A Question for the Guru - My Fingertips Hurt...

Hello, I just got my guitar today and my brother has been teaching me a few chords. My fingertips are starting to hurt really bad. Is that normal? If so, how long is it supposed to last and what do you suggest to alleviate some of the discomfort?

Thank you,

Alexia

Hi Alexia,

The pain in your fingertips is normal, although I'm sure it is uncomfortable to say the least.
What's happening is your fingertips are not use to pressing so hard down on thin metal strings. Ouch.
You do not have any calluses built up yet, and until you do, they will get sore pretty fast.. especially if you like to play and your motivated to learn.

The good news is that eventually it will go away. Well, it will get much better. It's not uncommon for a guitarist who has already built up calluses to still experience some finger tip soreness after playing for very extended periods. The more you play, the more you will build up calluses, and the longer you will be able to play without feeling discomfort.

The fact that you have experienced this soreness says to me that you already have a good interest in your instrument. That's great! Don't let this "right of passage" stand in your way to becoming a great guitarist and musician.

To answer your questions:

Is it normal? Yes, it's completely normal and it will get better.

How long will it last? Good question. Everybody is different. Your going to really feel it the first few weeks, since most likely you haven't got any calluses built up on your finger tips. They will get red, sore, and definitely feel uncomfortable. If you play a little bit every day, or at least a couple of times a week, you will get the best results. Take your time, there is absolutely no need to play while in pain. If you feel pain, STOP, take a break. You can always study your scales, theory, notation, etc. There are many things you can do to advance your playing without actually playing the guitar. Even listening to your favorite artists will help, now that you put a guitar in your hands you will start to hear music differently.

There is nothing wrong with taking a day or two break to let those sore finger tips heal. As they heal, thin layers of skin will build up on your fingertips, the more skin that builds up the better.

Remember, if you feel pain, STOP, take a break, or call it day. I would even suggest that as soon as you feel discomfort, which might be pretty quick, STOP, and take a break. If it hurts, call it a day.

What do you suggest to alleviate some of the discomfort? So you got your new guitar, and boy are your fingertips hurting. I would suggest soaking them in a glass of cold ice water. It will get the red out, help with any minor swelling, and cool and relieve those sore digits.

Every time that you play, you will get stronger and build up more tolerance to those tiny metal strings that are making your fingertips so raw. The process of playing and then resting is what will allow you to play longer and stronger. Take your time, there is no hurry and no reason to feel discomfort. Eventually you will build up enough calluses and tolerance that one day you will forget all about these early days and you'll just keep playing for hours and hours.

Congratulations! You have already taken your first step to becoming a great guitarist.

Welcome to the family.

Stop looking at your guitar!

Let go young Jedi.. trust the.. guitar.

I don't care if your a seasoned player, or if you have just picked up the guitar for the first time, one of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to stop watching yourself play guitar. Sure, it's hard, and your going to make some really horrible sounding mistakes at first, but if you stop looking at your fingers and the fret board, you'll free yourself and play better. I know, it sounds like some crazy Jedi training, or metaphysical mumbo jumbo, but it's not. If you practice your guitar without looking at it, your fingers will eventually find the right place, you'll hear what your playing better, and you will become a better guitarist.

Think about it, Ray Charles, Jeff Healey, and so many other great musicians are all blind. They are unencumbered by watching themselves play their instruments, and they are all excellent players. Why? Because your eye will lie to you. Your eyes will talk to your brain and say things like "Hey man, there is no way I can make my fingers stretch that far!", or "There is no way I can play that fast!". Freeing yourself from watching your instrument allows your brain to concentrate on more important matters, like your tone, or tempo, the overall sound of the band, or the hotty in the front row. Looking at your hands while you play can actually become a crutch that will hold you back.

Seriously, it's all about freeing your mind.

It is easier to do than you think. The hardest part is believing that you can do it.

Your muscles have memory, and they will remember where to go, even better than if your eyes try to show them. Once the muscles in your fingers and arms know where they should be, they will go right back to it, every single time, without even thinking about it. Now, that's when you will really start to play.

Here are some ideas for you to try at home.

Beginners Homework:

Beginning guitarists should start with a very easy chord progression. ex. G A D
I know that playing chords can be very hard at first, and you probably don't have the shape memorized just yet. Here's what I want you to do. Use your chord chart, or song book, whatever it is that you like, and lay it out in front of you. Play it through the chord progression once while looking, only if you have to. Now, this time, don't look and play the first chord. GO SLOW. Stare at the wall in front of you, or close your eyes. If your having a hard time finding the right notes with your fingers, keep trying without looking, until you find it. Imagine the chord shape in your head. Look at your chord chart if you need to. You will notice that you can feel the fret board better. It will seem different, out of proportion somehow, but it isn't different. Try pressing down on the strings lighter, see how soft you can press before you can't hear the note

• Learn to play these major chords, in the first position, without looking. C, D, E, F, G, A
• Play 3 chord progression, all without looking. ex. G, C, D
• The Chromatic Scale - Play each note, on every string, with every finger, all without looking. ex.. on the low E.. play frets 1,2,3,4 with fingers 1,2,3,4. repeat on all 6 strings. then do it backwards, on every string.

Intermediate Homework:

• Learn to play an entire song without looking, from beginning to end, no mistakes. Any song, but make it a simple song.
• Play the pentatonic scale, in all positions(boxes), up and down, without looking.
  Move between the positions without looking.

Advanced Homework:

• As an advanced guitarist who has not yet learned to play without looking, you will find this to be a very difficult task for some things and quit easy for others. You have a bad habit, and now you will have a hard time breaking it. The hardest part for you will be hearing yourself play bad and knowing that if you just look you will sound better. You will be tempted to give up because you will hate the fact that you are sucking. DON'T GIVE UP! If/when you make a mistake, just keep trying to find the right note, without looking. I have seen advanced guitarists make huge progress by learning to play without looking, it's a great way to get out of a playing rut. You will learn faster, play faster, smoother, and begin to play on a whole new advanced level. It's worth the effort.
• start by doing the chromatic scale up and down the neck, one position at a time. No looking, ever.
• Play an entire song without looking. Play it until you play it perfect, and only then move on to another song.
• Learn to play every scale, in every key, in every position, without looking. Start with the pentatonic, move on from there.

One of my favorite guitarists is Jimi Hendrix. Jimi could play the guitar behind his head, under his leg, all without looking. I heard Stevie Ray Vaughan comment on that very thing, saying that it was the key to playing Hendrix correctly. Notice that Stevie Ray didn't need to look either.

Once you learn how to do this, you will play so much better. Beginners will learn faster and progress faster, and advanced guitarists will quickly jump to a whole new amazing level. The hardest part is to not get discouraged.

You can do this. I know you can. Good Luck!

My First Guitar...

I've been playing guitar for over 29 years. In fact, deciding that I wanted to play the guitar was probably the best decision that I have ever made in my life. It has given me so much enjoyment over the years that I really couldn't even begin to put a price tag on it. I've even been fortunate enough to use my musical talents to further my broadcasting career, jam with friends, write songs, record, and perform live in front of huge crowds. I've shared the stage with fantastic talents like KORN, Joe Satriani, Great White, Type O Negative, and many others. I not only play guitar for my job, but I also do it for fun.

My parents purchased my first guitar for me back when I was in the 4th grade. At that time, I didn't want to play guitar, I actually wanted to play the trumpet! What was I thinking? They said Trumpets were to much money, and brought me down to Consolidated Music in Barrington Illinois, a very small but cool hometown music store located about a half a block off of main street. The store is still there today. I can still remember the sales girl showing me my first Chord, it was a G Chord. The guitar was inexpensive, and didn't play very well at all. I think they paid about $40 for it. The strings were very tight and were so far off the neck that you could use it as a cheese cutter.

Once a week, I would walk with my guitar in a vinyl gig bag up to the music store after school for my half hour lesson. My teacher, I have forgot his name, sucked. He would teach me 3 notes a week, all on one string. 3 weeks into the lessons, and only 8 notes on 3 strings, this was way to slow for me. I decided I could teach myself and accelerate my progress. I purchased a couple of songs books from the store and headed home confident that I would soon be a huge guitar star. Within a week I had learned several songs from a John Denver song book. My friends still kid me about it. My first song was "Leaving on a Jet Plane". wow.

I stuck with it, and did a lot of reading. I soon learned the chords and all the notes. My mom had already taught me how to read music, so I was quickly learning new songs almost every day. I really enjoyed playing the guitar, and would play every single day after school for about 4 hours. Since I didn't have a stereo or record player I just learned the songs from the book, having never heard them before. I knew who Elvis was, and The Beatles, and took to learning their material when I could.

After a few months my father, who was a liquor salesman, hired the son of one of his clients to come over to my house and teach me guitar lessons once a week. I'll never forget Kirk Brikowski, he had the longest hair I had ever seen on anybody. It was straight, and blond, he looked a lot like Bob Segar. Kirk was cool man, he use to be in a band called Sorcery and showed me their record. Yeah, I was impressed, but I didn't want to learn rock. I wanted to learn Classical guitar. Kirk was great, confused, but acquired the materials that I would need and began teaching me guitar. In hindsight, I wish I would have had Kirk teach me rock guitar. He was a very skilled player and would have saved me years of learning rock on my own. Classic.

Well, that was 29 years ago, and I'm still not a huge guitar star. Since then I have learned many styles; Classical, Jazz, Country, Rock, Metal, Punk, Blue Grass, and Blues. All of these styles have melted into my own original playing style, fused into a kind of hybrid tone. It's been a great journey and I still have a long way to go.

My goal here is to help others who wish to follow the path of the guitar. Most of the lessons and tips will be geared towards self learning, however I would strongly suggest that you find yourself a skilled instructor and sign on for some one on one lessons. Learning on your own is essential, but you will learn faster from a skilled instructor who can critique your playing and offer suggestions and guidance.

I will provide instruction and tips for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. I will also provide information on buying guitars, acoustic and electric, amps, gear, as well as, live performances. Music is personal, and everybody has their own tastes. I'm not going to teach you how to play songs, I'm going to teach you how to learn songs and perform those songs. We will cover exercises for your body and your mind. We will train you ears and your fingers.

My goal is to teach you how to learn.

Welcome young Jedi... You have already taken your first step twords a long and colorful musical journey.