Exercises to loosen left hand fingers for fretting

[Ge23ev]

Hello everyone

I started playing the mandolin a month ago on my on own and i love it.

But im having trouble with my left hand and finger cramping and stiffening when im fretting like closed postions.

Does anyone have execises to loosen and strengthen the left hand fingers and tendons for better and easier fretting. Like they use robber bands and such for guitar. Ive only heard of the spider walk thing for the mandolin
If you know anymore ill appreciate it
Thanks

[Jim Hudson]

I'm developing arthritis in the base of my left thumb and this stretch helps me a lot: Extend your left arm out to your side horizontal to the ground, place your hand on a wall with your palm flat to the wall. Then rotate your hand counterclockwise as much as you can until your fingers are pointed down, thumb behind you if possible, keeping your palm flat on the wall. Hold your stomach in and chest out, then turn your head to your right to complete the stretch. Hold for 20 or 30 seconds or so. Reverse the instructions for you right hand if desired. I do this in the warm moisture of the shower almost every morning and I think it reverses the tendency to roll your shoulders in and over your instrument/computer/etc. It hurts a bit at first but you'll get stretched out and perhaps even enjoy it in time. This is a stretch, not necessarily a warm up exercise. I just play scales slowly to warm up.

[Johnny60]

In a similar vein, I was prescribed the following stretches when my tendons played up in my fretting hand and arm:

1. face the wall, stick both arms out parrallel to the floor and place both hands flat against the wall.(Basically the same position as if you were doing a push up, but in standing). Hold for around 10 seconds.

2. Face the wall with both arms out, but this time instead of the palms touching the wall, the back of the hand touches the wall, and the palms face inwards and the fingertips point down towards the floor. You're eventually looking for a 90 degree bend at the wrist. Hold for 10 seconds. Helps with tendons.

3. Face the wall yet again. This time your palms go on the wall, but your fingers point down towards the floor. HOld for 10 seconds.

All these (and more) were given to me by my physiotherapist to help stretch muscles, tendons and other soft tissue in the elbows. forearms, wrists and hands. They've helped a lot in keeping tendon issues at bay.

Don't BOUNCE and/or don't force the stretch. You're looking for a nice relaxed stretch rather than a snapped tendon!! If in doubt, see a physiotherapist.

[Tobin]

Stretches and warm-up are important, even though it sounds kind of silly to do that before playing a mandolin. But there are some serious muscle stresses and repetitive movements involved, and injury is a real danger. Not to mention just plain old cramping, soreness, and sluggishness.

I have an hour-long drive to the jam I attend. I flex and stretch my left hand as I'm driving, wiggling my fingers and trying to loosen up. And I still will get cramps in my left hand after playing a bit. It's mainly from clamping down on a G chop chord shape for so long at a time (since darn near everything they play is in G). So I try to alternate to different chord shapes as often as I can, hoping to avoid cramps and tightness.

And of course, play as lightly as you can. Make sure your setup is good and practice playing with the lightest touch possible.

A nip of whisky before playing helps loosen up too. Seriously.

[Beanzy]

I'd make sure you have someone show you how they angle the left hand and avoid getting injured this early on due to something that may be very easily sorted before you're too long at it .

[billhay4]

I'd like to point out here that right hand exercises and stretches are just as important as those for the left hand.
Bill

[Bill McCall]

When I practice the closed position scales, I start at the 12th fret with my pinky and work towards the nut. For me, that's very helpful to gradually get to the longest, hardest stretches. And believe me, I couldn't do the longest stretches (holding my fingers down) in the lowest positions when I started, and I still am challenged today for the A scale starting on my middle finger.

[Luna Pick]

Radim Zenkl recommends putting on one-size-too-small Playtex dishwashing gloves and flexing your hands to warm them up before playing. Makes sense and works for him.

[Emmett Marshall]

Everybody likes to laugh at me when I mention my "Yoga Hands," but they have been a huge help to me. I have been using them for over a year now, and I recommend them sometimes to my musician friends. You may wish to give them a try also? They definitely help me with added flexibility before I play, and long term also. I sometimes use them right before I play to "loosen up" or after I play to stretch out and relax my hand. I figure that fingers are just like any other part of the body that we exercise. As we all know, many older players develop repetitive use injuries in their hands, fingers, and wrists after years and years of playing. I believe that stretching could possibly go a long way in preventing those types of injuries. They fit inside my mandolin cases. I got them from Amazon. (NFI)

[Ivan Kelsall]

I have a degree of Tendonitis in both hands which makes them a bit stiff at times. One thing i've posted on here a number of times is something that my physiotherapist prescribed for me after an op.for 'trigger finger' on my right hand several years ago. Get a bowl of warm water, as warm as you're comfortable with & soak your hands in it for a few minutes. Also,soak a facecloth in the warm water.
Take the facecloth & wring it out as hard as you can a half dozen times, & you'll be amazed at just how 'free' your hands feel. I don't need to do this every day,but if my hands feel a bit 'tight',then that's my go-to remedy & it works superbly well,
Ivan

[UsuallyPickin]

Me too Ivan , five digits out of ten now> Seriously GE23ev warm water goes a long way toward loosening up muscles tendons and joints. I live in an old house and often wash the dishes before I start to play. It truly helps. R/