finger pain on acoustic guitar

skizzer

New member
hey guys, i just started learning guitar and im currently using an acoustic guitar, im still at the basic chords practising stage but the finger pain has become unbearable till the stage tat i cant even practise chords for long.. is this normal? or should i rest? coz i heard people say u need to rest for the dead skin layer to grow on ur fingers bef the pain will lessen?

thx for any kinda assistance! =)
 
well, if it hurts THAT much, i suggest you take a rest, and let your fingers rest for awhile, but dont peel the skin of your fingers :)
 
well, if you're learning to strum, I'll recommend that you practise your chord changing for a fixed amount of time, then rest. While resting, practice can actually still continue. You can mute the strings and work on your strumming patterns with your right hand.

I started off in May this year. I didn't learn to strum. I learned to play fingerstyle as a start. So what I did was to practise the song for half an hour and rest my left hand, while I continue to practise arpeggios on my right, or just alternate between two bass strings with my thumb non stop, or work on tremolo (which i hardly ever did).

When calluses grow and skin thickens on your left hand over time (give it a few weeks), you'll be able to play for hours w/o feeling much pain. Happy playing. =)
 
well, if it hurts THAT much, i suggest you take a rest, and let your fingers rest for awhile, but dont peel the skin of your fingers :)

yeah, i heard abt peeling ur skin off will let the dead skin thing grow faster? so its nt true? anyway thx everyone =) i will persevere =) haha
 
finger pain?

Hi Skizzer,

what kind of pain is it? if its the press strings too long so feels tough on the skin pain then its normal just dont practice too long, no point doing a half hour when 15 mins will do. try not to pack all your practice time into one session, spread it out at regular intervals, its just like exercising you cant run a marathon by just like that.

secondly you might want to consider the fact that it could be your guitar's action. if its set too high then it becomes tough to press down and hold onto the strings. if so either send it to a guitar shop to lower the action or invest in a better guitar. try to give yourself a budget of $200+ and get a yamaha F310, i promise you will be playing a lot better.
 
what i used to do was to soak my hands in cold water lulz. just ignore the pain and continue practising! calluses will come naturally,.. after that not pain anymore haha
 
hey the pain is arnd the skin area only.. anyway i just realise i got blisters ler i think its blisters.. it feels a bit airy and its white.. is this normal too? or could it be wrong finger pressing technique?
 
dude... you are playing guitar... those are not paper strings or plastic strings... it is inevitable... even after 2 years of playing, my skin will still have some blisters occasionally.. just get used to it lah.
 
dude... you are playing guitar... those are not paper strings or plastic strings... it is inevitable... even after 2 years of playing, my skin will still have some blisters occasionally.. just get used to it lah.

huh will have blisters? never tio b4:rolleyes: i dont think theres correct or wrong finger pressing technique... just tt you must use ur finger tips to press:)
 
Well I don't get blisters erm because when i cannot take the pain i stop. Same goes for ppl who wants to do slap and pop guitar if you carry on dispite the pain blisters are coming your way. Well i managed to learn how to play slap and pop guitar with out getting blisters
 
wah lau,its normal to get "blisters" when your playing the guitar.
SUCK IT UP,BEAR THE PAIN!!!

sorry for ranting :mrgreen:
 
what i used to do was to soak my hands in cold water lulz. just ignore the pain and continue practising! calluses will come naturally,.. after that not pain anymore haha

i dont think you should actually soak your hands in water then practice because the water would soften your skin and when you play, it peels :/.
Happens to me hehe
 
a few things to take note. firstly, get your guitar properly set up by a qualified tech. tell him how you play it (strum/fingerstyle) and he should be able to do it for you.

secondly, you must make sure you are not playing too hard. this is a common mistake when starting out. when you are nervous, you tend to play harder than necessary, causing excessive pain. try not to push yourself too hard, go gradually. i know you want to play like (insert idol name here) but go slow and if necessary with a metronome. you should make sure that you are fretting with the minimum required force.

This means that if you use any less pressure on your left hand, the strings would buzz. Furthermore, if your guitar has largeish frets (such as yamaha), fretting too hard might cause the note to go out of tune as you are "bending" it vertically.

If all that is correct, just perservere. If the pain is unbearable, rest for a while. Unless you have extreme determination, most people would be unable to practise as much with blisters on their fingers. resulting in a case of more haste, less speed.
 
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