The guitar is a fun playing instrument, and everyone considers it a great hobby to spend a little time mastering the chords and learn new riffs. Most people learn guitar in their teenage and become great players after several months. You know all the basics and scales of the guitar. It eventually takes years to master the fundamentals and being an expert.
When it comes to learning guitar, most people suffer from two major problems, which are sync and sore fingers. You can conquer the first issue after weeks of practice and playing the same chords again and again. Usually, it is a matter of making your brain learn the skill of using both hands in sync. You have to listen to a song, play it more than ten times get better at it.
The next issue is hurting fingers, and it is one of the major issues because practicing more can increase soreness. The perfect solution in such a case is to take a break and start with fewer hours of practice. When you follow the same method, then your fingers get used to it. The tips of your finger become hard and less sensitive to the pain of pressing wires.
However, you can find some alternative solution that can let you conquer this problem and practice hours a day without even feeling any pain.
Reason Behind Pain
If you are using a basic guitar with normal steel strings, you will feel slight pain after playing for an hour or more. The wires are thin, and when you press hard, they stab on the tips area. Following the same routine create sore fingertips, and it becomes hard to play guitar.
The guitar wires are also playing an important role in hurting your fingertips. The wires are made of poor-quality material, but if you use the same string in better quality guitar, then the wires are no longer hurting. So, what’s the key reason? Well, it lies in the fret board of the guitar. The poor quality of guitars is hard to tune, and a significant space uplifts them.
If you look at the gap between wire and bridge, it is significant, and you have to press hard for a proper technique. The issue occurs when you are pressing these lifted wires with intense pressure to get them to work. Even learning guitar in such a condition is hard. Now, you know why basic guitar hurt fingers.
How to Conquer Hurting Finger Tips while playing guitar?
Several ways can come in handy and help you get better with time. Let’s have a look at the possible solution –
1. Keep Playing Smartly
If your fingers are hurting, then you can decrease the playing time to half and keep practicing. When you follow this method, you are allowing your fingertips to recover, but there will be a significant amount of pain. The possible solution is to take a break and play guitar on alternative days.
When you are offering enough time and then practicing, you break the small tissues right at the fingertips and then let them recover. After a while, the fingertips will be hard, and they will not feel much pain as before. This method hurts, but most guitarists go through this phase.
2. Change Guitar
In case you are using a very basic guitar that has a significant space between fretboard and wires, then you are applying to much pressure to press those wires. With that much force, your fingers are going to suffer the pain. Wires are sinking over the skin, and it will create much more pain.
This issue can occur with old guitars that have an extra bent in the fretboard. These guitars have problems with the shape, and they are not usable until you get them fixed. Well, fixing such an issue is hard, and the most likely alternative is to get yourself a new guitar. Instead of buying a basic guitar, go for better options.
3. Use Nylon Strings
Nylon strings are softer than steel strings, and such kinds of strings are easy to press. If you have played a ukulele or banjo, then you can find that they have the nylon strings. The same goes for a violin. Pressing those strings will be easy, and you can get better with time, but make sure that you choose the right type of nylon string.
All the acoustic guitars can’t be installed with nylon string. If your guitar doesn’t have holes in the bridge section to tie the knot, then you might have to change a guitar. Even, you can try using better quality wires from a reputed manufacturer to get a safer use and reducing any sort of pain. This method will perfectly fulfill your need.
4. Reducing Fretboard height
Fretboard gap from wire can be fixed, but it is a less recommended option to beginner guitarists. First of all, you have to look from the bottom part of the guitar. Close one eye and have a look at the bridge and fretboard. Notice the height of fretboard, and if you find that there is a bent or the fretboard is lifted more than it should be, then this method will work.
You can find 2mm L-key online or at a local hardware store. After getting it, you have to reach a small bolt inside the guitar. Enter the L-key from the hole, and there will be a small section on the fretboard side. It will automatically get inside the specified section, and then you have to rotate it. The question is, which side to rotate.
If the wire is too much lifted from the fretboard, then you have to fasten the bolt but do it slowly. Once you start fastening the bolt, you are making the fretboard bent to the normal shape. Just a little of rotation is enough to get started.
You can follow the same steps even if the guitar wires are on. Start by entering the L-key between the third and fourth wire space. You have to do it little by little, and this whole process is not going to take more than two minutes. Keep checking the shape because you will find a significant difference.
Caution –If you don’t know that how this method works or feel unsure about the use, then don’t try it because you can end up breaking the fretboard by applying to much pressure in the wrong direction. There is a limit, and you can’t exceed that.
The Final Verdict
After following these methods, you can reduce fingertips pain, and this method is going to work perfectly. Make sure that you follow the right method to avoid facing any problem in the future. On the other hand, fretboards are fragile, and using an L-key can damage the guitar. You have to be precise. You can ask an expert, and then there is nothing to worry about.
There are fingertips caps available in the market which reduce pain on your fingertips. They are effective, but experts won’t suggest you go with this modern method. Making your fingers pain a little is better than using any sort of caps for your fingers.
