Okay, I'm going to let you in on an earth-shattering secret, something no new guitarist has ever revealed before. Prepare yourself...My fingers hurt! *Ba-ba-baaaaaaaaaa!*
Now you've recovered from this startling revelation... I've been practicing about 45 minutes a day and have just starting to work up some sweet calluses, but my poor fingertips are still feeling the beginner pinch.
It seems every new guitarist is slightly shocked that, at the beginning anyway, playing guitar hurts. The strings cut into your tender fingertips, your wrist and fingers ache from hours of contortion into unnatural shapes. And for every baby guitarist wailing over their stinging digits there are five seasoned old-schoolers doling out advice on how to combat the pain.
So I went to the source of all dubious knowledge - the glorious internets - to seek some sage counsel on dealing with the growing pains of rock god-dom. Though there are a number of bonafide products to aid in the growth of calluses, the plethora of interesting, unconventional, slightly dangerous and downright insane techniques for toughening up your fingers floating around online boggle the mind. I've put together a list of the good, the bad and the ugly pieces of advice found on the web (if you're going to try any of these please do so at your own risk!).
The wise denizens of the internet suggest:
- soaking your fingers in a variety of stuff, from the more natural - vinegar, alum (can be used to make clothing flame retardant) and salt water - to the chemical - rubbing alcohol (apparently Eric Clapton does this - take that how you will), methylated spirits and turpentine (!),
-painting your fingertips with a range of substances, including super glue (one chap mentioned flamenco guitarists repairing nails with toilet paper and Tarzan's Grip), rock climbing chalk, Liquid Skin and enamel paint,
- various repetitive actions such as squeezing the edges of a credit card, rubbing the tines of a comb, pushing your fingers into the lip of a desk drawer and tapping your fingertips on a table top until they go numb, and
- doing horrible, damaging things to your hands, like burning your fingertips with cigarette lighters (!) or hot frying pans, rubbing with sandpaper, cutting and scarring. Crazy.
After reading these nuggets of advice, from the bizarre to the downright dangerous, one of the best lists I've found online is disarmingly sensible. Practice and perseverance? Who would have thought of that?
As a french player you constantly have to battle split lips, cramped fingers and thumb calluses caused by hours in the practice room. After dealing with a mouthpiece full of blood from a cut lip during a Mahler symphony I'm pretty much prepared for anything. You can spend years hurting yourself for the sake of art before it becomes clear that a combination of persistence and sensible moderation is the only way to transform yourself from a fumbling beginner to a seasoned instrumentalist.
Does anyone out there have a tragic tale of pain and injury in their quest for musical greatness? And no, falling down during a post-gig drinking binge doesn't count (wish it did - I could fill another blog with those tales of ill repute!).
Right, time to take my own advice and head back to the practice room to continue my war against barre chords (curse you, B minor!). Think I'll leave the turpentine and hot frying pans to the future recipients of the Darwin Awards.
Today's result: Kate: 1 - Guitar: 0
2 comments:
TEA SPOON OF CONCRETE SISTER!
I joke, you'll be alrite. Everyone has dealt with the steel string blues(pun very much intended). Personally when my fingers hurt i like to press the edge of my thumb nail on the hand in question into the part of the finger that hurts, and slowly work across the finger. I'm not sure why but it feels relieving, if not slightly painful and it also helps to develop those wicked calluses.
good luck, have fun, learn Karma police by radio head for some sweet A minor action.
Go team!
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