[sjb_sparkles]

I just started playing the guitar yesterday ( I played for 13 hours no lie) well the tips of my fingers are so sore that I can't play today does anyone have any tips on what I could do???????? I really want to play today I enjoy it and I don't want to stop I really want to accomplish this I have wanted to do it my whole life for as long as I could remember PLEASE HELP thank you

[allthumbs]

When you just start, you have to limit your playing to what your body can take. Wait a few days to let your fingers heal. Blisters will take you back to day one if they pop. Work up to longer periods of time. I think my record is about 6 hours straight. 13 hrs is way too long for a beginner. Playing guitar is a life long endeavour, relax and enjoy it.
Study some theory while your fingers heal. The more you know, the better you will play.

[GotDeeBlues]

Welcome into the forum. The sore fingers will eventually callus and stop hurting. That many hours while beginning might even be non-productive without some breaks along the way. Nothing you can really do for the tips but keep practicing until they harden up.

[lorispencer]

welcome and good luck. lots of good advise and music here.

[lysol]

Heheh, sore fingers. BTDT, get used to it.

If they're really, really, sore as in hurting steadily and not jsut when you touch a string, you can probably get away with some over the counter pain killer like Motrin or whatever and some nice, cool, soothing ice. I've been drinking iced drinks all day because the cup feels good to my poor little fingers.

And do like allthumbs said, don't over do it, once the calluses form you won't even notice it.

until you stop playing for 21 years and then decide to start again one day.

[eddiez152]

sjb, welcome to GFB&B and guitar playin. Boy I guess you really do want to learn.
Do this a little bit at a time though. Like everyone said. Its hard to put the guitar down for many of us.
Those pinkys will get tougher.

[Ledhead V-2]

Originally Posted by sjb_sparkles

I just started playing the guitar yesterday ( I played for 13 hours no lie) well the tips of my fingers are so sore that I can't play today...

Nooo! You say you just started playing yesterday, you played for thirteen hours straight and that now your fingers are, sore?!? That's strange...

Lol! Welcome to the club. The day I got my brand new imitation ( ) Les Paul Jr. a year and a half ago, I practiced (actually just screwed around with it) for about 3-4 hours -- and I thought that was a lot. You're either going to be the next EVH or burn out on guitar completely within two months if you keep up this pace. Of course, I hope it's the former...

[Chris C]

Thirteen hours! That is enthusiasm.

I agree that you really have to work up steadily to getting the calluses on your fingers.
But if you get desperate then there is a way to work on guitar without using those poor raw stumps.

Obviously you can use the time to good effect by reading up some theory, so some knowledge about how the guitar is tuned and laid out will be very useful. And once you've made some progress in that area then you could read up about 'open tuning' - open D is popular.

Once your guitar is in open D you can work on your rhythm, timing and strumming patterns without using any fingers on the fretboard at all. You could even use a capo to get different chords with the same open tuning (or go completely nuts and try some slide guitar...) . Or you could get really ambitious and start work on barre chords by lying your index finger flat across the neck and see if you can get a clean sound out of some of the strings. So long as it's tuned in open D you'll get a proper chord at any fret - IF you can hold the strings down (this can take months to master though...).

This is all jumping WAY ahead of yourself.... but somehow I don't think that you'll be too worried about trying things that aren't usually recommended.

All the best on the journey,

Cheers,

Chris