Guitar strings. The government was busy learning how to waterboard suspected terrorist and coming up with different torture methods when they over looked one of the most awesome methods of inflicting pain upon would be terrorist. Even more so, the terrorist would have felt the need to do it on their own. What is it you ask? Well your here, so obviously it is playing guitar!
Let me tell you firstly, my fingertips hurt like hell. No really, there is the pain you get at your finger tips when you first learn to play guitar, some people blister up, it can be pretty bad. Then over time you get some calluses (thick skin) that forms and life seems much better. The years pass, and the calluses are strong enough to let you thrust your hand in someone’s chest with your fingers and pull out there heart and show it to them, a la ancient kung fu flicks!
But for some reason, over the course of the last month, I have really increased my playing time, not only doing wacky original songs but tons of covers for the band, and my fingers at this moment are shot. Strong but shot. No blisters, no extra calluses, just ouch. I wonder what comes after this. Super finger strength? Will I need an iron keyboard to blog on, so as not to damage my laptop? Will picking my nose become too dangerous? Will scratching my ass be…, forget it.
So how are your calluses today?
June 26th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
my calluses are shot — not only because breaking my wrist meant I couldn’t play for weeks, but because I’m digging La Bella’s Deep Talking Bass strings, which are coated =) I do sometimes get a sort of rugburn thing going on my fingertips, which is almost worse.
June 26th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Ouuuuuch!
I think your fingertips are normal if they feel pain after all that practice and cover songs thing. Maybe you need to rebuild your calluses or it is because of new guitars, new strings, new song techniques, and your fingers are not used to it yet, just guessing.
June 26th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Well i don’t know dude, by when i was 9 years old or some, my elite father wanted my fingers to adhere to the guitar strings, it looked and FELT like a grilled Arepa, grooves on each of my damn fingers LOL. But yeah i think i dont know real pain lol!
June 26th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Suriel – Ouch! Bass players have a special kind of suffering don’t they. I saw Kim Deals fingertips in a Pixies documentary and she was soaking them in ice, big bubbly blisters, ouch!
Conchita- There is no more rebuilding of callus left, my fingertips are plenty hard and thick skinned, it really is just the increased playing that has made them a little sensitive.
Daniel – Yeah, starting out hurts pretty bad too, in fact, it may be worse than this pain I am complaining about since it is a new sensation to people, I am used to it.
June 26th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
You know how when you do a lot of sliding and haven’t played guitar in awhile, the sliding tears up some of that fingertip skin? Well, yeah… I’m kinda like that right now. Damn my 10-52 strings!!!!
June 27th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
On the original Kung Fu television show, it was shown that the same feet that could kick through a brick wall could also walk on rice paper without tearing it. You still have much to learn, Grasshopper.
June 28th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
My calluses are on the brink of not existing. That’s a very sad indication of how my guitar playing has been doing lately.
June 28th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Rock On Superman, cause eventually your hands of steel will want you to open a bottle of asprin. LOL
you must really be getting good, to be beyond pain.
June 29th, 2009 at 1:28 am
hey supaman – I got some blues for you today and a liberal sprinkling of catz too ;)
http://thesuss.blogspot.com/2009/06/if-you-give-away-yo-cat-imma-sell-my.html
even Janis Joplin.. Yeah,