Finger tips issue

[awel]

Hi everyone,

 

I need your experience and perhaps some advices.

Often after a show +- 2 hours, my finger tips hurts a bit but I had a show yesterday and at the end of the show I was about to stop as it hurts so much,, felt like flesh is no more protected by my skin :(

 

Does anyone already have faced this or has any advices?

I am thinking to move from 010-046 to 009-046 but I am afraid to be out of tune because when I play live with the adrenalin and stress I really push a lot of pressure on my strings especially when playing lead .

 

Let me add that I don't have the problem when rehearsing with the band.

 

Today it hurts so much I am not able to play :( :( :(

[ZettaVita]

Superglue

 

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/archive/index.php?t-798765.html

[milod]

My observation is that it's technique magnified by stress/tension and pressing harder on the strings.

 

Also banging on them harder.

 

Both can happen easily without us quite realizing it.

 

I've done quite well for decades with 9-42, and for a few years also with 8-38s for rock, blues and country.

 

But again, it's a "whole" to consider rather than just this or that variable.

 

m

[JayinLA]

Superglue is the one thing that folks have been using forever.

 

I don't know what type of player you are. I have a fairly low action on my guitars and like to think I am very light with my hands. 9's are ok. You gan get some 9 to very beefy large E.

 

I suffer from something completely different. About once a year, I get what is basically terrible carple tunnel disease. The pain is to the point that I can't play. Seriously can't make my muscles move with all my will power. I have heard that is why heroin and guitar players have had such a long, rocky relationship. I would never do heroin, I am 35 and have lost a few close friends, and quite a number of people I have been aquainted with over heroin. But nobody said Rock n Roll was easy.

[Karloff]

Are your finger tips sore or are your fingers tearing away from the fingernail ?.

If it's the latter, superglue works great.

[fromnabulax]

If you're a masochist like me, you practice literally for hours on end daily until your callouses are so thick that you can tear them off and still find fresh ones underneath the old.

 

No, I am not kidding.

 

Yes it hurts, and sometimes a lot, but on a good day at age 60 I can still do 5 hours at a local outdoor farmer's market, run home and shower doing two more hours at a wedding or memorial, shower again then pull down another 4 hours at a private party or restaurant.

 

Is it painful, heck yeah. Thing is it's my joints and knuckles that throb and ache from advancing arthritis. The fingertips though while looking mighty chewed up are only a bit sore without real pain.

 

By the way, the lightest strings I use are .11s.

[capmaster]

My observation is that it's technique magnified by stress/tension and pressing harder on the strings.

 

Also banging on them harder.

 

Both can happen easily without us quite realizing it.

 

...

 

m

Very good call.

 

In particular, attacking harder will require fretting harder to avoid buzz. As well as beating up guitar tops, it may result from the feel of not sufficiently hearing one's own playing. Either optimize your monitoring setup, or play just as you were practicing and rehearsing, or both.

 

In real stage situations I don't hear most of my string attacks on guitar or bass due to the drums, and this is a good sign meaning I'm right on the beat.

 

Another point can be sliding on strings, wittingly or unwittingly, and an overall lower fretting discipline. Just relax, play your thing and care about the audience. It's all about entertainment! :)

[kidblast]

OR...

 

play acoustic guitar for a few hours a week! :)

[awel]

Are your finger tips sore or are your fingers tearing away from the fingernail ?.

If it's the latter, superglue works great.

 

It is not about the nail, it is really about the part of the finger tips that's in contact with the strings and fretboard even if I have thick callouses I play since 20 years :)

 

it feels a bit like a burn pain.

[capmaster]

Give your fingertips a chance to heal. As with all skin burns, it will take some time. That's not funny, I know, but given the time your skin will recover for sure.

 

Tow of my bandmates in the cover band I'm drumming for are professional guitar players and guitar teachers for 30+ years. They never have callouses. I had some in spring and summer 1987 from playing bass 6+ hours and acoustic steel string guitar 2+ hours on up to six days a week with an acoustic band on Loisach/Isar river rafts to Munich. Last year in spring I had burns from sliding along strings while playing bass during the what we didn't know then last rehearsal ever with the bandmate of mine who died last November from cancer.

 

It is best to develop a technique which neither causes nor takes callouses and won't cause blisters, too. I'm happy to have no callouses at all - the bruises occasionally occuring on the thumb of my fingering hand are bad enough. :unsure:

[awel]

Give your fingertips a chance to heal. As with all skin burns, it will take some time. That's not funny, I know, but given the time your skin will recover for sure.

 

Tow of my bandmates in the cover band I'm drumming for are professional guitar players and guitar teachers for 30+ years. They never have callouses. I had some in spring and summer 1987 from playing bass 6+ hours and acoustic steel string guitar 2+ hours on up to six days a week with an acoustic band on Loisach/Isar river rafts to Munich. Last year in spring I had burns from sliding along strings while playing bass during the what we didn't know then last rehearsal ever with the bandmate of mine who died last November from cancer.

 

It is best to develop a technique which neither causes nor takes callouses and won't cause blisters, too. I'm happy to have no callouses at all - the bruises occasionally occuring on the thumb of my fingering hand are bad enough. :unsure:

 

Hi Capmaster,

 

Thank you for your answer.

So you mean that perhaps I should try to change my technique and focus on not putting too much pressure on the strings while playing live?

Thing is that I am so deep into the music when playing live. I was thinking it was part of my personality/sound but perhaps I was wrong...

[capmaster]

Hi Capmaster,

 

Thank you for your answer.

So you mean that perhaps I should try to change my technique and focus on not putting too much pressure on the strings while playing live?

Thing is that I am so deep into the music when playing live. I was thinking it was part of my personality/sound but perhaps I was wrong...

Being in the limelight changes it all. This is what I spoke about in post #7. It may make us fighting instead of playing. There always is the feel of competition, and some reason and common sense are lost due to stagefright, if we like it or not. Probably this situation causes artists to take drugs. I always take a deep breath before the show starts, and sometimes in between, too.

 

I have been close to circulatory collapses several times in the early 1980's after leaving stage. I found out that it has been lack of minerals. Since then I drink - don't laugh - a glass of salt water before entering stage. Three heaped tea spoons on half a litre of water do it. Not to induce vomiting as you might think but to allow for being content with drinking just table water on stage between songs. Works fine for me, even when sweating profusely while gigging. Losing two or three kilograms may occur - and it's all water and minerals!

 

Why do I mention this? Long before we reach a critical stage of health, our nervous systems are affected by a mineral imbalance. So it's not only about preventing serious health risks from getting totally exhausted, but also about keeping control on stage.

 

Hope this helps, Awel.

[awel]

Being in the limelight changes it all. This is what I spoke about in post #7. It may make us fighting instead of playing. There always is the feel of competition, and some reason and common sense are lost due to stagefright, if we like it or not. Probably this situation causes artists to take drugs. I always take a deep breath before the show starts, and sometimes in between, too.

 

I have been close to circulatory collapses several times in the early 1980's after leaving stage. I found out that it has been lack of minerals. Since then I drink - don't laugh - a glass of salt water before entering stage. Three heaped tea spoons on half a litre of water do it. Not to induce vomiting as you might think but to allow for being content with drinking just table water on stage between songs. Works fine for me, even when sweating profusely while gigging. Losing two or three kilograms may occur - and it's all water and minerals!

 

Why do I mention this? Long before we reach a critical stage of health, our nervous systems are affected by a mineral imbalance. So it's not only about preventing serious health risks from getting totally exhausted, but also about keeping control on stage.

 

Hope this helps, Awel.

Never thought about minerals but that make sense.

I like when talk about 'fight' because even if I am in a trio context, live, I have sometimes the felling that I am fighting against the string, against the guitar and even worst sometimes against me ...

I play and sing so I am really what you can call a front man, so since the first note till the last one, I am over stressed, afraid to fail, afraid that people think 'he sucks'so I transfer my pressure to the guitar I guess. That explains too why I am exhausted at the end of a show.

[merciful-evans]

Hopefully this is just regular soreness through hard use. Presumably the skin is not broken.

 

Your fingertips are trying to protect themselves and are telling you to ease up! Listen to them.

They will heal quickly.

 

Frequent & regular practice will help by getting the fingers accustomed. Your fingertips will grow thicker.

 

 

The most adept players will only press as hard as they need to and NO HARDER. In fact this is often cited as a way to improve playing generally.

 

Unlearn this habit of pressing too hard. You can express yourself just as well without it.

[capmaster]

Never thought about minerals but that make sense.

I like when talk about 'fight' because even if I am in a trio context, live, I have sometimes the felling that I am fighting against the string, against the guitar and even worst sometimes against me ...

I play and sing so I am really what you can call a front man, so since the first note till the last one, I am over stressed, afraid to fail, afraid that people think 'he sucks'so I transfer my pressure to the guitar I guess. That explains too why I am exhausted at the end of a show.

Singing makes it all a bit harder, in particular lead vocals. Being lead and backing vocalist in three bands, my main concern is keeping my voice up to par. Additionally, talking to the audience between and sometimes even during songs has some pitfalls, too. Again, as I posted in #7, people want to be entertained. Providing a good show is more important than doing it all exactly as planned.

 

In the given context I often think of Beethoven's words - I hope I get them translated well here: "A wrong note is negligible, a note without passion is unforgivable."

[awel]

Hopefully this is just regular soreness through hard use. Presumably the skin is not broken.

 

Your fingertips are trying to protect themselves and are telling you to ease up! Listen to them.

They will heal quickly.

 

Frequent & regular practice will help by getting the fingers accustomed. Your fingertips will grow thicker.

 

 

The most adept players will only press as hard as they need to and NO HARDER. In fact this is often cited as a way to improve playing generally.

 

Unlearn this habit of pressing too hard. You can express yourself just as well without it.

 

Thank you.

I practice and play a lot, but this is really due to live condition, I can play for hours at home or at rehearsal but, since few months it hurts a lot.

[awel]

Singing makes it all a bit harder, in particular lead vocals. Being lead and backing vocalist in three bands, my main concern is keeping my voice up to par. Additionally, talking to the audience between and sometimes even during songs has some pitfalls, too. Again, as I posted in #7, people want to be entertained. Providing a good show is more important than doing it all exactly as planned.

 

In the given context I often think of Beethoven's words - I hope I get them translated well here: "A wrong note is negligible, a note without passion is unforgivable."

 

Thanks for sharing your experience with me, I will try to relax a bit live

[capmaster]

Here's one more point I found out over the years. Inviting some friends to attend rehearsals can help to prepare for stage situations. The presence of very few people you and/or your bandmates are familiar with may have a similar effect than lots of people you don't know in person.

 

There may follow debates and discussions after such a "semi-public" rehearsal, but it's better to share them before than after a gig that didn't work as desired.

 

Just as food for thoughts.

[jdgm]

Hi Awel

 

I don't think you can do much about this; your fingers are saying "too much" at the moment.

You just have to take a few days off. You may temporarily lose your edge but it will only take an hour or two of playing to regain it.

If you are like me you have to practice an awful lot anyway, in order to play properly - competently - in front of people.

 

best wishes

JohnM

[awel]

Hi Awel

 

I don't think you can do much about this; your fingers are saying "too much" at the moment.

You just have to take a few days off. You may temporarily lose your edge but it will only take an hour or two of playing to regain it.

If you are like me you have to practice an awful lot anyway, in order to play properly - competently - in front of people.

 

best wishes

JohnM

 

Thanks John, that's what I am doing rest a bit. Put some cream on my finger tips just played really softly today