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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → MY FINGERS HURT!
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?
If you can stand the pain, then keep it up. But, it is a good thing to take a break for a day or so. It is perfectly normal. I'm smiling because it happens to all of us.
Okay good, I'm stickin with it then!!
Thanks Pete 
Soak your fingers in vinegar that helps to toughen them up. You have o get calloses built up, this is where most people stop playing. Also, have the action on you guitar checked. If it's too high it makes it harder to play. Stick w/ it!!
Your finger problem is one we all have had in the beginning,it will take some time too build calloses up.
I agree with checking the string height even replacing them with a lighter gauge check with the music store with regards to the height of the strings above the frets if there old or to high it only makes it tougher to play and enjoy
Sore fingers are good. It's all part of the learning the guitar not much you can do about them just use your common sense. When they are really painfull just back off no sense in shedding the tips of your fingers (no pun intended).
Just practise a bit each day the tips will harden over time. It's a stage we all go through.
As I've said nylon strings would be alot kinder to your fingers. It's a long journey.. well as long as you want to make it with many hurdle to jump so to speak.
Keep at it and try not to get to dishearterned.
ark
Maybe practice a little less each day. In the beginning you don't want to tear up our fingers so bad that you can't practice each day. We all get a chuckle out of threads like these because we have all been there.
Good luck and keep it up.
Look at it this way. It's not that your fingers hurt, it's that they don't hurt enough!
Play as much as you can. Then play some more. They'll toughen up.
Same thing happened to me and my daughter.Stick with it.I used to use lighter strings at first and work my way up in time.Eventually you will get calouses and not feel any pain. Time and patience.Good luck and stick with it.Dont give up.
If you can handle the change in pitch try tuning the guitar down half a step. This will loosen the strings up a bit and make it easier to do bends and even just lessen the pressure needed to fret a note.
We've all been there, and sometimes I even go back if I miss a few days of playing. It gives new meaning to lyrics like "and I played it 'till my fingers bleed" in Six String Hero, doesn't it?
The human body is amazing. It will figure out what to do about this new stress you're putting on it. Your fingers will strengthen. Your skin will toughen. It takes time, and not a lot. Maybe a month. Stick it out.
- Zurf
If they start to bleed you can drip some super glue on them to close the cuts and make a fake callous. That's how I got through my first year of music school.
I found this on another site. Several have been mentioned already.
1. Make sure the action is low. The action is the distance between the strings and the fretboard. If the action is high on any guitar, that can hurt your fingers. The action should be around 1/16", or 1.5mm, at the 1st fret and 3/16", or 5mm at the 12th fret. You can have the action adjusted in most music stores.
2. Use lighter gauge strings. Try to purchase the newer coated strings. They last longer and are easier to play.
3. If it's your first guitar, try starting with a nylon-string instrument. You can always move to an Acoustic later. Nylon-strings are definitely easier on your fingers, or an electric guitar.
If the guitar is OK, you can still experience pain while your fingers are building calluses. But here are more suggestions that people on my Worship Guitar Class Newsletter list shared with me.
4. Soak your fingers in vinegar for about 30 seconds, and then dry them off before you start playing.
5. Don't play right after you have washed your hands. Rub some rubbing alcohol on your finger tips, let them dry, then play.
6. Use Dubbin on your fingers. This is a leather conditioner apparently from Australia. I'm told it keeps your fingers soft and tough at the same time.
7. From a sewing/craft store you can purchase stick on quilters' thimbles that are made of silicone. They stick to the tips of your fingers. Made in Japan, they only cost a few dollars for a pack of 60.
8. Hold ice on your fingertips before and after you play.
9. Dissolve some Alum in water and soak your fingertips for a few minutes. Dry and play. Repeat for a few days and the "toughness" increases. It's found in the spice section of most grocery stores.
10. One subscriber shared that he would slide his fingers up and down the strings until they hurt. He repeated this every 10 minutes on and off for three days and after that his fingers all had thick calluses.
Awesome guys!! thanks to everyone who takes the time to give me new hope!!! You guys are incredible
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?
This reminds me of when I started learning.
All the advice you have had is good although it will vary a bit. Personally I wouldn't just play all day when you're a beginner, but break it down into a few shorter sessions. I've been playing a long time and have pretty good callouses but even now after a couple of hours it can hurt a bit!
Ref fingernail length, I much prefer to file my nails with an emery board rather than cut them; I do it every day or every other day to keep them short (fretting hand) and as I fingerpick, keeping them at just the right length on my picking hand every two days with an emery board helps to stop breakages.
As your callouses develop you'll probably find at first that they get hard and may crack a bit; and you may get 'ridges' where you practice the same few chord shapes; whatever you do don't pick at the hard bits!! I also use a light emery board on the callouses occasionally if they are a bit 'ridged' just to make them smooth but only a light rub.
To build up strength in your fingers you can buy a cheap finger stengthener; planet waves varygrip or gripmaster; about £10-12 in UK. Good when your tips are sore and also in the train, bus, at your desk, anywhere. It particularly helps to strenghten the fingers you use less as a beginner i.e. 4th and pinky.
Keep going; no pain, no gain
From a girl point of view... all the guys have the best advice! Keep playing, though minimize to what you can handle as far as pain goes... eventually you will get AWESOME callouses (that take a while to get used to on our feminine hands, but it's all ok! You're a guitar player!)... and absolutely cut the nails. It was hard for me to do at first because I love my nails, but I love playing my guitar even more! If you take too long of a break, you'll have to go through this all over again and it's no fun. Absolutely don't play the guitar right after washing dishes or taking a bath as the callouses will be too softened up... have your man do the dishes for the next few weeks! ha ha!
Guitar = Love.
Love = Pain.
Starlee give them a day or so to heal up a bit,try not too do dishes or get them wet for long,you can use some gloves when you do dishes.
We haven't heard about her "condition" in the last few days...I wonder how she's doing!!!
Probably on stage performing with her guitar somewhere.
Starlee give them a day or so to heal up a bit,try not too do dishes or get them wet for long,you can use some gloves when you do dishes.
Classy.
AH!. Yet I did try some of the advice you guys posted, so.. my finger tips started bleeding. Cool huh? When the vinegar hit them, dear God..
Get some finger ease spray and spray your finger tips and the strings
I think stop when your fingers start too bleed,let them heal some. You might go to a staples or store like and get some finger tip rubbers like they use too count money with.
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → MY FINGERS HURT!
