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Re-Learn Guitar/Maintain Practice Program Despite Injury
Mike Liebhauser Music DK30 Fall 2022 1 1
Description
While playing with my dog I got my left ring-finger caught in her harness and damaged the tendon. It’s not a serious injury in general BUT it’s a fairly bad one when it comes specifically to guitar. I was gonna write the whole project off and just focus on something else, but I had a moment of epiphany: I’ve still got 4 working fingers on the left and whole hand going on the right. I’m gonna spend the next 30 days focused on discovering what i can still train/and develop despite this new obstacle!
Here’s the OG post: I’ve been playing guitar for over 10 years, and I’ve found my self in a practice rut. I’ve decided that the only way out is through! I’m going to make my self play everyday for 30 minutes (with exceptions on my travel days) and try to work my way through Scott Tenant’s Pumping Nylon work book.
Recent Updates
Day 1: This is going to be a very strange journey. My left hand is almost completely useless, with the exception of a very limited ability to barre, so I’ve had to turn my focus to my right hand entirely. I’ve always been a “run and gun” sort of musician, eager to figure it out and then make something rather than sit back and work through the best method. I tuned the guitar, discovered I could play nothing with my left hand and then set a timer for thirty minutes and cracked open my technique book to the Right Hand page. With only the standard tuning the sound is pretty joyless so tomorrow I think I’ll find an open tuning I like, and vary my practice between fingering a strumming rhythms. This is going to be a very long two weeks.
Ok! My left ring finger is badly sprained and their may be tendon damage as well. I’m in a splint till week two of the DK 30 at which point I can take it off and start PT to recover mobility. My instinct is that the next week is going to be mostly finger picking patterns and rhythm practice with my picking hand, but I’m very curious to see if I can also develop my finger indepenence on my fingering hand.
For a recent performance I taught my self to play cello. It was a massively humbling experience and left me with a desire to dig back into the instrument I’m most comfortable at: guitar. I’m curious to see what the approach I took to cello, consistent practice and a very “I know nothing” energy will bring to this much more developed skill. I’m also eager to get back to gigging in the next six months or so, and I hope this will be a nice spring board,
Estimated Timeframe
Oct 19th - Nov 19th
Week 1 Goal
Experiment and explore what I am still able to play.
Week 2 Goal
Create a new practice plan.
Week 3 Goal
Splint comes off! Start rehabbing my left hand.
Week 4 Goal
Continue rehab, start old practice program.
