Fingers hurt from playing guitar? Try this!

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In this video we look at the common causes for painful finger tips from playing guitar - and how to STOP IT!
QUICK LINKS
00:00 - Intro
01:14 - 4 reasons your fingers hurt when playing guitar
03:17 - Tip 1
03:36 - Tip 2
04:09 - Tips 3 and 4
05:04 - Tip 5
05:39 - Exercise
08:40 - Outro
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[@andycrowley]

Hey everyone - please IGNORE the Telegram comments, they are a SCAM! Stay safe ✌️

[@generalawareness101]

I am so depressed because I have tried to learn guitar 17 years ago then I came back in 2021 to be forced to quit for 8 months as I injured myself on the guitar. I have my mobility back, but the pain will always be there to some degree (especially in my fretting hand thumb joints). I have a hereditary problem where my family can't get calluses. When we start to get them our bodies will attack them as we sleep, so go to bed to wake up with baby smooth fingertips (or hands, feet, etc...) as just happened to me this morning. My fingertips are always in pain, red, swollen, and sometimes get infected near the sides of the nail edges, but never calluses. When the pain is really bad, like today, I can't do anything as my fingers have a mind of their own due to the pain. I have tried acoustic, electric. 8s-12s, Silk and Steel strings to 3/4 inch guitars (which would have less tension). With hands that almost fit XS gloves (longest finger is a little longer than an AA battery) this is rough. I am at my wits end owning three guitars with the drive to learn, the will to learn, but without the calluses.

[@SchoolforHackers]

@@generalawareness101Have you tried super glue?

[@user-yh8le5tt5m]

@@renderuntoblender Agree. If the poster really does have some genetic issue that prevents callousing as he alleges, IMO, your suggestion should be considered. I really wonder if he's played the instrument enough to get past the discomfort stage of callousing. I'm there now; it's not fun.

[@saxophool]

Tip from my local guitar shop: Buy a bottle of Bactine or any similar liquid disinfectant pain killer. Before practice, pour some in the cap and dip your fingertips in. Dry them and then begin practice. After practice, do the same. Helps kill the pain and the alcohol helps develop the callouses.

[@andycrowley]

I tried those when I was a teen and it went bad... What happened is I was playing lead guitar and a line developed on my finger, which turned into a cut... it literally made my finger bleed and I couldn't play for 3 weeks... so be careful with this advice

[@saxophool]

@@andycrowley I think it's more for beginners trying to develop the callouses. Of course, even Pete Townshend could play til his fingers bled.😎

[@r8chlletters]

Or forego permanent nerve damage and wear more skin on your fingertips 🤍 the idea that callouses are good for you is not really true

[@googlecontrolled]

​@@saxophool and Bryan Adams 😂

[@seanharris4887]

My mother used vinegar... She's a bad ass 😂

[@reileymartell1910]

Thank you for this vid haha, started playing for the first time yesterday and my finger tips are absolutely destroyed

[@agneyajoshi8012]

thank for this! i’ve been playing for around 6 months are really needed this

[@r8chlletters]

Try moleskin! This is how I protected my fingers and it works perfectly. No one wants permanent nerve damage!

[@kcsvantasticvoyages9729]

Passage of rites my friend

[@bigcookprintables1968]

Best guitar teacher on the net...cheers Andy.

[@urbanoramos5229]

Andy doing what he does best showing us mortals what not to do and making our life’s better ,thanks for that

[@patrickrooney5130]

Thank you buddy. That was a great help. 👍👍👍

[@kartickroy50]

Thank you you are so good your way to teach guitar is awesome

[@TheSingingDoctor325]

Thnks for the "finger tips" lol. Very helpful.

[@parthmalhotra9533]

Thank you for this video

[@Vasuttangaming5290]

Thnkz sir I am just started to play guitar your tips helped me a lot

[@svenkat6575]

Hi Andy great job 😊😊

[@lastgameplay]

I needed this , Thanks a lot...

[@SoulFaeWorld]

Great tip thank you 🎸

[@Rtd22375]

I make Hiphop and write a lot of lyrics but im getting pretty good on the guitar , love your videos

[@fathomsynth6602]

There is a remarkably effective solution to the guitar finger tip pain problem which I did not see in this video despite all the other good ideas. Try tuning your guitar down to a D instead of the standard E tuning temporarily just for practicing. This will loosen the strings considerably and drastically increase the time you can practice before your fingers give out. First do the obvious things such as adjusting your truss rod so the action is as low as possible without buzzing, then try using 9 or 10 gauge strings for acoustic. Also don't fully press chords until the very instant you strum. It took me about six months to toughen my fingers until I could play acoustic for a few hours a day but my fingers still gave out at around three hours of practice. Sometimes if I want to practice longer than that I temporarily tune down to a D and I can go all night without a problem.

[@TrumperVex]

Excellent. I hit that subscribed bell. Picking up the guitar after 30 years and these are all excellent tips to help me AVOID ever having sore fingers. I remember that all too well. Great tips I will definitely use. Thanks.

[@stevejoyce3151]

Me too...gonna take a while to build up some calluses. Really excellent advice here. Might try that bactine thing more for the develop callus quicker hope

[@babydaby5812]

Hi Andy .Good day to you. Am from Mauritius. Am a beginner in guitar always watch your video..guitar lessons very helpful. You are a good teacher. Thanks. You wear a beautiful t shirt... Take care.

[@mariaangelabrunetti2123]

Thank you much and... what a lovely t-shirt!

[@Upnorthguy2024]

Good job , thanks !

[@charlie.foot_837]

Thank you 🙌

[@MaxHackle555]

Good tips i only wish i had started kearning before my ulna was broken. Still good to learn new things even when you are older

[@wesleybrister955]

Been doing a lot of bending. Trying to nail a solo. Fingers are sore. Been playing like 4 hours+ a day. Took small break Saturday. I may try the lighter pressure trick.

[@RyuhReady]

Thx

[@aderobaguntemitopeemmanuel8914]

Thank you sir

[@lukeroberts3464]

You’re an awesome 😎 KZbin channel.

[@freesk8]

Thanks so much! :)

[@paulhill1379]

Great helpful info Andy.👍

[@omerfarukcin3978]

Hi Andy and others, thanks for video. I press the fret with the side of my index finger especially when playing a minor, d minor and c major. Is this related to my finger built-in feature or is it something I need to fix? When I press the fret perpendicularly with my index finger, my other fingers can not reach properly. Although the edge of my index finger has formed calluses, it hurts when playing

[@annagautreaux1778]

I keep trying to not put so much pressure on my fingers but every time I do the first fret with my pointer (especially the Am chord) it doesn’t ring out until I push super hard on them. I’ve tried so many things from shifting my finger/hand position to using my nail. I even thought maybe I had put the string on wrong so I redid it but to no avail. I’m seriously struggling with this. It is super painful and I feel like there’s nothing I can change. I haven’t gotten callouses yet and I keep hearing that that’ll help but I can’t even get past an Am chord and I feel like it’s halting my progression

[@parzival1641]

I don’t get it I didn’t experience the pain that way I simply ignored the pain until my Callouses appeared guess it was passion ? Or that I was too happy with my new guitar that I didn’t care for the pain The Advice : keep playing, don’t take long breaks, keep pushing those strings and try fingers stretching + push down on the table with your finger tips for 10 seconds, that’ll flatten your finger tips and improve your callouses

[@7aamogh445]

i started my guitar lessons today....and i felt exactly the way you did...i kept changing positions but it was still painfull as hell

[@infinitum-repertorium]

I felt the Am pain too, but it isn't there now. Don't press the pointer too hard. Soon enough you'll be able to ring out the string without pain, just keep up with the practice :)

[@fallyt...5278]

I just started today and when I play any fret my my finger weight in some frets gets light which results in making them sound dry and for this I started to hold literally every fret very hard to make them sound smooth but it's just automatically some of my finger gets light while play and the other stay tight

[@iscreamfitness]

The Thin lower hurts the most

[@monica4141]

Great t-shirt!!

[@cennetgunel1273]

Heyy Could you maybe make a guitar tutorial for tame impala feels like we only go backwards?

[@michellelopez7276]

Love your shirt

[@JeremyMeister]

Haha yes we all have this issue....good advise Andy :)

[@princesjhayne988]

Good evening sir Andy. I found u in a Google 😊😊 .really I need more practice 🤗

[@gopalbarman3941]

Nice sir

[@harloh9578]

Hey, thanks for the video. I was definitely pushing down too hard. Hey, what’s that blues riff called that you were doing? Is there a video on how to do that somewhere?

[@azoreangal7850]

Thank you for the great tips. Love that shirt!!

[@chaimoulin7079]

Where can I find a tutorial for the blues rift mentioned here?

[@arnosmulders6338]

Thx again for a nice vid. One thing (as a beginner) I always struggle with, are curling my fingers correct and play with the finger tips. Mainly my ring finger is a problem, because often the nail is in the way. The only solution I have is to clip it really short. Any advice in that area?

[@Argidiel]

lol me too. I often have this routine where I start playing and then realise nails need some clipping. And that with curling fingers, I am struggling to press the strings hard enough so that the tone is clean but then my fingers tense up and it's really hard to switch chords. I try to relax them. I guess practice, practice, practice.

[@shivigarg4158]

I don't have any problem in playing guitar except my index finger.. it hurts soo mich

[@AxiomPinstripe]

Where can we get that shirt? 😀 Awesome work Andy, keep it up

[@andycrowley]

Here 🤟 andy-guitar.teemill.com/product/chord-chart-t-shirts/

[@jamespeters920]

First off, i'm not a player. Thinking about it though. Would electric strings work on an acoustic?

[@RByrne]

Sure they would be playable. But you may have some issues with intonation/setup. Acoustic guitars are generally set up to run heavier gauge strings, so it depends on how big a difference in size. You also wouldn't really get the sound that most acoustic players look for. I would just either get an electric, or use the lighter gauge acoustic strings.

[@crystalwaters8581]

i have a classical guitar but its missing a string so ive been playing my dad’s acoustic guitar just tried the classical it is a lot easier on the fingers so i guess i’ll practice mostly with the classical till i build some calluses

[@christopheranderson1968]

What gauge string do you use on your acoustic?

[@indiamalwa]

Nice t shirt with all chord diagrams

[@joebean3615]

How often do you change the strings?

[@-_JayR_-]

I'm no teacher by any means but, alot of beginners should look into swapping out their strings before learning in my opinion. I was struggling to keep the strings pushed down when I first started and looking back knowing what I know now, thinner strings probably would've helped greatly (as far as pushing down hard trying to get things to sound right goes).

[@lukeroberts3464]

Does song writing ✍️ tell a story and why are album 💿 are viewed as big story?

[@Jack-fs2im]

If you play often they harden ,I play occasionally and found silk and steel best for my fingers

[@walking_disgrace]

We just gotta endure the pain guys…

[@MrYuetoo]

Where can I get that tee shirt?

[@vuongnh0607l]

Hi Andy, I'm trying to learn the guitar, fingertips are not in pain but it make sound when lifting from the fingerboard. What should I do?

[@nadafahmy903]

Have you figured out why? If you did can you tell what to do

[@vladimpaler1804]

Does anyone know if what @andrewbowen6875 said is true? He said Eric Clapton "suffers" all these years; when asked what that means he said "he mentioned a bunch of times he gets sore fingers from playing." I can't find that anywhere. All I found was that Clapton has peripheral neuropathy for over 10 years, which makes playing hard. But pain from that is different from the topic of this video (fingertip pain for newbies or anyone taking a long break from playing due to minimal or no calluses). I don't think Clapton's playing would've gotten to the level it did if he experienced fingertip pain (from just playing and not the neuropathy)...

[@randy8665]

Until you develop calluses, put a few drops of super glue on your fingertips and let dry. It will provide you with some protection against the pain....

[@kerinatrapmore3551]

Just realised I’ve been pressing too hard. I always get the lines and sore fingers I like the tee shirt 👍😀 Are they chords to a tune? 😀

[@kerinatrapmore3551]

I thought of getting the tee shirt but need XXXL 😥

[@elapid1964]

No pain no gain and if it hurts it works. ;-)

[@Rtd22375]

I strum with my thumb what can I get for my thumb 👍 and ill give u a thumbs up

[@ItsLooga]

i play 2 hours to 3 hours a day and afterwards my fingers kill, i do play for 7 days a week , its a stress relief but still , it kills not to mention the high bpm riffs just make it even worse

[@madcyril4135]

From u.k. Picked up and put down guitar for years! BUT I discovered a BARITONE UKELE on KZbin! 4 strings plenty more room between the strings on the neck. Tuned like a guitar,DGBE piece of cake compared With a guitar! All over it like in no time! But it has to be a BARITONE bigger and better sound not tinney sounding like the other ukeles And a damn site easier on the fingers!

[@starvideoproduction2045]

Or just take a break. I built up my calluses, but cut my nails shorter, and then I'm playing too much, because I love playing and learning new things, because I love progressing into new stuff, but sometimes, you have to take a break for your calluses to build back up. Then, I just switch to learning piano/keyboard and using a singing app.

[@williamsouthwad]

I am old how do I get something to help?

[@AlbertLeng]

Where can I get the shirt you wore in the video?

[@andycrowley]

Right here! :) andy-guitar.teemill.com/product/chord-chart-t-shirts/

[@Malachibadgerman]

The thing about an electric guitar being easier on your fingers does not apply to bass... good video brother

[@andul4617]

i like ur t-shirt

[@buzonperiodista]

Guys! I NEED HELP! I can’t play acoustic because my flesh hurts! It’s not the skin, like when you get callouses and such, but the actual flesh of my fingertips. It feels like treading on river stones barefooted! I drop the tuning to D and the lower string tension works a bit, but it can get still unbearable. Any products I can use? Thanks and stay safe!

[@devilsden2283]

No pain...no gain baby...👍

[@cbez55]

hi

[@sina.r2390]

Hi Andy 👋🏻 I have a weird question!😂 Can we play/make a fretless acoustic guitar? I've been watching someone playing fretless bass and this question came to my mind!😂

[@AirOctivParanormal]

My fingers don't hurt anymore. I have huge calluses.😂

[@keek1337]

I got callouses and then started ripping layers off of those too… now I’m like… whut lol

[@iscreamfitness]

Can you have to Big fingers for guitar

[@joyceetormon6482]

Yeah that's why I stop playing when I was in teen age becoz it's painful it's string. Very painful 😂😂😂 but I love guitar when people playing. I think I will start again and follow your teaching. Watching from Hong Kong 🇭🇰🇭🇰🇭🇰🇭🇰🇭🇰 thanks for this video's you have shared keep going. 😍😍😍😍

[@martinkendal2486]

Where can get your cool t-shirt?

[@andycrowley]

Available here andy-guitar.teemill.com/

[@iscreamfitness]

My notes stop or makes really bo Sound

[@recipehacker9752]

Put glue on your finger tips and let dry.

[@stringman509]

Andy I'm OK with single strings but when I play a chord im pressing to hard so why is this please 😢

[@LeeTanaka]

Oh you'll get used to it one day, it'll get stronger

[@death0nion224]

When Im bending it hurts

[@playsanything7265]

I guitar that his on his shirt

[@baymax8276]

hurting lk 💀💀💀

[@nigelgoggin9933]

To

[@alansilverman8500]

Well THAT'S what you get for fingerpickin'... so let that be a lesson to you!

[@franticrage]

12 strings is what tear your finger tips up.

[@Hrana-tin-dim]

😍😍

[@andrewbowen6875]

If Eric Clapton suffers after all these years then it’s a real thing

[@vladimpaler1804]

What makes you think he "suffers"?

[@andrewbowen6875]

@vladimpaler1804 because he’s mentioned it a bunch of times that he gets sore fingers from playing

[@vladimpaler1804]

@@andrewbowen6875 I read he has peripheral neuropathy now. Is that what you mean? If so, that pain is from a different source.

[@andellryan824]

Is it normal for finger tips to hurt even after a year of playing?

[@LeeTanaka]

wait what

[@iscreamfitness]

I use sandpapir to make hard skin