Stretching: If You Read One of My Guitar Lessons Blogs, Read this One!

If you are serious about guitar, then get serious how to stretch. Many music teachers have not been taught how to stretch. Thus, they can’t properly teach their students how to stretch. This is a tragedy. Many really good musicians end up injuring themselves because they don’t stretch before and after they play. Most of these injuries could be prevented if guitar was treated as a sport, especially in schools. Basketball players stretch. Soccer players stretch. Baseball players stretch. There probably is not a sport that one can excel at unless they practice, such that they need to stretch before they play.

Guitar is the same way. Guitar and other instruments should not be thought of as different from sports. In fact, as sports players get better and better, they start to realize just how musical their game is. Dribbling a basketball has a beat. Pitchers have a rhythm that they go through before pitching. When soccer players juggle, they do it rhythmically. A good sports player will have a fairly decent sense of rhythm.

Now, that I have probably sold you on stretching before you play the guitar you are probably wondering. What are the stretches? I am very good with words, and I just can’t think of a way to put these stretches into words. I don’t think a sound recording would cut it. Likewise, even having a video is probably not enough. With a video, you can’t ask questions, and your video instructor can’t point out what you are doing wrong. What I can tell you is that you will need to stretch your arms, hands, and fingers, and maybe even your shoulders. You might even get some advice so that carrying your instrument won’t hurt your back. If your back hurts, then play sitting. Whatever you do, don’t injure your back.

These are your precious muscles we are talking about, and if you are going to prevent yourself from injuring them, then you will probably need to seek the advice of an instructor personally. Your music teacher probably won’t know, maybe they will learn. If your high school has a pitching coach that is your best bet. I, myself, didn’t learn how to stretch until I got to rehab. Rehab is for fools that haven’t studied enough. My muscles were so wasted I could hardly hold a coffee cup. So, learn how to stretch so you don’t have to go to rehab!