mr dave

change up your set or take more breaks.

i don't mean to be snide but really, if your getting cramps while playing you NEED TO STOP PLAYING FOR A BIT. otherwise you WILL end up with bigger issues down the road.

a few other options you could try might be alternate tunings or alternate chord voicings, the down side being that you would have to relearn your tunes. an open tuning usually allows for full chords to be played with a single finger but it's a bit of a hassle.

alternate voicings on the other hand are really nifty and can be applied to anything. they also force you to change the way you fret your chords so there would be more motion in your left hand and more blood flow through your wrist and therefore less cramping. what i mean by an alternate voicing is the same theory behind typical bar chords but using a different chord shape than E or A. i like C and D quite a bit.

for example

e---------
B-10------
G-9-----9-
D-7----11-
A-7----12-
E------12-

it sounds slightly different but both of those are still A chords, first with a D shape then with a C shape. it might not always work for every song but it might be something to keep in mind to change things up in the middle of a big bar chord fest.

you might also want to try some warm up exercises as well. there are plenty of stretching routines on the net, those for pianist would apply to guitarists just as well.

there's also a fencing exercise that's supposed to be really good for building up your hand and wrist strength. just need to lay a few pieces of newspaper flat on a table and place your hand in the center then ball it up while keeping your hand as flat as possible.

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