Neil,
I recently restarted playing the guitar after many years of inactivity. I have been playing again for a few months now and even though I have developed caloses I have noticed that when I play I have large indentions in the fingers (expecially middle and ring finger) and the fingers always hurt. Is this normal or am I pressing my fingers down to hard? Also I think when I started playing again my left hand finders have been hitting the strings on the lower portion of the fingertip instead of the center. What would you recommend?
Sore Left Hand Fingers
jimbob wrote:
In my experience it is very common to have dents on your calluses and no, you aren't necessarily pressing too hard. But only press hard enough to fret the note(s) because too much pressure makes it hard to change positions quickly. I have pretty good calluses built-up and I played in a two-hour jam session the other night and my fingers hurt like hell, even with good calluses.
Finally, you aren't going to hit every note precisely on your finger tips but if you aren't hitting the tips consistently you probably have a hand position problem. Watch Neil's left hand and the way he plants his thumb on the back of the neck and keeps his wrist rotated underneath. Classic left hand position! This will change a little if you are playing the blues (which is a little sloppy by nature) or need to fret the low F# with your thumb. But if your thumb is usually on top of the neck (near the low E) you are cheating!
If you are just getting back into playing, use this time as a chance to break old, bad habits and get your techniques down pat! You'll get your mojo back much faster!!
Happy playin'
Jimbob- Welcome to the forum! When your fingers hurt it means that you are playin' again! Maybe I'm a masochist but I love finger pain! It means I'm doing what I love- playin' the guitar!Neil,
I recently restarted playing the guitar after many years of inactivity. I have been playing again for a few months now and even though I have developed caloses I have noticed that when I play I have large indentions in the fingers (expecially middle and ring finger) and the fingers always hurt. Is this normal or am I pressing my fingers down to hard? Also I think when I started playing again my left hand finders have been hitting the strings on the lower portion of the fingertip instead of the center. What would you recommend?
In my experience it is very common to have dents on your calluses and no, you aren't necessarily pressing too hard. But only press hard enough to fret the note(s) because too much pressure makes it hard to change positions quickly. I have pretty good calluses built-up and I played in a two-hour jam session the other night and my fingers hurt like hell, even with good calluses.
Finally, you aren't going to hit every note precisely on your finger tips but if you aren't hitting the tips consistently you probably have a hand position problem. Watch Neil's left hand and the way he plants his thumb on the back of the neck and keeps his wrist rotated underneath. Classic left hand position! This will change a little if you are playing the blues (which is a little sloppy by nature) or need to fret the low F# with your thumb. But if your thumb is usually on top of the neck (near the low E) you are cheating!
If you are just getting back into playing, use this time as a chance to break old, bad habits and get your techniques down pat! You'll get your mojo back much faster!!
Happy playin'
This guy was so inspiring to me, I have to admit
he brought a smile to my face and a tear to my
eye.
I did find his website and decided to buy a few
of his CDs. It's a pleasure to support a guitarist
like him.
http://www.tonymelendez.com/English/Store.html
Haoli
he brought a smile to my face and a tear to my
eye.
I did find his website and decided to buy a few
of his CDs. It's a pleasure to support a guitarist
like him.
http://www.tonymelendez.com/English/Store.html
Haoli
jimbob,
I am surprised you didn't get more feedback on your question, but then I realize that many of the more prolific contributors on this forum probably worked through newbie-type finger soreness a few moons ago.
I started playing three months ago after a forty year layoff, and I was awe-stricken at the pain level. When I started playing, ten minutes was as far as I could go. I can play about ninety minutes now, but I want to be very clear about this: every session ends in finger pain because I play until it hurts. I think the phrase "no pain no gain" applies here. I built up callouses, as you mentioned you have, and I can play about an hour pain-free. After that, I'm painin' and gainin'. I also want to point out that in the three months, I missed playing only one day, and I sorely (pun intended) regret it because I felt like I lost about a week's worth of toughness in that one day.
I agree with BigBear about the indentations. I get them every day, and they go away every morning. But as BigBear said, watch how hard you press the strings. On that advice I found I was applying excessive force. After lightening up a bit, my pain level went down and my chord changes improved. I will also mention that the frets wore through the windings on my first set of strings after three weeks' use...
Your comment about the point of contact on your fingertip caught my attention. I noticed right away when I started playing that I was having difficulty arching my fingers as much as players I watched in YouTube videos. I wasn't able to bend the last joint on my fingers very much, and I had string contact closer to the finger pad than the fingertip as you described. I was able to solve this by exercising daily with a soft rubber toy football. I do two exercises with the football. First, I emulate Neil's demonstration of pumping a chord, except I curl the fingertips as far as I can into the football. The second exercise is a passive exercise. I curl my fingertips and push the football into the tops of my fingers to bend the joint as much as possible. After just a few days, I saw a significant improvement in finger arching, and the contact point moved to the tips of the fingers. This helped me get better hand position and fewer muffled notes.
Well, jimbob, there you have it newbie to newbie. Play every day. No pain no gain. Don't squeeze excessively. Don't worry about dents. Exercise and bend your finger joints with a soft rubber ball.
Good Luck
wrench
I am surprised you didn't get more feedback on your question, but then I realize that many of the more prolific contributors on this forum probably worked through newbie-type finger soreness a few moons ago.
I started playing three months ago after a forty year layoff, and I was awe-stricken at the pain level. When I started playing, ten minutes was as far as I could go. I can play about ninety minutes now, but I want to be very clear about this: every session ends in finger pain because I play until it hurts. I think the phrase "no pain no gain" applies here. I built up callouses, as you mentioned you have, and I can play about an hour pain-free. After that, I'm painin' and gainin'. I also want to point out that in the three months, I missed playing only one day, and I sorely (pun intended) regret it because I felt like I lost about a week's worth of toughness in that one day.
I agree with BigBear about the indentations. I get them every day, and they go away every morning. But as BigBear said, watch how hard you press the strings. On that advice I found I was applying excessive force. After lightening up a bit, my pain level went down and my chord changes improved. I will also mention that the frets wore through the windings on my first set of strings after three weeks' use...
Your comment about the point of contact on your fingertip caught my attention. I noticed right away when I started playing that I was having difficulty arching my fingers as much as players I watched in YouTube videos. I wasn't able to bend the last joint on my fingers very much, and I had string contact closer to the finger pad than the fingertip as you described. I was able to solve this by exercising daily with a soft rubber toy football. I do two exercises with the football. First, I emulate Neil's demonstration of pumping a chord, except I curl the fingertips as far as I can into the football. The second exercise is a passive exercise. I curl my fingertips and push the football into the tops of my fingers to bend the joint as much as possible. After just a few days, I saw a significant improvement in finger arching, and the contact point moved to the tips of the fingers. This helped me get better hand position and fewer muffled notes.
Well, jimbob, there you have it newbie to newbie. Play every day. No pain no gain. Don't squeeze excessively. Don't worry about dents. Exercise and bend your finger joints with a soft rubber ball.
Good Luck
wrench
Big Bear,
Thank you for the constructive comments/advice. After I read your response I went through the first beginner lesson where Neil goes over the left hand position on the guitar. Now I am trying to break a bad habit of having the thumb to high on the neck. I've noticed that when I use proper left hand position my fingers have better reach and the chords come out cleaner. Thanks again.
JimBob
Thank you for the constructive comments/advice. After I read your response I went through the first beginner lesson where Neil goes over the left hand position on the guitar. Now I am trying to break a bad habit of having the thumb to high on the neck. I've noticed that when I use proper left hand position my fingers have better reach and the chords come out cleaner. Thanks again.
JimBob
Some excellent advice here.
I've been playing for long enough so that I can play for about 2 to 3 hours straight before my fingers get really sore. But I'm doing Neils beginner 5 myself and its helping me a great deal. My finger position alone has improved drastically. I'm breaking bad habits already. And my fingers aren't hurting so much anymore. Keep going, you'll get there.
I've been playing for long enough so that I can play for about 2 to 3 hours straight before my fingers get really sore. But I'm doing Neils beginner 5 myself and its helping me a great deal. My finger position alone has improved drastically. I'm breaking bad habits already. And my fingers aren't hurting so much anymore. Keep going, you'll get there.
jimbob wrote:
Best wishes for your continued improvement!
Rick
My pleasure! We are all trying to unlearn bad habits like bad hand position. It's amazing when you start doing it correctly how much better you can play!Big Bear,
Thank you for the constructive comments/advice. After I read your response I went through the first beginner lesson where Neil goes over the left hand position on the guitar. Now I am trying to break a bad habit of having the thumb to high on the neck. I've noticed that when I use proper left hand position my fingers have better reach and the chords come out cleaner. Thanks again.
JimBob
Best wishes for your continued improvement!
Rick