skilsaw Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 I'm thinking of reviving my music career after a 25 year hiatus from playing guitar. I have to tell you though, I was one of those 70's dudes that bought a guitar while at university and then hid it under the bed. I never played a gig. This revival will soar beyond heights only dreamed of. The bad news is that the middle knuckle on the baby finger of my left hand refuses to bend on command. I understand some blues men get along with a two finger technique, and the great Django Reinhart developed a three finger technique because of an injury to his baby finger in his youth. Do you think it is reasonable at age 60 to have aspirations of stardome if only 3 fingers on my left hand work? If you PM me, I'll put you on a list of those guests to be invited to my first album release concert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Skil... First question I'd ask is whether the difficulty is "organic" or simply lack of communication between the brain and the finger. If the former, some figuring along the lines of what Django hadda do in terms of "how do I play" may even bring a benefit of a more personal sort of style. If the latter... it may be even more difficult. If the finger can move, and there's no organic reason why it doesn't, try flexing just the baby fingers of both hands at the same time. Heck, try it with each finger individually. You should get some feedback by what movement you can get. Again, if it's an organic problem... that's a different game. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sg50 Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Put a slide on that little finger and don't look back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Paul Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 I'll only go to your concert if you sign my album...deal? (Ooo...you big time rock stars are all the same!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skilsaw Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 I'll only go to your concert if you sign my album...deal? (Ooo...you big time rock stars are all the same!) Since you are my first customer, I'll give you the pick I use that night. Milod, the problem is not neural (brain to muscle) I injured the joint years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Put a slide on that little finger and don't look back! Now THAT'S an idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Paul Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 You've got a deal mate! As for the finger, here's a little biology that might help. The tendions that go down the finger actually run through a tunell at every joint. Now, if there's been damage or injury to the tendion or tunell at any stage (pardon the pun), any scare tissue that developed in that area, either a partially blocked tunell or an enlarged tendon, it's going to be harder to pass through when the finger flexes. Good news, this can be 100 percent reversed through minor surgery. See your doc and see what he has to say mate. Hope your blistering your way up and down the fretboard soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 I had an injury to my pinky in my youth. I think I ended up having 7 stitches across the 2nd joint from the end and it doesn't curl as far as the rest of my fingers or the pinky on my right hand. I've never even paid it any mind... I just modify my technique to fit and find a way... I generally simply leave off my pinky note on major bar-chords, but I've also found the stiffness useful and utilize my pinky for bends very often as it holds up well for that with the slight lack of flexibility. My pinky gets a lot of workout fingering single notes but not alot of use in chords unless absolutely necessary. It has loosened up over the years and gotten to be less of an issue. You will find that playing actually keeps your fingers more limber and you may get back some of your lack of mobility by simply playing as much as you can... Enjoy the hell out of it, I fully understand about hiatus and revival. I spend nearly 20-25 years without playing my guitar before taking it back up again and I'm having the time of my life re-exploring it. I honestly think I'm better now than I was then due to life experience and the wisdom of maturity. I feel the spirit and soul of the music alot more now and am far more conscious off all the little nuance things that make licks special compared to trying to sound just like Clapton when I was in my youth... I've also discovered Peter Green & Danny Kirwan in my mature adulthood... They are my heroes now! Good on ya! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Just start hacking away and see what happens. As long as you can have fun, go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vangoghsear Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 I get cursed with a straight finger sometimes when I drive too slow. I will await the Skilsaw revival with great anticipation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Skil.... Yeah, I'd say that if you haven't already seen a specialist, Marshall Paul's suggestion has a lotta potential value. Granted, it's not hands, but my wife's two remanufactured feet the past 18 months made a huge difference whether she could walk decently or not, regardless of store-bought hips and knee. If as MP suggested you're a candidate for that type of work, you may find it worthwhile in other endeavors as well... m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Bass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 In the immortal words of Flo and Eddie: We are NOT groupies! We only like musicians for friends (but we wouldn't mind coming on your bus)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 You've got a deal mate! As for the finger, here's a little biology that might help. The tendions that go down the finger actually run through a tunell at every joint. Now, if there's been damage or injury to the tendion or tunell at any stage (pardon the pun), any scare tissue that developed in that area, either a partially blocked tunell or an enlarged tendon, it's going to be harder to pass through when the finger flexes. Good news, this can be 100 percent reversed through minor surgery. See your doc and see what he has to say mate. Hope your blistering your way up and down the fretboard soon. Yes tendon sheath issues... Similar or related to repetative-motion injuries such as carpal tunnel... It is a chronic inflammation issue. Anti-inflammatories might help too. Sometimes the doctors will prescribe a super-strength Naproxen. (Aleve) Give it a shot and work-it like rehab/physical-therapy by playing alot and concentrating on techniques that stretch and work that finger as much as you can... Get to a doctor and see what they think, I know here in New England USA the doctors first want to throw pharmaceuticals at you and send you out the door so you may have to apply some persistence, but eventually they'll get around to doing something constructive/proactive about it and you might even find that the prescriptions help too... You need to get the inflammation down and then you need to get heat to it. The heat will promote injury repair in areas where blood flow is usually limited by enticing more blood to the area. The heat also dilates capillaries and allows more blood into the area, but he swelling, if any must be addressed first so the capillaries are free from constriction to allow blood directly to the area. Ice does this as does the anti-inflammatories. Long hot showers after the ice or anti-inflammatories or wrapping your hand in a heating-pad or applying some icy-Hot will help promote that blood-flow. Hands and fingers are usually tightly packed areas that don't get alot of good blood-flow. Helping the blood-flow to that area will promote looseness and healing and damaged cell replacement or rebuilding. It will nourish those cells that are affected and don't usually receive a good enough amount of nourishment from poor blood-flow. An aspirin topical cream (any OTC arthritis cream) can also help the affected area... Try any or all of these things if you're not up for tossing co-pays at into million-dollar HMO branches or if you just want to be proactive yourself up-front in conjunction with a doctor's care... I think you'll be surprised at the success you'll have with it! In extreme cases the doctors could even apply Cortisone shots into the affect joint/tendon area. I played football in my youth and developed some pretty bad tendinitis in my elbows and the doctors inserted a needle in-between the bones in my elbow and gave me a shot of Cortisone surrounding the tendon/sheath... It was excellent. The pain and subsequent self-imposed and physical stiffness went away for damn near 10 years when they usually tell you it may be effective for a couple or a few years... It didn't really do a thing for the pain in my wrists but it was a miracle on my elbows! The results are usually mixed, sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn't work, and sometimes the relief is short-lived, but I found it worth the try! That's for extreme cases, but don't be closed-minded to such a suggestion if one comes down the road... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8_4thesh0w Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Django actually lost the use of his 3rd and 4th fingers in a fire at age 17 or 18. He was able to use them only slightly for chording and then only on the 1st and 2nd strings. Skywalker, skilsaw, use the force! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.