ok, i've always played the guitar sitting down with it on my right leg. i recently decided to put my strap on it, and try playing standing up, and it absolutely kills my left wrist. i can barely make it through a song it hurts so bad. i've tried adjusting the length of the strap and no matter what length it is, it hurts. although, it feels a lot to better to have the chest rest on my chest as opposed to my stomach/thigh.
is this normal when switching to standing up? or is the form i'm playing chords in really bad?
if i'm doing something wrong, i don't want to ignore it because i know with drums, if you start out holding your sticks wrong, and continue playing like that, you can really mess up your wrists and you have to get surgery to correct the damage it does. i don't want bad form to effect me like that later on, if that is the case.
Oh, your left hand. I thought you meant your right hand (unless you play the guitar left-handed), which usually tends to hurt when one is playing thrash metal for half an hour straight.
Not being a chord player at all, it may have something to do with the placement of your left thumb; just adjust it so that your grip feels comfortable. If it doesn't hurt at all when you're just standing and holding the guitar without playing it, then it can only be your form.
I have this problem and what seems to help me is tightening the strap so that the guitar is really high up and then bringing the neck up so I'm playing with the guitar almost diagonal (wtf, just look at [url=http://img.nesteklikk.no/2003-25/12882.jpg]Tom Morello's style[/url] for a better understanding of what I'm saying :().
Pull the neck upwards so that the head is near your head. Takes the bend off your wrist a bit.
I would recommend seeing a guitar teacher briefly to check your technique.
You could also try doing the old Five-Knuckle Shuffle with you left hand instead of your right hand to try and strengthen it. If you know what I mean.
Make sure that you aren't wrapping your thumb all the way around the neck. It should be placed in the middle of the back of the neck. This makes it easier for you to stretch your hand all the way to where they need to be while playing. Make sure that your fingertips are touching the strings perpendicular to the neck, as well. Ballerina feet, my old teacher called it.
Yeah, I used to have this problem when I first started out. It turned out that I had this tiny cyst like thing there. It was like a build-up of fluid....ewww. Anyways, it went away about a month later so, make sure it's not that. If it is, just rest is the best thing you can do.
If not, it could be like hyper said, your thumb placement.
Alright. I'll tell you the thing I tell my students when they first start out:
#1:
Play with your -LEFT- knee instead of your right. This kinda forces you to sit up straight when you're sitting down, and it points the neck upwards, making it easier to access every fret easily. This also takes tension off of your wrist, because instead of a fight, it makes your hand fit right.
#2:
Take your fretting hand (i'm assuming that you are a righty) and make an "L" with it.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v188/metalvox/Jul05104.jpg[/IMG]
Now, take the inside edge of your thumb and place that on the neck of the guitar.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v188/metalvox/Jul05105.jpg[/IMG]
When you wrap your fingers around to the fretboard, you should have this little gap between the meeting of your thumb and hand and the guitar neck.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v188/metalvox/Jul05106.jpg[/IMG]
#3:
Stretch your wrist out! If it starts to hurt, then do some stretching exercises to ease the tension. It also depends on what chords you're playing. Usually the more fingers you're placing on the neck will create more of a bend in the wrist. Sitting with the guitar on your left knee should fix it. If it doesn't, then you're doing something you're not supposed to be doing.
or
It could just be that your wrist isn't used to bending like so. While i'm not suggesting you push your wrist to the point that you can't do anything with it, it could just be that your wrist is getting used to doing things it hasn't done yet.
#4:
It could be how you're fretting the notes. Try and fret the notes with your finger -TIPS- instead of the pads of your fingers. Fingertips always give you the best sense of pressure on the strings, and it forces you to fret the notes/chords right. If you're accustomed to laying your finger across, then this will be a BITCH and a half to deal with at first, but it will pay off in the end.
Hope I helped out. PM me if you have any more issues dude.