Sore fingers!! Dangit...

[JeremyG]

I just needed to vent. Been at this on and off for a number of months now so I'm a rank newby at 59 but......man, my fingers get sore!! Dangit....

I can only play/practice for maybe an hour (max) at a time and softly too otherwise I can't last worth diddly. I need to be able to play for longer otherwise I'm never going to get decent.

I just had to vent. I feel better now.

With apologies for the new guy whine.

(but geepers....).....(teeth gnash/gnaw...!) Dangit!

This better get easier pretty bloody soon. Dammmit!

Edit: This was all typed with a smile! Well, sort of...

[clicktone]

Just keep at it my friend...it'll pay off soon enough. When you're making beautiful music you'll forget all about the blood :^)

[Knapper32927]

I remember them days, not too long ago. Like you, I learned as an adult.

I remember thinking 'I can't even get through a whole song without my hand cramping up, how do these freaks play an entire concert!!!!''

It'll get better and better. And once the fingertips start to harden, you'll start with barre chords and introduce yourself to a whole new and interesting pain LOL

[John McGillivray]

Just wait until they start bleeding or have blisters ;)

John

[mmmaak]

Congratulations, Jeremy, you're at Phase One: Sore fingers! :D

Play frequently enough and you'll reach Phase Two: Dry, flaky callouses with much less soreness.

Depending on your skin type, you might reach Phase Three: Tough skin that doesn't peel and is pretty much oblivious to fretting pain.

Just keep at it and know that everyone's either been there or is *still* there :guitar:

[JeremyG]

Just keep at it and know that everyone's either been there or is *still* there :guitar:

Thanks Mak. You've been very helpful for beginners like me.

Hope you're having a fine summer out there.

Jeremy.

[deltoid]

You might be surprised to learn that some people play the guitar just fine without ever developing much in the way of callouses.

1. Make sure your guitar is setup properly. A poor setup can make it virtually impossible to properly learn how to play.

2. Be aware that you're probably mashing down on the strings much harder than you actually need to. (I'm guilty of this even after playing for over 30 years)

[Lou777]

Hi Jeremy

I am 59 and have been playing about 9 months now. I agree with deltiod on both counts.

I would add, part of a good set up is to make sure the nut is cut deep enough, that gets overlooked sometimes.

You have a GS they come with medium stings they are hard on the fingers too. If you change to lights it will help. You just loose a little in volume and bass but it doesn't matter if it helps while you fingers toughen up. Strings only last a short time anyway so you can change them back soon.

[mmmaak]

^
^
What Lou and deltoid said :up:

The soreness is inevitable with long hours of play, of course, but a good setup (and fretting technique) will make sure you aren't putting in more effort than you have to :)

Any idea what your current setup measurements are?

[Fngrstyl]

Mine don't get too sore anymore, but when they do, I love it. Then I know I have spent adequate time with my guitar. :)

[lofapco]

Jeremy....

I agree with Lou and Deltoid... if you still have those medium strings on the GS, going to a set of 12-54 gauge will make a big difference. As others have said, getting past the pain part won't take too long but the difference a good setup and lighter strings makes, is amazing. We should get together one of these days and you should play my Taylor 612C. It has Strat like low action with no buzz anywhere. I bet it would be much eaiser on your fingers than playing my Gibson AJ with it's medium (13 gauge) strings. But I have had the action lowered at the nut on the AJ and it still plays very easy for a guitar with medium strings on it.

Give me a call and let's get together some evening for a bit of playing. Then you can see what a difference a setup makes.

[JeremyG]

Thanks folks. These are some good suggestions that will help I'm sure.

I do have Nano lights on as per a recent change and this guitar is set up for fingerpicking although I do have some buzz issues and have been doing some minor neck adjustments to elimintae it.

I think a trip to Hoffmans Guitars is in order to put things right though. Thanks for the suggestions. I doubt it's optimum at present.

Paul, I'd love to get together with you and we will. Give me some time to get my instrument into the shop and when I get her back we'll talk. Count on it.

I'd really like to get a hold of your instruments. Remember though, I'm a real rookie...*G*

Thanks all,

Jeremy.

[lofapco]

Paul, I'd love to get together with you and we will. Give me some time to get my instrument into the shop and when I get her back we'll talk. Count on it.

I'd really like to get a hold of your instruments. Remember though, I'm a real rookie...*G*

Thanks all,

Jeremy.

That's OK.... There will always be players better than you and players worse than you.... just a fact of nature and I have always enjoyed playing with people who are better because I always learn something new. :)

[rcadian]

I just needed to vent. Been at this on and off for a number of months now so I'm a rank newby at 59 but......man, my fingers get sore!! Dangit....

I can only play/practice for maybe an hour (max) at a time and softly too otherwise I can't last worth diddly. I need to be able to play for longer otherwise I'm never going to get decent.

I just had to vent. I feel better now.

With apologies for the new guy whine.

(but geepers....).....(teeth gnash/gnaw...!) Dangit!

This better get easier pretty bloody soon. Dammmit!

Edit: This was all typed with a smile! Well, sort of...

When I started playing a year and a half ago, I wanted to play more than my fingers would allow at first. So I would play at night, let them get sore, then press them against a bag of frozen peas I took out the freezer. It certainly took the sting away. When the peas started to feel like they were defrosting/ed, I put them back, and went to bed. I repeated the process every day till the callouses arrived. I was also given the tip to putting rubbing alcohol on the tips of my fingers as well as that was supposed to quicken the devlopment of callouses. I have no idea if it did, but I tried it with a Q-tip each night too.

Now I am lucky and have the non shedding, can-hardly-see-them kind and get to noodle for as long as I like.

Good luck - as all the other posters have said, it's worth it in the end...

Rc

[claptonwannabe]

Hang in there it will be worth it. Also, you can speed the process up by soaking your fingertips in rubbing alchohol or witch hazel (sp?). And don't play your guitar right after soaking your hands in water (like you do when washing dishes). You will lose ground on the callouses that you have developed if you do.

[ljguitar]

...Paul, I'd love to get together with you and we will. Give me some time to get my instrument into the shop and when I get her back we'll talk. Count on it.

Hi Jeremy...
It's fun to go play guitars with Paul...

[JeremyG]

Hi Jeremy...
It's fun to go play guitars with Paul...

Larry,

We talked. Seems you come highly recommended too!

I hope all my 4 chords won't bore the poor guy to death. Good coffee will help...

Jeremy.

[CrawfordCentury]

Even though I've been playing for 20+ years, I can relate to the OP.

For the past couple years, the guitar's been mostly collecting dust. (Occasionally, I'd imagine it crooning plaintively to me, "You don't give me flowers, you don't sing me love songs...").

Got back into playing a couple hours a night a while back. Had to go through the same callous reformation as though I was learning to form an open G7 from a chart in a Mel Bay beginners book.

Of course, with the 40th anniversary of the Charles Manson episode in the news, the song Helter Skelter was never too far from my mind. So too were the six words shouted by Ringo at the end of that tune!

[Turtle]

That was Ringo? All these years I have thought it was John. You learn something new every day on this forum ....

[JeremyG]

Thanks for all the replies folks.

This next bit is a bit odd!

I was merrilly riding home from the D.Q. (Dairy Queen for those not familar) with a nice sized (BIG) ice cream cone last night and I got to staring out the window, deep in thought. The fingers were pinging me...

When my bride asked "where I was" I asked her if she thought it was just a case of callouses or maybe it's even more to do with "...driving back the nerves in your fingertips" that makes playing less troublesome.

I immediately got the eye-roll thing and she said something about me focussing more on getting the lawn mowed...

I think it might be a function of both!

And the lawn got mowed so she left me alone!! :guitar:

Thanks for the input.

[Chicago Sandy]

Nothing like playing 17 shows in 5 days to make one aware of one's left fingertips. By midmorning of day 3, blisters had begun to form; by day 4 they were hurting like nobody's business. I found that on day 5 little rubber finger cots helped somewhat--by keeping the skin over the blisters intact. If you avoid sulfurous veggies or eggs--or don't mind black fingertips--NuSkin works too. But just as important, IMHO, as keeping up the playing, is taking a day off. We hit the road for Memphis the day after Day 5 of the Coffeyville Humanities Project (the source of said blisters); by two days into our inter-city journey (without touching a guitar), the blisters had hardened into EXCELLENT and painless calluses. That night, I began practicing again. So when the blisters form, protect the skin, take a hiatus, and when they turn to calluses keep playing consistently to keep them in shape. They do sometimes get a little raggedy, but a fine emery file used gently smoothes them out without softening them.

[CrawfordCentury]

That was Ringo? All these years I have thought it was John. You learn something new every day on this forum ....

I remember hearing that years and years ago. After posting it here, I wanted to make sure my memory was accurate. Had it not been, I'd have fessed up. :)

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=169

Ringo played the drums so forcefully that his shout of "I've got blisters on my fingers!" accompanies the musical fadeout. Ringo explained what happened in The Miami Herald June 29, 2008: "The track was actually very long, and we were just pounding. It was a jam, really, it turned into that. And at the end, the only way off the kit was, 'Look, my fingers are bleeding, and I just have to get up.'' And I decided to shout it."

Some context explaining why Ringo was all blistery:

The first version was a 27 minute jam that was never released. During the July 18, 1968 sessions, The Beatles recorded this version, which was much slower and much more tame than the album version. Another recording from the same day was edited down to 4:37 for The Beatles Anthology, Volume III. For the album version, recorded September 9, 21 takes of approximately 5 minutes each were recorded, and the last one is featured on the official LP.