Guitar injuries: listen to Steve Vai

In my article, How to play beginner guitar: five things I wish someone had told me, I told you that how you hold your guitar matters. And how you hold your body matters. A lot. I talked about good posture and the possibility of guitar injuries.

As if to underscore the point, the great Steve Vai posted a new video to his YouTube channel just yesterday.

The video starts with Steve sitting there talking to the camera. You immediately notice the bandage on his left hand (his fretting hand). Worse than that, you notice that he has his right arm in a sling.

Learn four more things I wish someone had told me when I started playing

How to play beginner guitar: five things I wish someone had told me

How did Steve Vai get hurt?

You find yourself wondering, “What the hell happened? A car accident? A bizarre cooking-related incident with a hot stove and a jammed oven door? A knife fight outside of a particularly tough music club after a gig?”

Vai goes on to talk about his injuries. They are guitar injuries. An intense practice session–or should I say, over practice session–lead to surgery on his right thumb. He sort of shrugs it off as not that bad. Still, clearly he’s delivering a message to you and me.

Guitar injuries; just for old guys?

Yeah, I can hear you young players saying that. But Steve delivers a lesson for you in his video too. He has a lesson for all of us, and you’d be wise to listen.

For you older beginners, you really need to be careful. If you’re over 40, then you’re likely already starting to experience physical challenges that you never had before. Just living daily life and aging introduces problems.

You certainly don’t want to add to your physical problems by ignoring Vai’s warnings. Bad playing posture will catch up to you very quickly.

Young players don’t get a pass on guitar injuries

But you young players had better pay heed too. When you watch the video, you learn that these are not Vai’s first injuries. He tells about two spinal surgeries that he’s endured because of his bad playing posture.

And when did those surgeries take place? When he was 25 years old! At that point he’d likely been playing for around 10 years. He was young and just as indestructible as you think you are.

Just in case you youngsters don’t know it, back surgery is some serious, serious business! Don’t do things to your body that will cause something like that for you!

Well, Vai’s no doctor or physical expert, so why should I listen to him?

So first-hand experience from one of the greatest guitarists ever doesn’t impress the importance of avoiding guitar injuries on you? Then maybe listen to the experts from the Berklee College of Music.

In the article Playing for life, Associate Professor of Guitar Dave Tronzo is observed as saying, “…inconsistent practice routine and poor basic technique are major contributors to injuries.”

…inconsistent practice routine and poor basic technique are major contributors to injuries.

Dave Tronzo

In the same article, “body map specialist and guitarist Gerald Harsher suggests that the whole body moves when we make music.” And when the body moves, potential for injury exists.

In April 2009, Berklee faculty members Neil Olmstead Jeannie Gagnéa surveyed nearly 400 Berklee students. They found that 78 percent reported pain, numbness, or discomfort while practicing or performing on their instrument.

78 percent! That’s an epidemic.

The article No more playing through pain suggests that , most students reported “uncomfortable minor pain,” rather than “intense pain.” That’s a good thing, but the statistics are still alarming.

Further, the article goes on to say that, “Vocalists and guitarists suffer the most, followed by pianists and percussionists.”

Ignore guitar injuries at your own risk

Well, now you’ve been warned. This is serious business. You can hurt yourself playing the guitar. Guitar injuries are real. In fact, if the statistics above are correct, chance are you will suffer guitar injuries.

My advice? Take this issue seriously. Learn what you can about proper guitar-playing posture. If you get up on stage for a couple hours one night a week and strike “cool” poses that aren’t exactly great posture, well, maybe that’s OK. Maybe. I guess it’s part of the show.

But save it for the show. If you practice an additional six nights a week with the same bad habits, you are almost certainly going to suffer guitar injuries. Don’t do that to yourself.

When a guy plays better than you with just one arm

Well here’s Vai’s video. I’ve saved it for now so as not to ruin the special surprise at the end of it.

In about the last five minutes of it, Vai shows why he’s one of the greatest. With his right arm in a sling, he proceeds to play better with just one hand (a hand with stitches in it at that) than I think I’d play even if I had four.

I hope you take inspiration from watching his performance. (Heads up; if you’re offended by bad language, be warned that he says a naughty word right at the end of the video.)

Conclusion

Guitar great Steve Vai talks about his past and current guitar injuries. He urges you to learn proper guitar-playing body posture so you can avoid injuries yourself.

The experts at Berklee College of Music agree with Vai and present some compelling arguments for properly caring for your body when you play.

Guitar injuries are real.