A. When you first start learning to play guitar some pain is inevitable as tendons and muscles experience new ways of stretching and positiioning. However, while this is perfectly natural, it should not be ignored, which means don’t try to be a hero and play through the pain. Stop practising and rest. This is very important.

Your tendons in particular will not take kindly to the new experience at first and they are easily strained, or even sprained, if they are over-loaded. You can help them to some extent by doing some simple warm up exercises before you begin practising, but pain is nature’s red light and you ignore it at your peril. It should fade quite quickly. If it doesn’t, see a doctor before you pick up your guitar again.

One major, and very common, strain location in beginners is the wrist of the fretting hand. This is often caused by bad positioning which results in the wrist being bent at too sharp an angle. Make sure that your thumb is positioned towards the top of the back of the guitar neck, even to the point where it pokes up level with the 6th string, and that your wrist is relatively straight. It will be difficult at first, and feel a little clumsy, but it’s important to work through that until you have gained more flexibility in that area.

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