I have a problem with the callouses that are forming on my left-hand fingertips (particularly the one on my middle-finger). I've been practicing playing the G major scale using hammer-ons and pull-offs (important for lead guitar, I hear, and that's what I'm interested in). But I've just begun to form a callous on my middle-finger that has kind of flattened and smoothed out the skin on my fingertip, causing it to slip off the string whenever I hammer on a string with it. It's really annoying. You guys think this'll pass as the callous gets bigger and rougher?
~Alma
Now that you are forming callouses, you'll find that you have to be more accurate (and apply more pressure) with your finger placements. If your fingers are "slipping off" then you are not pushing down the strings hard enough - whenever you play, your callouses should become "dented" so that you have grooves form in your fingers which do not go away for a little while (sorry, I dont have pictures of this to better explain it!)
Just keep practicing, and it'll get better.
Oh, and yes, your callouses will get bigger and tougher (as long as you dont get them wet / use moisturisers etc - that'll kill them off pretty quick!)
Pete
ETD - Formerly "10141748 - Reincarnate"
Yeah I especially wouldn't recommend playing guitar wet....it kills your fingers :(
"head in the clouds, feet on the ground"
Oh, and yes, your callouses will get bigger and tougher (as long as you dont get them wet / use moisturisers etc - that'll kill them off pretty quick!)Pete
Sorry if I appear thick, Pete, but do you mean not playing when the callouses are wet? I can't see how you can avoid getting them wet with showers, washing up, garden work, swimming, cleaning the car etc.
I haven't got callouses yet but I remember having them at my first attempt at playing when I was 13 (a loooong time ago). My friends and I used to rub methylated spirits (surgical spirit) onto our fingers several times a day which help harden the skin.
Ron ...
Sorry if I appear thick, Pete, but do you mean not playing when the callouses are wet? I can't see how you can avoid getting them wet with showers, washing up, garden work, swimming, cleaning the car etc.
CERTAINLY don't play when your fingers are wet; that'll rip the callouses right off! :(
As for other things, it does help if you try to avoid getting the skin with the callouses wet too much (having a shower isn't much of a problem (as long as you dry out before playing), but soaking in a bath for 2 hours is going to do some pretty nasty damage to them, as will the use of moisturisers and hand creams, which are designed to rehydrate the skin; a callous is exactly the opposite - basically speaking, callouses will peel off like a sunburn if they get too moisturised).
As for washing up, personally I have taken to wearing rubber gloves, as I find that washing up liquid is basically callous-remover - but hey, sometimes you have to make sacrifices for your art! :lol: :lol:
ETD - Formerly "10141748 - Reincarnate"
Yeah I especially wouldn't recommend playing guitar wet....it kills your fingers :(
And a wet guitar keeps slipping off your lap! :lol:
Falling in love is like learning to play the guitar; first you learn to follow the rules, then you learn to play with your heart.
And a wet guitar keeps slipping off your lap
Not if you stand up!
:lol: :lol: :lol:
Pete
ETD - Formerly "10141748 - Reincarnate"
As for washing up, personally I have taken to wearing rubber gloves, as I find that washing up liquid is basically callous-remover - but hey, sometimes you have to make sacrifices for your art!
Playing guitar is the greatest excuse known to man for getting out of the washing-up. "Sorry, I'd love to help but it'd soften my callouses." I don't mind cleaning or ironing, or cooking, or any kind of housework...but Marilyn knows better than to even ask me to wash dishes.
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
I have to be careful on the washing up excuse 'cause next time I get GAS, someone might decide we need a new dishwasher instead of a guitar or amp! :shock:
blah. moisturisers are a wonderful thing. It makes the time between every time your fingers are falling off longer.
I'm pleasantly surprised to see that after only half a year, my fingertips have started to thicken up. In the beginning, the entire callous fell off, now it's just the outer layer of skin and the fingers still feel hard.
Am i the only one who holds the scrub with my fretting hand when doing the dishes? As i don't jam the shaft of the dishwashingscrub into the water, i don't get wet.
oh, the english language plugin in my head doesn't work today.
