[hursty]

can any one help iv been playing for one year and the freting hand tips of my fingers are getting grooves after about 15 mins of playing which are very deep , the skin has gone very hard but tips are still sore , i practice every day 1 to 2hours . can you tell me is this normal or am i pushing myself to much many thanks

[allthumbs]

You may be pressing down too hard. Remember to press only hard enough to get a clear note to sing. Anymore pressure is going to have a negative effect on your playing.

[hursty]

i am a bit heavy handed noticed this myself iv tried to alter my tecnique and hold with less pressure but lost clear sound iv got very fat fingers dont think they were built for guitar playing must have been the brick laying course i was on when i left school .i will try to remember your advice when playing many thanks

[eCowboy]

What are you playing on? I found when I first started that a cheaper axe (which is what many of us start with) with high strings and bad action will cause this kind of problem.

[hursty]

That makes sence what im playing on most is a cheap hudson classic my misses bought when i started playing and she also bought a navada electric for my birthday this year all i can say is she must be stone deaf as well as blind ,i had to raise the action on the hudson it is set very high had to raise because of fret buzz , raising did solve , might have been my tecnique at the time i will check thanks for top advice

[mickyboy100]

hi hursty if the action is ok try lighter strings it worked for me it also help with my barre chords did'nt have to press that hard

[hursty]

thanks to everyone who replyed iv got some lighter strings today happy guitaring days

[Stratrat]

Hursty - if you want to see fat fingers on a guitarist, do a Google search for Redd Volkaert - he's a country picker with fingers like sausages, and he turns out some truly great tunes. They'll get "thinner" (or at least feel that way) with practice.

As far as Allthumbs' advice about fretting too hard - back off your grip until your notes aren't sounding cleanly, then add juuuuust enough pressure to get them clear.....that's all you need. Not only will it help with your sore fingers, it'll also keep you from pushing notes sharp from squeezing too hard.

[eddiez152]

Lots of talk about fingers so here's mine

Not so pretty fret fingers - Ouch - Pickin nails.
Ladies eat you heart out - For the guy's no I not like that.
As far as the fret fingers, that from playing hours at a time for the last 3 months.
eddiez

[hursty]

are they fingers or toes looks like a bad case of atheletes foot ha ha
to all i have taken all replys on altererd guitar a lot and style fingers are a lot better many thanks once again

[X4StringDrive]

Originally Posted by eddiez152

Lots of talk about fingers so here's mine

Not so pretty fret fingers - Ouch - Pickin nails.
Ladies eat you heart out - For the guy's no I not like that.
As far as the fret fingers, that from playing hours at a time for the last 3 months.
eddiez

Real ouch

Table saw won, still don't have much feeling in index finger and face of thumb. So moral is, a little pain never hurts if its for the greater good.

[AeroHudson]

Anyone experience sore knuckles from playing? I just started about a week ago and although I feel a bit of tingling and hardening of the tips of my fingers I can deal with it so far. My pinky knuckle actually hurts a bit worse but nothing unbearable.

[volfan]

Originally Posted by AeroHudson

Anyone experience sore knuckles from playing? I just started about a week ago and although I feel a bit of tingling and hardening of the tips of my fingers I can deal with it so far. My pinky knuckle actually hurts a bit worse but nothing unbearable.

No, but the tendons in my left elbow aren't too happy with me.

[agent0064life]

Originally Posted by AeroHudson

Anyone experience sore knuckles from playing? I just started about a week ago and although I feel a bit of tingling and hardening of the tips of my fingers I can deal with it so far. My pinky knuckle actually hurts a bit worse but nothing unbearable.

Are your fingers double jointed?

[AeroHudson]

Not that I am aware of...