Calluses

A pick hand laceration (thumb nerve damage) interrupted playing (guitar only) for a prolonged period--just starting back.

It occurred to me that during the timeframe of developing calluses again it seems a period prone to developing bad habits fretting. Therefore, keeping it basic and repetitious seems practical to avoid this as well as stopping playing once sensitivity impairs fretting even slightly.

Until I have calluses again well developed, I've been playing only slight variations on a G-C-D cross-picking/strumming exercise (Blue Grass genre)--good for pick accuracy, too, if you're familiar with cross-picking. Whatever warm up exercises you use for your playing might be workable--something familiar--though I am personally avoiding slides and bends until I am confident I will not be falling into incorrect technique.

(I've noticed a lot about subtle dynamics during this period playing the same exercise each day, so better listening to my playing has developed during this repetitious playing but needs to be intentional in listening.)

Of question for members, as we humans move past middle age the skin gets thinner. I've notice, from time to time, minor tears (not cuts) on the skin and have no idea of how I caused them, like during gardening. Are any of my peers (on this thread) in this age group; if so, is fretting more difficult in developing calluses because of thinning skin? (The skin on the tips of fingers seems more durable--maybe thicker--than on the back of the wrist.) Is it a matter of patience?

For the last 2 weeks, I've been playing for about 20 minutes a day or until my fretting begins to get sloppy in placement or holding down strings difficult due to sensitivity. (If I over do it, I let the sensitivity subside for a couple of days rather than have my fingers tend to avoid tender areas--this is what I meant, in part, by developing poor habits. Indentations on the tips where they normally wouldn't be is proof of this tendency if playing through too much sensitivity.)

I hope this helps others avoid falling into bad habits, and I am looking forward to comments on older players starting back developing calluses--JeffF.
 
Last edited:
Thought about flats on my Squier J-bass, but never invested in a set, as they're a lot more expensive than the rounds I use (Markleys or D'Darrio) which last me a year or 2. I use a pick 99% of the time, so not sure flats would work well for me.
 
Flats sound better with the fingers, but they can sound good with a pick, especially higher up the neck. Though, they're a little more sensitive to the pick's dynamics, IME.
 
Last edited:
JeffF said:
...

For the last 2 weeks, I've been playing for about 20 minutes a day or until my fretting begins to get sloppy in placement or holding down strings difficult due to sensitivity. (If I over do it, I let the sensitivity subside for a couple of days rather than have my fingers tend to avoid tender areas--this is what I meant, in part, by developing poor habits. Indentations on the tips where they normally wouldn't be is proof of this tendency if playing through too much sensitivity.)

I hope this helps others avoid falling into bad habits, and I am looking forward to comments on older players starting back developing calluses--JeffF.
Click to expand...

At one point, I was playing my acoustic guitar daily for hours. The tips of my fingers were well callused, but I ran into that indentation problem. The calluses were so thick, and the indentation so deep, that I couldn't fret many of the notes of the chords I was playing. Everything just started buzzing and my fingertips hurt like hell, so I had to stop playing for several weeks to let the calluses soften a bit.
 
Yes. They're normal. But depending on the condition of your calluses they may be a problem. Sometimes the callus gets thick and just hard enough so that the indent will remain for hours or days. A softer callus will bounce back faster and won't remain indented. They're tricky little devils.

A friend's fingertips became totally callused and completely flat on their ends - like they were chopped off. No strings were going to indent those. He played his acoustic for up to 6 hours every day.
 
Hm.
Mine stay indented for a while after I play. Maybe an hour. With electric guitar not as much. So I thought it was just the higher action and tension of acoustic strings.
 
Please set aside the indentation portion of what I wanted to offer in the early stage of starting back in playing, while building up calluses:

The essential insight was meant to kindly caution against falling into incorrect fretting habits if trying to play through the pain.

I merely wanted to suggest keeping it simple in whatever playing exercises members might use if starting back and building up calluses; this way, any deviations in fretting can be easily caught.

Personally, I'm staying with the same open-chord exercise for several weeks so I can keep mindful of where I am placing my fingertips. (Cross-picking as well as strumming allows me to hear if any string fretted is not properly done so, but I visually check this as well.)

As for bends and slides, these seem especially prone to incorrect use of the fingertips until calluses are well formed, so these are not used presently. I personally am not even using hammer-ons or pull offs at this very early juncture.

When I add back scales, I intend to be very careful (playing slowly) in paying attention to fretting, including thumb placement. (I've noticed even with chords thumb placement can become misplaced after 10-15 minutes, unconsciously in avoiding pressure on the fingertips. So when moving positions with scales this could be an area of developing incorrect placement throwing off fretting/positioning technique overall.)

In supporting my forum peers, I just meant to bring to members' attention that falling into incorrect fretting habits seems something to at least be of awareness during the rebuilding of calluses.

My approach in avoiding developing incorrect fretting habits is just that: my approach but with intention of purpose.

In being able to stay aware of fretting, it seems practical that whatever exercise(s) is used be kept simple and repetitious as well as slow: This way proper fretting or deviations from such can easily be noticed.

Previously, my calluses were so thick I never experienced fingertip sensitivity, but I practiced regularly before the pick-hand injury.

By the way, my pick hand is actually coming along nicely in regaining accuracy via cross-picking with the open chords--forward and backward rolls with strumming if you're familiar with Bluegrass.

For a long time I had an intense prickly feeling in last joint of thumb, so I couldn't feel the pick nearly at all. That thumb still a bit more sensitive than the other, but I can barely notice any difference with time passed. I can't willfully bend the end of thumb due to the tendon or nerve cut, but since I don't play Tony Rice style that isn't an issue.

Best of health, JeffF.
 
Last edited:
I've been playing for 30 years, any bad fretting habits I might pick up are already pretty well learned by now. ;)
 
I'm getting a blistered callus on the inside of my thumb joint.. even though I'm wrapping it 'round and not placing it as for classical style. Good thing with these is I can always slap a band-aid on it and..

hntarM7.jpg
 
Hello spantini,

You may find the following YouTube video of value . . . give it about a minute of advertising for his store and you'll find an insightful lesson on hand positioning posted by a Grammy Nominated guitarist, whose long been teaching:YouTube.

Best of health, JeffF.
 
JeffF said:
You may find the following YouTube video of value . . .
Click to expand...

The guy is good with his instruction...but he doesn't account for the fact that everyone has a different shape/size hand...so you have to find YOUR comfort zone, not someone else's.
I always get a kick out of the guys with 8" fingers giving guitar lessons, and playing some really stretched/awkward lines or chords...but it's just not possible for a lot of players who may not have that kind of reach.
Anyway...the type of instruction he's giving is good for the beginners who have not yet developed their style or comfort zones...where they still have a chance to make adjustments that become their own over time. Once you've been playing for years...you're often pretty set.
 
I think I've had my callouses since I was 9, after I found my dad's steel stringed 50's acoustic. Before that, I was playing his classical nylon, and I almost went back to it, but man did that acoustic sound full. I still have it. It now has golf tees as the pegs. :) I used it on Last One In The Room, acoustic version, and MayFlower acoustic.

I had a little trouble at first with bass, once I started playing it more when I got into recording, but it's good to go now. On the other hand (literally), I've been finger picking more lately. I was always using picks on bass until earlier this year.
 
JeffF said:
You may find the following YouTube video of value.
Click to expand...

Wow, that 45 degree picking angle looks insane. People really use that?
I tilt just a tiny bit. Maybe 10 degrees and definitely don't push up and down with the pick. That looks bizarre.
 
I'm playing 6-string with my thumb in this position.

zzMvjKG.jpg

This is a pic of the "correct" thumb position for bass guitar, but I place my thumb completely parallel with the neck as the black oval
illustrates.. 90-degrees to the preferred. The pressure contact point is the inside knuckle joint, not the pad, so I get a blister/callus there.

2lttSII.jpg
 
spantini said:
I'm playing 6-string with my thumb in this position.


This is a pic of the "correct" thumb position for bass guitar, but I place my thumb completely parallel with the neck as the black oval
illustrates.. 90-degrees to the preferred. The pressure contact point is the inside knuckle joint, not the pad, so I get a blister/callus there.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I tend to play bass with the correct thumb position and most guitar chords (except C and D chords for some reason I wrap my thumb over the neck instead of putting it behind the neck). I think some of that has to do with wanting to mute the low strings with the thumb. I flub the high E string sometimes on C chords because of that angle though.

But my question was about right hand. He has the pick at a 45 degree angle, and that just looks insane. I have a very slight pick tilt (10 degrees?) and use my wrist to pick. He has a massive tilt and is poking at the strings with his arm. It's weird looking.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top