finger flexing

Hi all,
it might sound like a dumb question, but is there anything i can do about
fingers that don't want to flex. I have trouble with the d and e type chords
as my fingers refuse to flex backwards at all, probably due to a lifetime of
laying bricks and concrete blocks.
Now i'm not talking about stretching, its at the joints, they only bend forward.
Any ideas would be great
thanks.

G'Day Queenslander,
No it's not a dumb question..actually in time you'll be able to do so..hopefully
just as strings need time to stretch out and break in, so do your fingers....
also practice and building strength in you fingers helps...I found out that
now I able to bend my joints too as when I was learning, I wasn't able to.
Now I am able to lay my finger across the three strings whether it a D or E
Chord. Good Luck! "Keep strumming them strings" Cheers, MM Stan...

I was told by a teacher (not a doctor!) that the ability of fingers to do that back-bend thing can be improved by warming up the muscles and tendons by wiggling the fingers for 5 mins and then gently bending the fingers back as far as is comfortable and holding for a minute and then releasing. Repeat until bored.

The explanation was that it is partly tight ligaments that limit movement (as well as the nature of the joints). Although improvement may be minimal, stretching the ligaments with such exercises can loosen things up.

To be honest, I never had the patience to bother much with trying it.

NB: Disclaimers...

* The lady was a guitar and fiddle teacher, not a doc
* Never stretch any part of your body further than it wants to go. You'll hurt something
* Don't stretch or exercise your hands without warming them up first, and even then, go gently

If I take myself back to when I started with stringed instruments (guitar admittedly) I spent weeks if not months struggling to fret even more than a couple of chords.

If i now look at the chords I can stretch, I'm amazed on how the flexibility in my left hand has changed. Strength too (which is a big part of being able to fret accurately at a stretch)

The only answer (you guessed it) is to practice !

I keep coming back to threads like this hoping that the answer changes to something different then "keep practicing".

What I'd like to hear is:

1) Send a dime to Saint Stretchy and he will cure your left hand.

2) Walmart is now selling the chord glove for $4. Now anybody can play any chord any time, anywhere.

3) Get some sleep and I promise you can do it all easily tomorrow morning.

SuzukHammer said:

I keep coming back to threads like this hoping that the answer changes to something different then "keep practicing".

What I'd like to hear is:

1) Send a dime to Saint Stretchy and he will cure your left hand.

2) Walmart is now selling the chord glove for $4. Now anybody can play any chord any time, anywhere.

3) Get some sleep and I promise you can do it all easily tomorrow morning.

Click to expand...

Yeah, wouldn't that be great? Oh well, back to practice.

SuzukHammer said:

I keep coming back to threads like this hoping that the answer changes to something different then "keep practicing".

What I'd like to hear is:

1) Send a dime to Saint Stretchy and he will cure your left hand.

2) Walmart is now selling the chord glove for $4. Now anybody can play any chord any time, anywhere.

3) Get some sleep and I promise you can do it all easily tomorrow morning.

Click to expand...

Easy answer, exactly what you'd like to hear: Forward me $49.95 and I'll guarantee you it will be better.

Thanks for all the feedback,
so where do I get one of those chord gloves and how much ?
I'm afraid with the conversion rate, saint stretchy is out of the question.
I will battle on, could be my imagination but there could be a slight improvement.

Dear Queenslander,

I am looking to investing in your beautiful country. Unfortunately I do not have a bank account. If you post me your bank and credit card details I will, in return, divulge the ancient stretching secrets to enable you to play the mystical chord of C major.

But seriously mate, coming from a building trade background myself, just keep practising and stretching your fingers to new chord shapes. It does work.