Relearning to play the guitar

[shyamwestwind]

I'm seriously thinking of buying back my old guitar and "re-learning" to play ! I had my carpal tunnel operation done about 15 years ago and realized there was no improvement in the sensations of my little finger and the ring finger. I learn now that some nerves were actually damaged during the operation ! I guess theres no use in crying over this now, so I decided to get my three fingers and my thumb on them strings again !
Do you think I can play again, guys ?

[JohnG]

Shyam,

There was a fantastic gypsy Jazz guitarist called Django Reinhardt who was burned in a house fire when he was 18. He had the 3rd and 4th finger of his left hand badly burned. He went on to become a very famous musician.

Now if he can play with only ...
I would say give it a go, you never know.
Great to see you around again!
JohnG.

P.S. go take a look for him on youtube, you may be amazed what he could do with two.

[steveb]

There is one beautiful thing about music shayam, and that is, that it can stay with you for a lifetime. You don't need to enjoy it every day, it is aways there when you need it's comfort and then you can set it aside for another time. If you feel like you need to have another go at the guitar, go for it, and get whatever enjoyment you want from it.

[rainbow]

Hi Shyam,
If you want to play rhythm guitar only and find barre chords are causing you a degree of pain in your left (or shape-making) hand then you could always try open or alternate tunings which are much easier on the left hand and are a fun and enjoyable way to play. By open tunings I mean open D or G tuning which slide players use and you might like to experiment with playing slide or bottleneck guitar styles. Also the alternate tunings like DADGAD are great for 'drone' backings with an eastern feel like the Moroccon oud players or the likes of John Renbourn or Jimmy Page. You can play barre chords with just the index finger (but you need less pressure than normal barre chords) and there are some nice open/ringing chords to be had with very little fretting.
There's loads of stuff on the net ... just google open/alternate tunings or check out players on you tube.
Whatever way you decide to go I agree with JohnG and SteveB in their postings above just go for it and have fun.

Best regards ... Rainbow:)

[shyamwestwind]

Rainbow, thats a brilliant suggestion and I guess I'll need to try that. I loved playing lead guitar and was hoping I could manage that, but you got me thinking, buddy . Thanks guys !
JohnG.......... Django Reinhardt is fantastic and unbelievable !!