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richard
Aloha
USA
28 Posts |
 Posted - 03/27/2003 : 9:54:42 PM
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Aloha and thanks for all of the advice on picklessness.
I just wanted to bring up the other hand, the fret board one, and ask about simple pain. When I get pretty good calluses from playing, the very tip of my index finger (yep, the hammer-on one) gets a much harder place that forms a kinda very painfull tiny corn. It's a relief to cut it away. Any thoughts?
Mahalo,
Richard
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2003 : 11:38:16 PM
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You might consider lowering the action on your guitar, and/or changing to coated strings (such as Elixirs).
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Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2003 : 02:34:57 AM
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| Ouch! Spread out the workload to your middle & ring fingers? Change your technique by working with a classical instructor for a lesson or two? |
Pauline |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2003 : 3:26:59 PM
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All good suggestions. I hadn't thought about it, but now that you mention it, I think I usually hammer on/pull off with my middle finger. I would venture to say not many people hammer on with their index. Am I wrong? I'll second Pauline and suggest using your middle.
Also, do you press very hard? I find I over press when I'm nervous resulting in temporary string indentations in my finger tips. Fretting a note doesn't really require a whole lot of pressure unless your action (string distance from the fretboard) is too high. |
Andy |
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Bruddah Chrispy
Lokahi
USA
164 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2003 : 6:25:23 PM
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For me the amount of pressure I use fretting is inversely proportional to how well I know the song. This is especially noticeable when I'm learning a new song - ouch.
FWIW - I mostly hammer with my middle and ring fingers, occasionally with my index and pinky, and hardly ever with my thumb (or elbow). ;-)
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Aloha a hui hou,
Chris P.
There's no regrets; only good times. |
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duke
Lokahi
USA
163 Posts |
Posted - 03/29/2003 : 1:15:48 PM
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Aloha all
Here's a quick practice tip I have found to be very helpful:
http://www.soloperformer.com/lessons/lesson1.html
I seem to have a tendency to press too hard and get those indentations Andy mentions above. After trying the "muting" excercise and consciously working on it I have loosened the stranglehold on my guitar's neck. My left hand stamina and tone quality have improved markedly.
Words to live by? No choke da neck...jus press
Duke |
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cdyas
Akahai
67 Posts |
Posted - 03/29/2003 : 10:16:32 PM
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| Careful on the cutting. I tried that on the calusses that I had from lifting and it seemed to shock the skin and they would come back faster and bother me even more. To take away the skin, try a pumice stone and after playing try some of the beeswax stuff they make for hands so they don't dry out. |
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richard
Aloha
USA
28 Posts |
Posted - 03/30/2003 : 10:39:54 PM
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Turns out partly to be the tuning -- in taro patch I use the middle and ring fingers for hammering on. I've been working in double slack for the past couple of weeks, hammering that 7th or whatever it is back where it belongs with my pointer. Oops...
And, it's for sure I'm using a lot more force than I need. Thanks for the exercise, Duke.
Mahaolo all,
Richard
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 03/31/2003 : 12:02:42 AM
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quote:
Turns out partly to be the tuning -- in taro patch I use the middle and ring fingers for hammering on.
Duh! You're right. Don't know why my mind was stuck in taro patch.
I like Duke's exercise too. |
Andy |
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Sarah
`Olu`olu
571 Posts |
Posted - 03/31/2003 : 09:18:25 AM
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Aloha e Richard,
Yeah, it wasn't until I started to play in double slack that even *got* a callus on my index finger. What I do periodically is take a nail file and buff my callouses. I think the pain you get is cuz there's too much hard callous - that white stuff in the center on top. If I understand you, that's where the tiny corn is forming.
For me, it also catches on the frets and hangs up my playing. So I buff the edges/top of the white callouses to smooth them out. If you build up enough callous padding underneath that looks kind of yellowish ( what the heck do people call this? ), underneath the white surface, that white stuff on top need not be very large or thick.
e malama pono i kou mau manamana lima! (take care of your fingers! )
Sarah |
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