right after I turned 40, I started to notice some very little things about my right hand, while I was using computer mouse. Like, I press left mouse button with my index finger and there’s no effect, and I discover that there’s no effect because my pinky is already keeping right button pressed, and I just can’t feel it! That was the very first symptom. At first I thought it was due to fatigue/tiredness/not enough sleep/too much stress and haven’t paid too much attention… I didn’t feel any pain in the hand, it was just responding a little slower, like it went numb in some way.
As time went by, this symptom was becoming more and more pronounced, I started experiencing problems while typing on a computer keyboard (I type with all 10 fingers), while writing with pen, and then I found out that my classical guitar technique diminished greatly! Suddenly I wasn’t able to play many pieces I knew (Bach preludes etc., let alone Giuliani etudes)! Every time I started to play, fingers were becoming very strained and couldn’t move at any useful speed. Tremolo technique (p-i-m-a) has just disappeared.
And it was becoming more and more obvious that my picking technique suffered big time as well. Again, I didn’t and don’t feel any pain. It feels like the hand isn’t responding in time, or responding too slow, or does some wrong movements – they can be either too strong or too weak. I basically lost the ability to play any stuff which involves medium or fast picking movements. Tremolo picking speed had dropped.
Of course I started searching for any information, and learned that there’s condition called “focal dystonia”, and musicians (among other people, like surgeons) are particularly vulnerable to it.
I visited several neurologists, undergone MRI and EMG tests (as well as some others) – neurologists kinda shrugged their shoulders and said “everything seems to be in a good shape, and nerves in your arm are in excellent shape for your age, actually”. One of the doctors said “oh, you’re a musician? you probably have focal dystonia, that happens to musicians sometimes, I don’t know how to help you”.
So as of present, I can’t play most of stuff I used to play and loved to play, be it a guitar, a piano, or a clarinet/recorder. I struggle to keep rhythm when playing even most basic things. The worst thing that the PLEASURE and FUN of playing a musical instrument are gone, replaced with some kind of frustration. The condition also significantly affects a lot of usual movements which I do everyday (using the door key, taking or holding something, etc.), and I often find myself doing something with the left hand instead of the right. When I have to write something with a pen, it’s more like I draw every letter, paying attention to its shape.
Somewhere I read a list of factors which increase the risk of developing focal dystonia. Among them:
- symptoms usually appear after 40
- being a musician
- playing different musical instruments
- a change in playing technique, development of new techniques
- being anxious and exposed to stage fright
All of the above applies to me.
I think that I probably overdid it with guitar exercises trying to master some new techniques. Playing other instruments a lot (especially piano) probably made it even worse. And, at the end of the day, maybe those guitar teachers who told me to just stick with the technique which I developed before 20, were right, who knows.
I hope this story will be of use for fellow musicians. Handle your hands and technique with care, and be aware that excessive/obsessive/24-7 playing may cause some very serious conditions which are difficult or impossible to treat.
