{"id":8116,"date":"2012-03-26T16:31:09","date_gmt":"2012-03-26T16:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicademy.com\/?p=8116"},"modified":"2019-07-31T11:14:22","modified_gmt":"2019-07-31T11:14:22","slug":"power-chords-are-really-hurting-my-fingers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicademy.com\/blog\/power-chords-are-really-hurting-my-fingers\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask the Expert – Power chords are really hurting my arm and fingers"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Leon emails and asks:<\/p>\n

“I am using your beginning level guitar worship course<\/a>. I\u00a0am on disc 2 and learning power chords. Do you really need to use\u00a0an electric guitar? I have a very low end acoustic and electric. I
\nfind using the electric with chords at the 7th fret or higher places a degree\u00a0of strain on my forearm which does not feel good.<\/p>\n

Can I suitably learn these chords on an acoustic? They do sound a bit off on\u00a0my acoustic but…<\/p>\n

Any pointers you can provide on properly holding and placement of guitar is\u00a0also appreciated.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All the learning on the beginners is designed for acoustic as well as electric.<\/div>\n
Power chords are often tricky for beginners because the shape your hand makes and using the little finger is quite unnatural to begin with. It will get easier as your fingers get stronger. That said if it is painful practice in short bursts and make sure that you don’t hunch over the guitar to get better purchase on the chords. Even try standing up to practice as that posture will help.<\/div>\n
Also make sure your thumb is flat on the back of the neck and placed directly behind the fret in the middle of the power chord. Try pressing more with your thumb and that should help your fingers to put more pressure on the fret board.<\/div>\n
Finally some low end acoustic have a very high action (distance from stings to the fret board) so that can make power chords harder work than they need to be. If that’s the case a set up by a reputable guitar repairer will sort it out.<\/div>\n
I hope that helps but do keep going. If you practice every day it will become much more natural and less painful with a few weeks.<\/div>\n

Andy replies:<\/p>\n

All the learning on the beginners is designed for acoustic as well as electric.<\/p>\n

Power chords are often tricky for beginners because the shape your hand makes using the little finger is quite unnatural to begin with. It will get easier as your fingers get stronger. That said, if it is painful, practice in short bursts and make sure that you don’t hunch over the guitar to get better purchase on the chords. Even try standing up to practice as that posture will help.<\/p>\n

Also make sure your thumb is flat on the back of the neck and placed directly behind the fret in the middle of the power chord. Try pressing more with your thumb and that should help your fingers to put more pressure on the fret board.<\/p>\n

Finally some low end acoustics have a very high action (distance from stings to the fret board) so that can make power chords harder work than they need to be. If that’s the case a set up by a reputable guitar repairer will sort it out.<\/p>\n

I hope that helps but do keep going. If you practice every day it will become much more natural and less painful with a few weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Leon emails and asks: “I am using your beginning level guitar worship course. I\u00a0am on disc 2 and learning power chords. Do you really need to use\u00a0an electric guitar? I have a very low end acoustic and electric. I find using the electric with chords at the 7th fret or higher places a degree\u00a0of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":8193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,7],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPower chords are really hurting my arm and fingers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Expert advice on how to play power chords without the pain. 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