I thought I'd forgotten how to play!! 

totally self taught since '78. "discovered" the "F" cord because i needed it and it had to be there. today you showed me how to play it "proper" as i learn more easily through example rather than instruction i cheat the "f" by using and strumming the top four strings only. i fear losing my ability to play guitar as it is how i connect with God. i have suffered with clinical depression for over twenty years and the guitar reminds me i am worth a darn. Sorry to hear of your difficulties and appreciate your advice. Lord help the world if i lose my guitar abilities and have to sing.

I never thought to look at my hands, I guess, partly because I do not see that well. I have a couple of guitars without any fret markers, just the side. I also do some hand stretches with my audience participants. I run my hands under warm water while massaging before I play. Works well. Thanks Andy.

As a long time metal fabricator and welder I can relate to the hand problems associated with manual labour. I have to do hand stretches quite often just to keep them flexible enough to play at all. If you do the exercises the hands do respond very well to it but you have to do it very often throughout the day as well, the more the better. Glad they've come around for you, cheers.

This was fascinating and helpful. Thanks for putting it out there.

Thanks for sharing this. You have, at least, confirmed my suspicion that physical exertion is a bad thing. I recall once sitting in a pub, at a table, playing a piece on the guitar, holding a conversation, listening to a third party comment on how someone could do both of those things at the same time, and replying to them. Our brains can really do some stuff, but I'd really like to be able to operate the heater in the car and know where my other glasses are at all times.

An old timer once told me that when your brain gets full, every time you remember something new it will delete something to make room. But the bad part is that you don't get to decide what that might be...

When I learn a new song, I will watch where I place my fingers. After a few rounds of playing the song while watching, I close my eyes and keep playing till it sounds right. I feel one must learn to play with their eyes closed and know here their hand in on the fretboard. This has worked well for me and may not be the way for others. Thanks for the informative video and I will check the other two out. George in Montana

As a GP my advice would be to talk this through with your GP (explore the possibility of it being a ministroke). Take care!

Scary. I hope you continue to get your guitar groove back.

I'm glad you're well. Years back I had a fall and broke my thumb and wrist on my right (dominant) hand. I almost put the toothbrush through the back of my neck!

I hope your motor skills are back in order, Andy! You were saying that maybe people who have trouble singing and playing, at the same time are and watch their hands when they play are maybe using mostly cognitive skills, vs motor skills. I don't watch my hands when I play, but I also have the same issue, i.e. I can't seem to sing along, when I fingerpick, but it's not an issue with strumming. I wonder if it's because I rely so much on reading the tab, (which likely uses a lot of cognitive skills). I seem to have a very hard time remembering the music, thus I so often depend on tabs. Thanks for your lessons and information.

Thanks. Helpful information. I hope your hands are doing okay.

Very nice! 🙂 Thanks.

Hello Andy, very interesting… sorry that you had this little hiccup. I know you’ll be back in rare form very quickly. Thanks for posting the two links. I’ll check them out. Be safe and well.

Hi.Andy.My dentist told me that after he had put some effort into extracting a tooth, he couldn't do any delicate work for a number of hours.He had lost his delicate motor skills. Kind regards and thanks for sharing.

Great video.

You may have had a Micro stroke?

Hope get it all sorted out. Thank you for sharing your experience. Cheers!

I'm an older gent who had a stroke. My cognitive skills would not advance much afterwards. Neurologist suggested guitar. Had not played in 48 years. And in one year, I'm playing not particularly well, but my cognitive skills in daily life improved exponentially thanks to an old guitar. Much luck to you Sir.

❤❤❤

Wow, this is timely. Andy I'm a bit younger than you but due to some medical issues I took a 2 month break from playing and now that I have tried to resume playing I find trying to strum or fingerpick, gives me the shakes, like a bit of palsy..very unsettling..

Hello Andy, I hate to see you having to wear a brace of any type, that tells me you are having some pain, which isn't good with guitar playing. I look forward to seeing your videos as they are always uplifting. Take care of yourself my friend! Cheers from north Texas!!🤠

Super interesting indeed… playing in the dark also a nice way of practicing.

physical labour is always a dangerous endeavour for those of us 'of age'

Love the shirt!

I have the same problem Im a farmer in Galway Ireland i always try to wear gloves and be mindful of my hands im in my mid 60s

In a sense, this is what occupational therapists work on. Getting someone back to work, which can mean any activity as playing is an occupation, because it occupies us. My son has autism. In his younger days, learning how to walk, run, and play were assisted by a therapist because, at that tender age, playing was his occupation. Wishing you patience on your journey back to work.

Look after yourself old boy !

I first saw this video on my phone and was only able to watch the beginning before losing my connection. Based on that, my initial thought was that due all the work you had been doing, you could be having issues related to that prior trigger finger surgery. To my layman's way of thinking, all of your stress from lifting, breaking, cutting, hauling could have caused inflammation, possibly due to some less than flexible scar tissue left over from the surgery. Inflammation related swelling might put enough pressure on a nerve or two that it interrupts, or short circuits, the signal to the fingers. If inflammation is the issue, ice could help, stretching might be good but exercise might create more inflammation. I won't pretend to be a doctor but I have experienced nerve inflammation issues and have had a couple cortisone injections, one through my neck to where the nerve exits the spine. Don't take anything I say as gospel, talk to a real doctor, especially since my next thought, autoimmune disease, definitely falls in a doctor's bailiwick.

It is not normal to have a sudden loss of a complex psychomotor skill which has been established and in regular use for many years. Whilst I ( or anyone else) can’t make a diagnosis from a RU-vid video, if you were my patient I would refer you for investigation to rule out the possibility of a TIA. The symptom you describe is sufficient to raise the suspicion. This is not alarmist, it’s common sense. Please get yourself checked. At least, consult your GP for their advice.

I can tell you, you are too old for that yard work crap May have been a mini stroke

Sir, that kind of outdoor work is not worth the risk to your guitar playing!! Stop it! 😮