I was reading an interview in The Guardian the other day with Keith Richards.
He was talking about his recent struggles with arthritis.
Promoting the band’s first studio album in 18 years, Keith was rather upbeat about it all.
Although he said his arthritis is a sort of “benign” version which is not painful, it has indeed affected his playing.
“I found that when I’m like, ‘I can’t quite do that anymore,’ the guitar will show me there’s another way of doing this. Some finger will go one space different and there’s a whole new door just opened here.”
That’s an inspiring way to think about it.
I always love Keith’s positive attitude.
If you struggle with arthritis, there are plenty of things you can try.
- Simple melodies that require the use of one or two fingers
- Open tunings (I’ll talk more about these soon)
- Use a capo to play things higher up the neck where the frets are closer together (meaning less stretching)
There’s more, of course.
…But the one thing you must always do is play with good “Core Fundamental Technique.”
Without that, everything becomes more of a painful struggle than it should be.
…And the chances of osteoarthritis due to strains and force placed on the body, hands, and fingers can increase.
To help improve your technique, you may want to check out the Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy.
Until tomorrow night, anyone who joins will get a free paperback version of my book 13 Ways to Escape the Acoustic Asylum. It will be posted out to you as an extra bonus (this is in addition to the bonuses mentioned on the sales page).
Find out more about the Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy
Enjoy and keep being positive!
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. Here are a few highlights from the 13 Ways to Escape the Acoustic Asylum book:
How to play a stunning arrangement of “Scarborough Fair”, which requires no chords or tough stretches (I’ve never taught this arrangement anywhere else before).
A super fun and easy-to-play blues riff you can learn in minutes without tearing your hair out!
Why it’s essential to use the key elements of classical technique, even if you only ever want to learn non-classical songs.
A super fun and famous melody that has been used in countless dramatic movie scenes (and even cartoons) over the years and is great fun to play
A super useful exercise inspired by Clapton, Knopfler, and Gilmour that will end the most frustrating mistake beginners struggle with.
A message to “de-code” from the “Gatekeeper”, which is a fun way of testing your guitar skills (get a prize for un-coding this).
…Plus more, including why the “first rule” of the Acoustic Asylum is key to increasing your motivation, how to avoid the deadly mistake most people make when learning songs, and the 13th tip, which will help you see real progress every single day.
The 13 lessons in the book are a mix of old and new from me.
If you have my other books and courses, you may see a little crossover between the lessons in this book and those, but that is a good thing in many ways…That’s because having frequent reminders of the basics is important to your success (plus the new stuff in this book is a lot of fun).
Get this until tonight, only here:
The Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy
P.P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
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