From NZ - our greated classical pianist, Michael Houston suffered crippling FD but made a great recovery, performing all 32 Beethovan piano sonatas . The condition was treated with physiotherapy and acupuncture, and he had splints made, used rubber bands, and learned braille as sensory retraining, but Houstoun believes that his relaxation technique helped him overcome the condition. There is a doco on his journey but not easy to find online. Thanks for sharing and all the best with yr continued recovery. Above all i hope that you are finding joy in playing.
Thanks for letting me know. I found it here... www.nzonscreen.com/title/piano-man-2006 The dystonia is discussed about 40mins into the video. There are a lot of similarities in the development of the condition, as well as the approach to treatment and how slow the recovery has been for us too. Very interesting, thank you!
Hello Steve, I'm also suffering with focal dystonia in my right hand for almost a year but it went the other way, from playing with a pick for 17 years to not be able to even hold one. So I started to play with my fingers, but the symptoms also manifest themselves, although not as severe than with a pick. I did not stop playing guitar, I picked up the bass, started to practice piano. But guitar is my instrument and it's also my job, so I plan to teach more and to try to find ways to keep playing no matter what. To be more gentle with myself, to be less focused on technique and speed and to just express myself musically. I wish you the best and I'm certain that if you keep going, if we keep going, there are lots of hope and solutions for all musicians and people suffering with this condition.
I wish you the very best of luck with your condition. "To be more gentle with myself, to be less focused on technique and speed" was very important for me too.
1:28 I am not a musician though I am a 2D animator / illustrator and I totally understand what you mean. I'm dealing with a tremor in my left hand (thankfully I draw with my right) but not being able to do what I love the most and the thing my life is pretty much built around is a very depressing thought.
I’m sorry to hear about this. I’ve never heard of dystonia. I hope you get through it well. Unfortunately, I feel like I have something new to worry about.
I played for nearly 50 years without a problem. It's very hard to pinpoint exactly why I developed it, but I think it was a combination of heavy practice in a period where I was suffering with chronic stress, that pushed me over the edge. It's a relatively rare condition though.
It’s nice to see you again Steve! I don’t think I’d be half of the guitar player that I am without your videos, I still use your lessons on an almost daily basis in one way or another. Wishing you the best in your ongoing recovery
I've just stumbled upon your video and can really resonate. Thank you for sharing your journey. I would be very interested in some of the names you mention. Also for anyone else struggling in the UK. BAPAM is a very good resource.
The person who helped me most from a mindset point of view was Joaquin Fabra. Unfortunately he is no longer with us. He did do a series of interviews with Dave Scragg and they're available as a play list online, here... ruclips.net/video/YKGq9OPN19c/видео.html Joaquin was very helpful in the early days in breaking the emotion vicious cycle that this condition can cause. (Dystonia seems to feed and get worse with negative emotion, The worse you get, the worse you feel and round and round you go). His approach was to get you into a more positive mindset, then perform rehab exercises in that state. Other people that helped me are Akiko Trush I never spoke to her directly, but I found her videos useful... www.youtube.com/@themindfulpianist8606/videos Also, some people have recommended Ruth Chiles www.youtube.com/@FocalDystoniaCure I did experiment with this too, but it was of less use to me. I was already on the path to recovery at this point. I didn't feel any additional benefit over the approach I was already taking so stuck with what was working. Dealing with this from an emotional point of view was only part of the battle though (albeit an important one). The other part were the exercises that I was doing (and still do) to reconnect with the movement.
hi steve , glad to here your able to move forward in the battle of dystonia.I myself have had the same problem in my fretting hand now for some 25 years, and yes people dont understand the physical and emotional distress this brings about.i have also tried numerous ways of working round the problem with limited success, just to top it off i am also now suffering with ulner nerve problems known as cubital tunnel syndrome on the same arm, i think this may have came about by trying to adapt ones playing technique to adjust for the original dystonia problem, most doctors just advise rest of the hand and limit elbow movement which of course means not playing guitar, a no win scenario. stay strong steve.....
Steve, for what it’s worth from a total stranger, I stumbled upon your channel fairly recently- long after you stopped posting. You’ve provided me with such wealth in knowledge regarding finger style playing. I can’t thank you enough, truly. Looking forward to seeing future content, you’re an excellent teacher, and have quite the knack when it comes to distilling down the harder concepts of music theory, hell even shortcuts such as your 3 nps per string courses-which I’m currently digesting! Best of wishes on the road to recovery, you’ll get there with time and patience. Might seem random, and you probably rounded this base already, but maybe look into your diet as well, and nutritional intake? People have cured a lot of ailments + disease (such as cancer) just by fasting and eating cleaner less meat etc. Proper rest and exercise is essential, and we might not need 3 meals a day contrary to what we’ve been accustomed to, when you eat your body has to stop repairing itself to digest, you should look into the holistic health as well can be a total game changer..too many health conditions where nobody knows the origin. Anyways, my two cents, but if you’re trying to turn over every stone.🙏🏼
Thanks a lot. I found that once I got my mindset in a better place, my attitude to diet, exercise and general wellness just kind of changed themselves. It's one of the most surprising changes that has happened to me through this process.
Thank you very much for this video. I would love it if you would do more of them describing how you recovered. My situation is this: I took up guitar six years ago. I practiced way too hard. I got what I thought was chronic tendinitis in my fretting arm. It never healed. Then the symptoms of tightness, aching, and spasms in my forearm transferred to typing. I am a software engineer so this is a big deal. I actually quit guitar completely several years ago. But the symptoms remained, and I was just diagnosed with focal dystonia this week. This is quite a maddening thing to deal with.
I intend to talk about the approaches I used in future videos. Try to avoid fighting it, by this I mean try not to force your movement, adding tension on top of tension. When possible try to relax the tension away. See if you can reconnect with the relaxed free movement of a healthy hand. I found I made best progress by working on the "edges" of the condition. By that I mean that some movements are completely symptom free. Other movements cause a full blown lock up, and then there are the in between movements that you can feel the dystonia in the background but it's not really affecting things. These are what I called "edges". The change over time, sometimes day by day. That's where I'd put the rehab effort into relaxing releasing the dystonia and reconnecting with healthy movements. The other thing that helps is lots of variation, in hand position, texture finger position, lying down, standing up. as much as you can think of. it doesn't matter how stupid and ridiculous the movement is. you're just trying to mix things up. I read a paper where the goal was to come up with a new movement every 10 seconds or so for the duration of the practice. Personally I found this helpful to break me out of a rut, so I'd go through phases of working like this and then doing longer work on a specific movement. Finally mindset is important. Let go of the anger and frustration. try to have a dispassionate objective lab experiment type mind set. Just show up, do the work and then get on with your day. One session doesn't fix this, but showing up and doing it over the long term makes the difference.
Haven’t been able to play guitar properly in over 4 years due to tendon damage that happened during a stress related event while I slept during the pandemic. Still waiting to get scans and help to know what I did to myself. My hand is very weak and can only lift 15lbs now so I can relate to this story. We just need to keep hoping to make a recovery and maybe one day it will happen or we will get the help we need.
7 years into this. Bilateral. I did the botox, You're lucky your desperation wasn't so great as to lead you down that dead end. Ulnar nerve release surgery, in both arms. Which caused a bunch of scar tissue. Then hydro dissection to break up the scar tissue. The only thing that truly helped, lesson My struggles, was exercise. I mean that quite literally; lifting weights. And I would encourage anyone with this condition to avoid power tools for that offer heavy deep vibrations. Like pressure washers, reciprocating saws. Great video, thank you for sharing, let's hope we all get back to playing guitar pain and twitch free.
Thanks for the info Steve. Yes I'd heard that exercise has helped people, and yes that's something that I've introduced to my lifestyle too. It's so hard to know if that helped or not. I changed so many things at that stage "just in case" that I cant tell what make a genuine benefit and what didn't. My attitude is that even if it didn't help the dystonia, it'll have a positive benefit on my life so why not... Good luck with it and I hope you get through it!
Thanks for the video. I don’t play guitar but I do play the drums. In the past, although not very often, I would get a cramp in one of my hands while eating. It would be so bad I couldn’t hold a fork. It never happened while playing a gig or practicing. Until about 7 months ago I got a cramp in my right hand while playing a gig. Fortunately it didn’t last long and I was able to get through it. After hearing about dystonia, I began to wonder if it could be that. And it doesn’t happen very often; perhaps because I meditate and do the best I can to keep my stress low. Best of luck on your recovery. Cheers! Also, I wonder if leg cramps at night that wake you up out of a deep sleep could be dystonia. The brain is a powerful organ.
It's really hard for me to help you with any kind of advice as there seem to be many types out there, and I only really know about what I've experienced. I wish you the very best of luck though, and thanks for your kind words.
Yes it is relevant to healthy players, its a heads-up for a hazard we may encounter, and you bring a bit of wisdom on how to actually deal with it. Cheers!
I've been battling left-hand dystonia for the past four years or so, so this subject is really close to my heart. I've been trying to play left-handed, but learning from scratch has been very hard. I've seen some improvement over the years by practicing very slowly and deliberately, and by fixing some bad habits, especially excessive tension, which I'm still working on. Anyway, thanks for the video. It's kinda hard to find content about focal dystonia since it isn't a very common condition, so this is really helpful.
Glad I could be of some help. Letting go of the tension, waiting it out and giving it time to dissipate, rather that trying to fight against it has been very important for my own recovery.
I am a Canadian guitarist. I too am old and suffer from arthritis, so I totally empathize with you and this unfortunate disability you have. It's terrible, I know when you are a guitarist and the love you have for playing. To suddenly lose what live is devastating. I hope you get better. Unfortunately when we grow old we all seem to get something terrible .
I have this as well-started with my index finger, eventually made fingerstyle impossible, then a few months later it became impossible to hold a plectrum. Now it's making it's way into my piano playing. I think my case might be a severe one (becoming less focal by the day!) but I'd be interested in any insights you have if you decide to make further videos anout it. Each case is individual, though, and i would understand your hesitancy in discussing specifics. Congrats on returning to guitar practice!
I'm really sorry to hear about that! I'll see if I can get a video up in the next few days, as a few people are reaching out to me. As you say everyone is different when it comes to triggers and onset. I have no idea about your specific circumstances, but the first thing to understand is where you are emotionally. I was going through a very stressful time in my life when it came on. If that relates to you too, then dealing with that is important. (It made a huge difference to every aspect of my life when I finally recognised and dealt with it). Don't be afraid of counselling, talking to your GP etc. whatever you need is worth it. Secondly the dystonia creates its own stress. It sounds like you're facing that right now. You have to find ways of letting that go. Its like going through the grieving process, you need to find a way of getting to quiet acceptance. It is what it is. The best way of dealing with it is with a mindful mindset. or imagine you're a lab technician working on an experiment dispassionately. Thirdly, stop fighting it. you cant wrestle it into submission. If you fight tension with tension then that whole mess gets a training effect and beds in more and more. Look for the simplest of movements and see if you can relax the tension away. It doesn't matter if you fail in the moment. just keep the calm intention to move in a relaxed normal way, as I said in my video, I couldn't even put my hand near a guitar in the early days so my initial stages were just sitting still and letting go of the tension.
@@SteveGilson appreciate the reply and information, Steve. Thanks for taking the time. I think that is where I'm trying to get to - to just accept that my playing will come back or it won't, and perhaps may not be in my control. I'd be interested to hear more of your perspective either way if you decide to share. Thanks again
Im really sorry to hear that you have suffered in this way and I wish you a continued and full recovery. Also I would like to offer thanks for your tuition videos, the 3NPS ones really helped me a lot in my guitar journey and I have also recommended them to others who are learning as they are so well explained and have been foundational for me.
Steve glad to hear you're doing better. I discovered your technique about 6 months ago and have been working on it daily, it's finally starting to speed up and feel pretty natural. Learning this technique has greatly improved my dexterity in all 4 fingers and lets me play finger style on pretty much any song. Thank you so much. Hope to see more from you!
Thank you Steve....great to hear about the person as much as the musician though I can see how it can't be separated in your case because it has been your life. I love your videos and look forwqrd to more insightful guitar ideas and concepts in the future ...and of course wish you well
Welcome back Steve. It's been a rough ride for you to say the least and I'm so pleased to hear you are making great progress. Your videos helped me a great deal , and still do, I often revisit them . Looking forward to seeing your new content and hopefully you can move forward with a new found optimism and literally a new lease of life on guitar. All the best.
i suffered from triger finger. rightmiddle finger .making fingerstyle imposible to learn . what did was cut my carb intake to half stop sugar. 2 weeks now very great improvements. planning to go full keto but i thng ill observe more. i wish you will heal too
Glad to here you have improved. I slso have dystonia. Could you link to a couple of the research articles you found helpful. I would love to read them. I am currently following the work of Ruth Chiles.
Probably the most useful one was called "A motor control model of task-specific dystonia and its rehabilitation" You can download the pdf by searching for it on Google Scholar then clicking the PDF link on the left of the search results. That's a good complement to the Ruth Chiles book because it's much more focussed on practical rehab and training rather than meditation type work. Once I'd let go of the stress surrounding dystonia, physical rehab and differential training became the most useful way forward for me. I'm intending to create a follow up video on this, but life is getting in the way a little bit. 🙂
@@brianjohnston1604 I never looked at his method. I work with Joaquin Fabra in the early days. That was helpful in getting my emotional state in the right place. From that point I just focussed on relaxing away any tension, whilst doing various movements associated with playing.
I had no idea either. I remember in the very early days trying to practice it away, getting more and more frustrated that I couldn't seem to play. What I didn't realise at the time was that I was actually feeding it and making it stronger. It's one of the reasons I talk about it.
Scott Devine from Scotts bass lessons you tube also has this I believe, he uses a glove on his fretting hand and he said it helps gain some control back. Wish you the best and hope you recover!
Julian Lage detailed how he was able to fully recover from it in his interview with Rick Beato, it was really interesting to hear how he had to work at just holding the guitar.. hope there are some insights in that interview for you, rootin' for you Steve 👍
Yes, I saw it. My first meaningful steps were about just being able to hold my right hand near the strings in a relaxed way and just let go of any tension or twitching as it appeared. Thankfully I've progressed a long way since those early steps.
Im sure you will get over it and if not, you will create a new style somehow and continue playing. there are lots of people out there that lost a hand, fingers and found their way. Think of the great Iommi that lost the tips of the fingers and play till now with some rubber tips. your love for the instrument will overcome this! i wish you all the best
Thank you so much for sharing.
As a fellow guitarist I could hardly imagine the nightmare.
I’m praying for your speediest recovery
From NZ - our greated classical pianist, Michael Houston suffered crippling FD but made a great recovery, performing all 32 Beethovan piano sonatas .
The condition was treated with physiotherapy and acupuncture, and he had splints made, used rubber bands, and learned braille as sensory retraining, but Houstoun believes that his relaxation technique helped him overcome the condition. There is a doco on his journey but not easy to find online.
Thanks for sharing and all the best with yr continued recovery. Above all i hope that you are finding joy in playing.
Thanks for letting me know. I found it here... www.nzonscreen.com/title/piano-man-2006
The dystonia is discussed about 40mins into the video.
There are a lot of similarities in the development of the condition, as well as the approach to treatment and how slow the recovery has been for us too. Very interesting, thank you!
Great to have you back Steve and I’m really glad you have been able find a path to recovery. Look forward to hearing from you again.
Hello Steve, I'm also suffering with focal dystonia in my right hand for almost a year but it went the other way, from playing with a pick for 17 years to not be able to even hold one. So I started to play with my fingers, but the symptoms also manifest themselves, although not as severe than with a pick.
I did not stop playing guitar, I picked up the bass, started to practice piano. But guitar is my instrument and it's also my job, so I plan to teach more and to try to find ways to keep playing no matter what. To be more gentle with myself, to be less focused on technique and speed and to just express myself musically.
I wish you the best and I'm certain that if you keep going, if we keep going, there are lots of hope and solutions for all musicians and people suffering with this condition.
I wish you the very best of luck with your condition. "To be more gentle with myself, to be less focused on technique and speed" was very important for me too.
Damm that is truly horrific.I can't even imagine losing those high technical skills worked which you've worked for decades.I hope it gets better
I've still got a way to go, but I'm most of the way through it now and I'm in a much better place now. Thanks for the message.
So sorry to hear this Steve, and glad you’re on the mend. Your videos are superb.
Thanks that's very kind of you
1:28 I am not a musician though I am a 2D animator / illustrator and I totally understand what you mean. I'm dealing with a tremor in my left hand (thankfully I draw with my right) but not being able to do what I love the most and the thing my life is pretty much built around is a very depressing thought.
I’m sorry to hear about this. I’ve never heard of dystonia. I hope you get through it well. Unfortunately, I feel like I have something new to worry about.
I played for nearly 50 years without a problem. It's very hard to pinpoint exactly why I developed it, but I think it was a combination of heavy practice in a period where I was suffering with chronic stress, that pushed me over the edge. It's a relatively rare condition though.
It’s nice to see you again Steve! I don’t think I’d be half of the guitar player that I am without your videos, I still use your lessons on an almost daily basis in one way or another. Wishing you the best in your ongoing recovery
That's very kind of you to say, I very much appreciate it.
I've just stumbled upon your video and can really resonate. Thank you for sharing your journey. I would be very interested in some of the names you mention. Also for anyone else struggling in the UK. BAPAM is a very good resource.
The person who helped me most from a mindset point of view was Joaquin Fabra. Unfortunately he is no longer with us. He did do a series of interviews with Dave Scragg and they're available as a play list online, here... ruclips.net/video/YKGq9OPN19c/видео.html
Joaquin was very helpful in the early days in breaking the emotion vicious cycle that this condition can cause. (Dystonia seems to feed and get worse with negative emotion, The worse you get, the worse you feel and round and round you go).
His approach was to get you into a more positive mindset, then perform rehab exercises in that state.
Other people that helped me are Akiko Trush I never spoke to her directly, but I found her videos useful... www.youtube.com/@themindfulpianist8606/videos
Also, some people have recommended Ruth Chiles www.youtube.com/@FocalDystoniaCure I did experiment with this too, but it was of less use to me. I was already on the path to recovery at this point. I didn't feel any additional benefit over the approach I was already taking so stuck with what was working.
Dealing with this from an emotional point of view was only part of the battle though (albeit an important one). The other part were the exercises that I was doing (and still do) to reconnect with the movement.
hi steve , glad to here your able to move forward in the battle of dystonia.I myself have had the same problem in my fretting hand now for some 25 years, and yes people dont understand
the physical and emotional distress this brings about.i have also tried numerous ways of working round the problem with limited success, just to top it off i am also now suffering with ulner nerve
problems known as cubital tunnel syndrome on the same arm, i think this may have came about by trying to adapt ones playing technique to adjust for the original dystonia problem, most doctors
just advise rest of the hand and limit elbow movement which of course means not playing guitar, a no win scenario. stay strong steve.....
I'm sorry to hear about that Ray, I hope you're able to find a route through. Thanks for the message.
Steve, for what it’s worth from a total stranger, I stumbled upon your channel fairly recently- long after you stopped posting. You’ve provided me with such wealth in knowledge regarding finger style playing. I can’t thank you enough, truly. Looking forward to seeing future content, you’re an excellent teacher, and have quite the knack when it comes to distilling down the harder concepts of music theory, hell even shortcuts such as your 3 nps per string courses-which I’m currently digesting! Best of wishes on the road to recovery, you’ll get there with time and patience. Might seem random, and you probably rounded this base already, but maybe look into your diet as well, and nutritional intake? People have cured a lot of ailments + disease (such as cancer) just by fasting and eating cleaner less meat etc. Proper rest and exercise is essential, and we might not need 3 meals a day contrary to what we’ve been accustomed to, when you eat your body has to stop repairing itself to digest, you should look into the holistic health as well can be a total game changer..too many health conditions where nobody knows the origin. Anyways, my two cents, but if you’re trying to turn over every stone.🙏🏼
Thanks a lot. I found that once I got my mindset in a better place, my attitude to diet, exercise and general wellness just kind of changed themselves. It's one of the most surprising changes that has happened to me through this process.
Thank you very much for this video. I would love it if you would do more of them describing how you recovered.
My situation is this: I took up guitar six years ago. I practiced way too hard. I got what I thought was chronic tendinitis in my fretting arm. It never healed. Then the symptoms of tightness, aching, and spasms in my forearm transferred to typing. I am a software engineer so this is a big deal. I actually quit guitar completely several years ago. But the symptoms remained, and I was just diagnosed with focal dystonia this week. This is quite a maddening thing to deal with.
I intend to talk about the approaches I used in future videos. Try to avoid fighting it, by this I mean try not to force your movement, adding tension on top of tension. When possible try to relax the tension away. See if you can reconnect with the relaxed free movement of a healthy hand.
I found I made best progress by working on the "edges" of the condition. By that I mean that some movements are completely symptom free. Other movements cause a full blown lock up, and then there are the in between movements that you can feel the dystonia in the background but it's not really affecting things. These are what I called "edges". The change over time, sometimes day by day. That's where I'd put the rehab effort into relaxing releasing the dystonia and reconnecting with healthy movements.
The other thing that helps is lots of variation, in hand position, texture finger position, lying down, standing up. as much as you can think of. it doesn't matter how stupid and ridiculous the movement is. you're just trying to mix things up. I read a paper where the goal was to come up with a new movement every 10 seconds or so for the duration of the practice. Personally I found this helpful to break me out of a rut, so I'd go through phases of working like this and then doing longer work on a specific movement.
Finally mindset is important. Let go of the anger and frustration. try to have a dispassionate objective lab experiment type mind set. Just show up, do the work and then get on with your day. One session doesn't fix this, but showing up and doing it over the long term makes the difference.
Haven’t been able to play guitar properly in over 4 years due to tendon damage that happened during a stress related event while I slept during the pandemic. Still waiting to get scans and help to know what I did to myself.
My hand is very weak and can only lift 15lbs now so I can relate to this story.
We just need to keep hoping to make a recovery and maybe one day it will happen or we will get the help we need.
Sorry to hear that, I hope you make a full recovery.
7 years into this. Bilateral. I did the botox, You're lucky your desperation wasn't so great as to lead you down that dead end. Ulnar nerve release surgery, in both arms. Which caused a bunch of scar tissue. Then hydro dissection to break up the scar tissue. The only thing that truly helped, lesson My struggles, was exercise. I mean that quite literally; lifting weights. And I would encourage anyone with this condition to avoid power tools for that offer heavy deep vibrations. Like pressure washers, reciprocating saws.
Great video, thank you for sharing, let's hope we all get back to playing guitar pain and twitch free.
Thanks for the info Steve. Yes I'd heard that exercise has helped people, and yes that's something that I've introduced to my lifestyle too. It's so hard to know if that helped or not. I changed so many things at that stage "just in case" that I cant tell what make a genuine benefit and what didn't. My attitude is that even if it didn't help the dystonia, it'll have a positive benefit on my life so why not...
Good luck with it and I hope you get through it!
Thanks for the video. I don’t play guitar but I do play the drums. In the past, although not very often, I would get a cramp in one of my hands while eating. It would be so bad I couldn’t hold a fork. It never happened while playing a gig or practicing. Until about 7 months ago I got a cramp in my right hand while playing a gig. Fortunately it didn’t last long and I was able to get through it. After hearing about dystonia, I began to wonder if it could be that. And it doesn’t happen very often; perhaps because I meditate and do the best I can to keep my stress low.
Best of luck on your recovery. Cheers!
Also, I wonder if leg cramps at night that wake you up out of a deep sleep could be dystonia. The brain is a powerful organ.
It's really hard for me to help you with any kind of advice as there seem to be many types out there, and I only really know about what I've experienced. I wish you the very best of luck though, and thanks for your kind words.
Thanks, Steve! I also have it, and was hoping you would post this video. Would love to hear more in-depth videos on your recovery process!
Sorry to hear that, I will give it some thought and do some kind of a follow up.
Yes it is relevant to healthy players, its a heads-up for a hazard we may encounter, and you bring a bit of wisdom on how to actually deal with it. Cheers!
Thanks a lot, yes I'm going to work out how to document it on here.
Welcome back
I've been battling left-hand dystonia for the past four years or so, so this subject is really close to my heart. I've been trying to play left-handed, but learning from scratch has been very hard. I've seen some improvement over the years by practicing very slowly and deliberately, and by fixing some bad habits, especially excessive tension, which I'm still working on. Anyway, thanks for the video. It's kinda hard to find content about focal dystonia since it isn't a very common condition, so this is really helpful.
Glad I could be of some help. Letting go of the tension, waiting it out and giving it time to dissipate, rather that trying to fight against it has been very important for my own recovery.
Glad to see you back ..Sorry to hear about what you've been going through Love you teaching
I am a Canadian guitarist. I too am old and suffer from arthritis, so I totally empathize with you and this unfortunate disability you have. It's terrible, I know when you are a guitarist and the love you have for playing. To suddenly lose what live is devastating. I hope you get better. Unfortunately when we grow old we all seem to get something terrible .
Thanks for the message. I hope you're able to find ways of living with what you have and are able to improve the symptoms of arthritis.
I have this as well-started with my index finger, eventually made fingerstyle impossible, then a few months later it became impossible to hold a plectrum. Now it's making it's way into my piano playing. I think my case might be a severe one (becoming less focal by the day!) but I'd be interested in any insights you have if you decide to make further videos anout it. Each case is individual, though, and i would understand your hesitancy in discussing specifics. Congrats on returning to guitar practice!
I'm really sorry to hear about that! I'll see if I can get a video up in the next few days, as a few people are reaching out to me.
As you say everyone is different when it comes to triggers and onset. I have no idea about your specific circumstances, but the first thing to understand is where you are emotionally. I was going through a very stressful time in my life when it came on. If that relates to you too, then dealing with that is important. (It made a huge difference to every aspect of my life when I finally recognised and dealt with it). Don't be afraid of counselling, talking to your GP etc. whatever you need is worth it.
Secondly the dystonia creates its own stress. It sounds like you're facing that right now. You have to find ways of letting that go. Its like going through the grieving process, you need to find a way of getting to quiet acceptance. It is what it is. The best way of dealing with it is with a mindful mindset. or imagine you're a lab technician working on an experiment dispassionately.
Thirdly, stop fighting it. you cant wrestle it into submission. If you fight tension with tension then that whole mess gets a training effect and beds in more and more. Look for the simplest of movements and see if you can relax the tension away. It doesn't matter if you fail in the moment. just keep the calm intention to move in a relaxed normal way, as I said in my video, I couldn't even put my hand near a guitar in the early days so my initial stages were just sitting still and letting go of the tension.
@@SteveGilson appreciate the reply and information, Steve. Thanks for taking the time. I think that is where I'm trying to get to - to just accept that my playing will come back or it won't, and perhaps may not be in my control. I'd be interested to hear more of your perspective either way if you decide to share. Thanks again
fascinating discussion. thanks. i'm glad to hear you're improving and wish you well.
Thank you. Yes I'm making slow but steady progress.
Im really sorry to hear that you have suffered in this way and I wish you a continued and full recovery. Also I would like to offer thanks for your tuition videos, the 3NPS ones really helped me a lot in my guitar journey and I have also recommended them to others who are learning as they are so well explained and have been foundational for me.
That's great to hear, thank you!
Fucking love this dawg I’m stealing a lot of ur techniques I’ll put them to use ur style is incredible
Steve glad to hear you're doing better. I discovered your technique about 6 months ago and have been working on it daily, it's finally starting to speed up and feel pretty natural.
Learning this technique has greatly improved my dexterity in all 4 fingers and lets me play finger style on pretty much any song. Thank you so much.
Hope to see more from you!
Good to hear from you and glad I could help,
Thank you Steve....great to hear about the person as much as the musician though I can see how it can't be separated in your case because it has been your life. I love your videos and look forwqrd to more insightful guitar ideas and concepts in the future ...and of course wish you well
Thanks a lot.
Welcome back Steve. It's been a rough ride for you to say the least and I'm so pleased to hear you are making great progress. Your videos helped me a great deal , and still do, I often revisit them . Looking forward to seeing your new content and hopefully you can move forward with a new found optimism and literally a new lease of life on guitar. All the best.
Much appreciated, it's great to hear that my videos have helped.
i suffered from triger finger. rightmiddle finger .making fingerstyle imposible to learn . what did was cut my carb intake to half stop sugar. 2 weeks now very great improvements. planning to go full keto but i thng ill observe more. i wish you will heal too
Thank you. I'm glad you've found something that works for you.
Glad to here you have improved. I slso have dystonia. Could you link to a couple of the research articles you found helpful. I would love to read them. I am currently following the work of Ruth Chiles.
Probably the most useful one was called "A motor control model of task-specific dystonia and its rehabilitation"
You can download the pdf by searching for it on Google Scholar then clicking the PDF link on the left of the search results.
That's a good complement to the Ruth Chiles book because it's much more focussed on practical rehab and training rather than meditation type work. Once I'd let go of the stress surrounding dystonia, physical rehab and differential training became the most useful way forward for me.
I'm intending to create a follow up video on this, but life is getting in the way a little bit. 🙂
I have also followed Joachim Farias method online but not seen any results😢
@@brianjohnston1604 I never looked at his method. I work with Joaquin Fabra in the early days. That was helpful in getting my emotional state in the right place. From that point I just focussed on relaxing away any tension, whilst doing various movements associated with playing.
That's a musician's nightmare for sure. Glad you are on the mend Steve. Here's to future health.
Thanks a lot.
Thanks for sharing this. It must have been difficult to make, but I didn't know this existed. It's important information.
I had no idea either. I remember in the very early days trying to practice it away, getting more and more frustrated that I couldn't seem to play. What I didn't realise at the time was that I was actually feeding it and making it stronger. It's one of the reasons I talk about it.
@@SteveGilson Thanks!
Scott Devine from Scotts bass lessons you tube also has this I believe, he uses a glove on his fretting hand and he said it helps gain some control back. Wish you the best and hope you recover!
Yes I've seen his videos, unfortunately it didn't work for me.
Julian Lage detailed how he was able to fully recover from it in his interview with Rick Beato, it was really interesting to hear how he had to work at just holding the guitar.. hope there are some insights in that interview for you, rootin' for you Steve 👍
Yes, I saw it. My first meaningful steps were about just being able to hold my right hand near the strings in a relaxed way and just let go of any tension or twitching as it appeared. Thankfully I've progressed a long way since those early steps.
Im sure you will get over it and if not, you will create a new style somehow and continue playing. there are lots of people out there that lost a hand, fingers and found their way. Think of the great Iommi that lost the tips of the fingers and play till now with some rubber tips. your love for the instrument will overcome this! i wish you all the best
Thanks for your kind words
getting your diagnosis from youtube comments is probably not a great idea
As I said in the video, my diagnosis came from a Neurologist from the local hospital after a referral from my GP.