My calusses develop divots when playing - its a problem

I think you'll find the problem disappears. I too get a small groove on the tip of the finger, but it doesn't seem to interfere with my playing. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

I agree with Musen. I'll add, next time you practice a chord that you feel like you have to press down really hard, practice not pressing down so hard. It doesn't take a lot of pressure to fret a chord.

A lot of times when I'm learning a new song that I'm picking single notes out of the chord, I find I stay on the same chord for a little while to get it right. That is when I notice lines in my fingers. I will smooth them out by rubbing them, but if I go back to the same chord, it doesn't take long for the lines to come back.

Not a big deal though. Maybe look at how you are changing chords if the lines are affecting your sound. You might be draging your fingers rather than picking them up.

Good luck,

Mike

Hey Rich,

You could do two things.

1. (I've heard of this one) Soak your tips in some rubbing Alcohol for a minute or rub one of those alchy pads on them. That'll harden em up.

2. Better still - Borrow your wife's, girlfriend's, daughter's, or buy your own,
"EMORY BOARD". Y'know those Sand Paper'd sticks to shape long finger nails with. Just don't over do it. And whatever you do "Don't PICK/PEEL them off" or you'll be right back to having none.

After a while the calous' may shrink down a bit, but they're always gonna be there as long as you keep playing.

Also practice not pressing so hard, now that you have some calous built up, you don't need to press hard anymore :):):)

Cheers
D-

here you go then back to your finger problem..go to a chemist and get a bottle of surgical spirit hold them in there a while 2/3 times a day you will soon have no problem,thank eric clapton not me........ps dont light em, takes the fun out of playing! :shock:

i actually have a semi-permanent groove on my middle finger, but it doesn't really affect my playing. keep your strings clean.

I find that I get "groovy fingers" (sorry, couldn't resist) after very little playing if I press too hard. If I apply just enough pressure to fret a string, I don't seem to, even tho I'm a beginner and so don't have the toughened finger tips of a seasoned player. What I do is this; when fretting a chord, I gently lower the pressure of each finger in turn to as little as I can and still get a clean note. Then I hold the cord and strum it in some random pattern for about 30 secs, then move on. I find that next time I fret the chord I apply a little less pressure (tho usually still too much, so I do the routine again) and that my finger coordination increases as well (it's actually hard to move your ring finger without moving the rest if you're not used to it!). I have no idea if this way of practice is particularly good, since I'm a complete beginner, but it's helped me so far.

I gently lower the pressure of each finger in turn to as little as I can and still get a clean note. Then I hold the cord and strum it in some random pattern for about 30 secs, then move on

That is a great method of practicing. You have a lot more dexterity when you fret gently, which gives you the ability to fet more cleanly. Visious circle.

On the origianl post - I think eveyone goes through the old dented finger stage. It should gradually go away as you play more.

Cheers peeps.

I don't feel like I am pressing that hard, but I have to eventually as the string just disappears into my finger. It'd be like trying to clamp a cable to the floor using a horseshoe, if you see what I mean, after a while I just can't get the strings to ring clear.

Yes - I know what you mean! Especially the thin strings (E and B). The problem went away after awhile.... (a couple of weeks). It was a real problem playing the "D" chord.

Bob Jessie

Hey all, if you're missing the questions about the slash chords (Am7/G, D9/F#) -- I moved them to their own thread.

http://forums.guitarnoise.com/viewtopic.php?t=19788

Can someone confirm that in the above, each chord refers to one measure. So where Am7/G appears I should play half a measure of AM7 and half a measure of G? Or is there such a thing as an AM7/G chord? And how do I split it, or do I just figure it out based on the song?

Think of it as the AM7 chord WITH a G note added. I did the same thing in the beginning.....

Bob Jessie

if you are pressing so hard as to get divots....remember to press behind the fret and not right on top of it.

callouses change throughout your playing experiences.

after a few years you'll notice them to be alot tougher, deeper and wider.
keep at it.

Ive never used spirits, super glue or anything on my fingers.
just good ol playing is all you need.

my callouses are old. they have a ridge which comes in handy for pull offs.

since everyone one is different I would believe tha callouses form differently for everyone.
just dont give them names.

Make a temporary X by rotating your finger 90 degrees and pressing hard on a string until you get two lines. I think that helped me when that wasa a problem.

I had this problem too (still do to some extend but not as bad) a few months ago. It seems to get better as you learn more chords and figure out the exact pressure level you need for fretting. [fret is a word that screams to be part of a bad pun] I guess it's a combination of having enough variation that a particular part of the finger won't get over used as well as figuring out you don't need to hurt your fingers to play a chord.

oktay

I get this problem every once in awhile when I am playing my acoustic. I attribute it in part to the strings being 12's which is large for me. I think it happens when my calluses have been softened up, usually from exposure to too much water - darn dishes. It also happens despite how hard I am pushing on the strings. It is quite annoying because you have to adjust your fingers to ring the notes out cleanly!