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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → MY FINGERS HURT!
I never had a problem with sore fingers. I was told to drip glue on them and let dry before I played. The callouses still grew but it was after the glue wore off and my fingers were already numb. I really have never met anyone that has played until their fingers bled.
Hows the fingers coming along?
My favorite song writer, Chuckie O, has a $2000 Taylor 12 string with blood stains all over the insides. His comment on finger pain would be, "Yeah, You'll have that". Followed by, "Keep playing, you ain't done yet."
Just keep playing and you will form callouses on you fingers. It took me about 2 months. I played with heavy strings at first and then switched to lightweight 80/20 Golds.
I played pretty much all day yesterday and couldnt wait to get up today and start again... As soon as I touched the strings I nearly hit the roof my fingers hurt so much!! Is this normal? Should I rest them (I REALLY don't want to) or should I suck it up and power through until I earn my callouses?
Callouses form from slightly injuring the finger tips causing additional skin to grow over the abraded area.
Best to play until your finger tips are just a little sore. Good callouses can build up in a week or so if you play enough but not too much.
Starting out, play every other day then every day as the pain eases and your callouses grow.
After a long layoff from playing, callouses start peeling off. Instead off cutting down to soft tissue with a nail clipper, use sand paper or a nail file to remove loose and rough skin but not the whole callous.
if they re just tender and not shreded then a little topical painkiller will dull the sensitivity . it may sound insane but i have rubbed anbesol toothache gel on my tips after a long day of picking/jamming and needed to play that evening. it doesn t numb completely but enough to play through..
I'm wondering how to set the "action" on your guitar lower without having to pay someone to do it. I'm a student who is chronically short of funds. Any ideas?
If you have an adjustable bridge on your guitar, try setting it a little lower. If you get strings buzzing against the frets, put it back like it was.
I'm wondering how to set the "action" on your guitar lower without having to pay someone to do it. I'm a student who is chronically short of funds. Any ideas?
I suggest you have it done if you can't do it yourself. It makes all the difference in the world... but yeah, you hate to pay too much.
Catwoman wrote:I'm wondering how to set the "action" on your guitar lower without having to pay someone to do it. I'm a student who is chronically short of funds. Any ideas?
I suggest you have it done if you can't do it yourself. It makes all the difference in the world... but yeah, you hate to pay too much.
Yeah, I think you're right. On the bright side, I hear that classical guitars naturally have a high action. A friend of mine might be selling her classical guitar soon for not too much and I'm interested in learning classical. This could be a good thing!
Lots of things can effect the action. The neck bow and radius, the bridge, the nut, and even the fret size and height all play a part in it. It's worth it to have it looked at by someone that knows what they're doing, because you can really wreck a guitar if it's done wrong.
Cat,
I have a Classical and I love it. Everyone says it sounds better than my steel string (Epiphone), which sounds pretty good in my opinion. Classicals do have a high action. That does make them harder to play (for me), but they sound beautiful and are fun to play with - especially fingerstyle. 
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → MY FINGERS HURT!
