After playing the guitar for an hour or slightley less, my fingers hurt where Ive been doing the strings, as I havent developed the c word or whatever it is yet. Shall I keep playing for a while then stop and take a break or whatt? thankyouu. :)
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wel..i have hard fingers still they hurt...assuming you are a girl ...its very natural.
Just relax. take a short break and then play guitar again.
Rahul
Fingers take a while to toughen up. When they hurt, stop playing and pick it up again tomorrow.
Best,
A :-)
"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
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C......callouses , that's the word.
Depending how much you play, give yourself between 3-6 weeks to develop a good thick callus. Just hang in there and don't be afraid to ask for any help you need, that's why we all hang out here. To help and encourage each other
Immature? Of course I'm immature Einstein, I'm 50 and in a Rock and ROll band.
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Even though my fingers are pretty hard if I play for a long time the B and e strings sometimes feel like they are cutting through my skin and hurt like crazy. I just take a break when that happens and they are fine afterwards.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Took me forever to get mine...just stick with it
:)
As people have said already, it takes a little while to build up the calluses on your fingers; after 18months of playing my fingers still hurt after a few hours of playing! I would make two suggestions though;
1) Try to avoid things that will soften your fingers up again (i.e. moisturising the tips of you finges when you do your hands, washing up without gloves on etc.)
2) Its not only your fingertips that can hurt; if you have not been playing for long, of have had a long session without a break, your whole hand can become sore. This is a warniogn sign that can lead to RSI and this is NOT GOOD! If you feel your hands hurting at all when you make a chord, STOP and take a break. The last thing you want to do is get RSI and not be able to play at all!
Try soaking your fingertips in witch hazel or surgical spirit - it really does help. When I first switched from bass to guitar my hands were strong, but the little E string hurt me horribly, esp. when I bent notes - surgical spirit stopped all that within a week or two.
BTW, Eric Clapton swears by witch hazel, and still soaks his fingers before a tour! This is from a Saga Magazine article:
Meanwhile, he has another kind of journey to prepare - his forthcoming world tour. Naturally, he'll spend weeks rehearsing with his band. But, less predictably, he'll also be dousing his guitar-playing fingers in witch hazel.
As Clapton explains, "If I have long stretches when I haven't played much, I have to go through a whole callus-building process, which gets really painful. I've checked with other guitar players and they never have that problem. I think it's a metabolic thing. I develop these calluses and I have to try to preserve them, so my left hand has to stay out of contact with hot water. It's a nightmare."
[source: http://www.clapton.de/presse/interviews/2004_borntotheblues.htm ]
Surgical spirits sounds like rubbing alcohol and that is what I was taught 20 years ago. After picking up the guitar again after about 15 years I have soaked my finger tips in rubbing alcohol for the last 8 days and they feel like they did 15 years ago. I could peel some off and repair my old shoes with it! No pain at all!!! Feels great! (soak before you play, keeps the strings clean longer and really builds the callouses quick!)
Only just noticed your post, smiller! Yes, I think surgical spirit is what we Brits call rubbing alcohol - like petrol / gas, paraffin / kerosine and so forth. Why is it we can't agree on the names for aromatics? Come to think of it, whisky's about the only one we call by the same name 8)
