How to get callous for a newbie

2 years ago I got 5 guitar lessons from my wife for my birthday. I took them, loved it, but quit after lessons. I just (today) started lessons again. When I took my measly little 5 lessons 2 years ago I never played enough to get finger callous. I have been playing for the last few weeks in preperation for my lessons and DAMN do my finger tips hurt like hell! It's to the point where I'm worried that I may be doing damage or something.
So what should I do? I NEED to keep practicing but my fingers hurt. Shoud I just keep on keeping on (Joe Dirt) or stop for a while, or what?

Thanks fer da help.

sorry dude, it is sort of a right of passage, you just have to power through !

In a month they will be much less sensitive !

Yep, Doc said it all. You just have to wait it out. But I would like to add that if they rele hurt take a break. But really the only way for them to stop hurting it so keep at it. When you get past it, you will realize it was worth it 100 times over.

OK I'll just keep working through it.
Thanks

Yeah, guitar circumcision man!!
See anyone posting here? We're all special man, we don't run to our mama's mamas after playing for three minutes!! :D
Tough men.
I hope you can actually see that the above two lines are meant to sound funny, and no is going to come down on me hard. Just a disclaimer.

Yes, your fingertips will like the Dickens for about three weeks. You just have to tough it up and keep playing; practice, practice, practice! (Which, I know you've heard a million times. It's true, though!)

Originally Posted by: kingdavidYeah, guitar circumcision man!!
See anyone posting here? We're all special man, we don't run to our mama's mamas after playing for three minutes!! :D
Tough men.
I hope you can actually see that the above two lines are meant to sound funny, and no is going to come down on me hard. Just a disclaimer.

Wow - guitar circumcision eh? That may be the first time I ever heard that one :eek:

I'm working on it - no mama crying here !

Binfordtools.... what a great name.

Luckily though, if you stop playing (after you get callouses) for about a month (people need time off once in a while), it only takes a day to get them back to not hurting again... but the first time, wow, I remember when I first picked up a guitar. lol

RedZep

Im still new here but here is suggestion:

1) if you play acoustic guitar try to get strings with a plastic wrap..the sound will be softer but will get you started.
2) try not to press hard on the strings when you play. People think that you have to press with all your might to get a good sound..all you get will be a pain between your thumb and first finger
3) Do not exercise solos, licks etc...they involve too much push and pulls as well as neck walk so it might cut you..learn da chords first
4) Try to exercise just few min a day..gradually incrase. At first you will notice that there will be no pain as soon as you start getting some stop..
5) Cut the nail short and try to press the string with the tip of the finger..nail will make it difficult.

just my 2 cents.. soon or latter you will do just fine.

ms :)

Just use common sense. It's definitely going to hurt for awhile but you don't have to play until you draw blood. Your fingers need time to heal and grow new skin and your brain needs the time to absorbe new material.

If you start doing it now, you can get pretty good at just playing solos in your head.
Try it a few times on the guitar until you've got the basics down, then go & sunbathe or something while you play the notes in your head.
Go back to the guitar later that night and suddenly you know the lead and you didn't have to do anything.
Works good for writing leads too. Play some background music, then go lie down and let the music run around in your brain like a song off the radio that's gotten stuck in your head. Spend all day trying to remember what the solo sounded like and your subconsious ends up writing lead lines for you.

... was that too spacey for an answer?
I've been up for about 36 hours and I'm getting a little punchy.

no pain, no gain...
im awfully new in guitar but i can say some words...

i just start with electric, and people around me, told its a stupid decision...
i heard too many times "you cant handle the pain of all metal strings"
whatever, i start practice as a maniac...
first weeks feels like hell, i cant even touch my fingertips.
i keep tryin and ignore the pain, now im usin heavy strings but feel nothin after hours of practice...

so u should keep going and ignore the pain...
but dont forget to limit yourself. u know, learn where to take a break...

As the man says "No Pain No Gain", the next pain you'll get will be in your forearm when you start working hammer/pulls. Just stick with it, don't think of it as guitarists circumsission but guitarist blue balls... when you finally play through it's well worth the pain;-)

Originally Posted by: schmange...you don't have to play until you draw blood...

Say that to someone who draws inspiration from Brian Adams:
"...got my first guitar when I was sixteen
played it till my fingers bled..."
Summer of 69

Originally Posted by: kingdavidSay that to someone who draws inspiration from Brian Adams:
"...got my first guitar when I was sixteen
played it till my fingers bled..."
Summer of 69

i did that one time last year i played for 13 and a half hours straight just
jammin out :cool: . i almost couldnt play the next day. but i kept playin like
redspecial said no pain no gain. sometimes if my fingers hert to bad ill run
them under cold water. that dosent happin to much anymoore since ive
been playing for a while but sometimes after a good long practice my fingers
still hert. but you gotta keep on goin :D

If Bryan Adams is an example of the way your playing turns out if you play until your fingers bleed, I don't think I'll bother. Maybe that was his one and only practice session? :D

callouses are one thing, but I've got 2 mates who can no longer keep up their pro schedules as a result of excessive practice / OTT speed drills = tendonitis. Just make sure you know what kind of pain you're experiencing....

I remember striking blood one time... at least I think I did. It wasn't anything marvelous to my recollection but I still felt proud that I'd ripped my skin to shreds because I was playing guitar a lot.

Originally Posted by: kingdavidSay that to someone who draws inspiration from Brian Adams:
"...got my first guitar when I was sixteen
played it till my fingers bled..."
Summer of 69

man, that was touchy... :D

after u get calluses, theres another problem. they constantly peeling off.
my callusses looks not permanent. maybe its about my skin...

My fingertips didn't hurt too much when I started playing. I mean they were a little sore, but not too much pain. I think the reason was that my hands have been really callused up for a while. Working on house and mowing lawns kinda does that to you.
One think that killed me though was when I started playing barr chords. Ohhhhh man. My hand would cramp up like there was no tomorrow. I found that you are doing one thing (like barr chords, regular chords, solos, finger picking, etc) and your fingers or hand hurts, either take a break or do something different. It gives your hand a break while you work on something different.