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Starting out and sore fingers
Still in the 30 days getting started mode. Giving up on trying to be perfect at each lesson. Just going to move along each day with a new lesson and the daily challenge. Started the Chords lesson with the G cord. Any suggestions on dealing with sore fingers and hitting the cord consistently?
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27 Replies
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Hello MMMURRAY,
I think you are in the right mindset not worrying about being perfect and moving along.
The fingers are just going to be sore for a while. I would maybe try <font face=”inherit”>playing for a shorter period of time each day but still work through the discomfort. You could take a </font>break<font face=”inherit”> for a day or two but you really just have to play through this. Your fingers will eventually get less sore and you will begin to build calluses. Also don’t press so hard on the strings. Often when starting out people press really hard on the string to try and get a clean tone. Instead concentrate on accurate finger and hand placement. As your hand gets stronger and muscle memory kicks in, the tone will be clearer and less muffled.</font>
I would continue the 30 days to play and practice what Tony is teaching. Once you know the C,G and D chords, you can look up songs online with these 3 chords. There are a lot! It’s way more fun to practice the chords while playing a song. Then learn there E, Em and A and Am chords. Theses are all easy to learn. You may want to go through some of the other skills courses before starting the daily challenges if you are just picking up the guitar for the first time. Hope this helps. Kim
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Much appreciated!
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I have played before on a different course, but gave up for a while so I am on the 30 day challenge too! I am finding that getting stuck on the Blues Boogie doesn’t really matter – as i have the loose gist of it – have started on the chord exercises (had to cut my nails again!) and find they are so useful compared to what i learned before – let’s bash on!
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Sounds like we’re in the same place. I’m just plugin along. Good luck to you.
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Hi Mmmurray! I am working on the 5 da guitar routine warm up finger exercise – haven’t worked out how to get the picture of the lesson over the music sheet. Now realise mark as favourite will take us the the page we are working on – quickly. Cheers from S France another lovely day. Janice🙂
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Do not play immediately after washing the dishes or showering.
Don´t apply too much lotion to your fretting hand.
Take breaks when needed.
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Thank you!
😉
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Commit to playing a little bit every day, the calluses and finger strength will come over time. Took me about 6 weeks to get to where I could practice longer. The rest comes with consistent playing, guitar is a journey not a destination.
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Thank you!
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I would add that 2 things often overlooked that can help. 1st.- finger placement. Make sure your as close to the fret as possible. It will shorten the distance and strength required to push the string down for clear note. 2nd. set up. This was big for me and will be when I go to get a different guitar. I assumed when I bought my first it was set up correctly. After taking an in person lesson- the only thing I got out of it useful, was that the teacher noticed my guitars action was way to high causing me to have to work harder than I should to get a clear note. Check hose two things along with play time.
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Thanks 😉
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Everyone has given you great suggestions @MMMurray. To them i would add two things. When you are starting out, use the lightest gauge strings you can get which are typically ‘special lights’ for an acoustic. The second idea is one i used to try when i had not been playing for awhile and my callouses were gone. Tune your guitar down a half step or a whole step to reduce the string tension. Put a capo on the first or second fret to bring yourself back up to standard tuning. As your fingers develop the callouses you will not longer feel the pain and will not need to make any special adjustments. The main thing to remember is don’t quit because your fingers hurt! As you keep playing it will get much better.
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Much Appreciated 🙏🏻
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@MMMURRAY Welcome to TAC! Boy, do I remember those days when I was going through the 30 days to play, and having such sore fingers.. You’ve received some great advice above. Just remember, it’s temporary, and it really is a short period of time that they’re sore. If I remember correctly, I think it was about a month. There are still times where my fingers get sore. Usually when ai e practiced too long, or I’m introducing new chords to my playing, bit that is such a brief period of discomfort. Just have fun, continue to move forward, and you will improve
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👍🏻🙏🏻
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Loraine, I’m playng the CORDS, specifically the G Cord and I cannot get a clear sound on all the strings. My ring finger on the B string sounds like a thud. When I lift the first and middle finger I can here it fine but when I add them the B just thuds. Could I be doing something wrong? Hope this isn’t a bother. Thanks, Mike
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Hi @MMMURRAY Mike, No bother, whatsoever. I couldn’t get a clean chord for the life of me when I first started. It took a lot of what you’re doing, lifting fingers to determine where the muted strings were and what was causing them. My best suggestions are to make sure your wrist and pushed forward, as this will force your fingers to arch and bend; make sure you’re playing on the tips of your fingers. As you’ve been doing, lift fingers and try and figure out which finger is muting (touching) the string that is muted. Then work on placement and angle of the finger to correct the situation. When you get a clean chord, take notice of what you’ve done with your fingers.
If you can, take a picture of your fretting hand with the G chord. Post it here or send it to me in a private message, and I’ll see if I can see where the issue is.
You will be able to play a clean G chord, you just need to correct the current situation and build up muscle memory of how to place your fingers (comes from practice).
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👍🏻
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Thanks again. I’ll give it a shot. If anything, I have persistence.
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Murray – it is now time for some “Zen” We are all trees in the forest. This pain is the price we pay for our love and desires. You are on a good road. As you grow you will overcome many obstacles. When the pain leaves – you must find it again. This is how we grow a strong tree.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by -Rick-.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by
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I came to this forum specifically searching for the “sore fingers” post. I’m really glad it’s here. I have thought about using SUPER GLUE or something on my fingertips of my left hand so I can continue playing. Any thoughts?
Also – I am overweight and have difficulty holding the guitar upright. I am going to have bariatric surgery in about a month – I can’t wait to lose enough weight so the guitar will feel comfortable on my lap again.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by Sylvie. Reason: I forgot to add something to my post
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Thanks for the reply. I still have the sore fingers and got advice ranging from getting softer strings put on, continue to play through it, run your fingers up and down the strings and use rubbing alcohol on the tips of the fingers. I’m doing the alcohol and playing more to get stronger calluses. I received a lot of encouragement in the Forum. Also, not pressing so hard on the strings has helped. Good luck with the operation. I know it has helped others.
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I just remembered another reply and thought I’d forward it along. “It is now time for some “Zen” We are all trees in the forest. This pain is the price we pay for our love and desires. You are on a good road. As you grow you will overcome many obstacles. When the pain leaves – you must find it again. This is how we grow a strong tree.”
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This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by
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Hey @MMMURRAY ;
Zen mumbo jumbo is ok sometimes. But sometimes, we just need to hear the simple truth, the simple answer.
The simple answer to your simple question is “time”. That means you don’t need to do anything different. You don’t have a “real” problem, only a “perceived” problem.
In time, your fingers won’t be sore. In time, you will play your chords more cleanly. How do you “get there”? Distract yourself with FUN. Not even kidding. The most important “solution” is to make sure you have fun each and every day when you pick up your guitar. Then, you don’t notice the finger soreness as much. You don’t worry about your buzzy chords as much. Since you are having fun, you’re already “there”.
MG 😀
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Thanks for the encouragement. I was just working on the different strumming methods and was a little discouraged and thinking I might need a guitar with more spacing between the frets. We’re traveling and will be home in a couple of weeks where I’ll have a more consistent routine but I’m still putting in about an hour each day with sore fingers and all. Thanks again.
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Thank you for responding, Mike @MMMURRAY . I think you are already winning if you are putting in an hour a day while on the road and have sore fingers. That’s great. Keep up that consistency and you will be happy with the results.
Make sure you look for small wins, then you can share them with us. We don’t notice how much we’ve improved if we don’t really look for the incremental imporvment day to day. 😄
MG 😀
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Thanks again. I’m plugging away.
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