left hand middle finger...

Hi just joined up. A few years back I injured my middle left hand finger in a printing press and tore off about 1/4 inch of the tip. I know a similar accident gave Black Sabbath their "sound". But unfortunately I lack tallent so this seems to be a real disadvantage for me as far as progressing with guitar playing.

Some background.

I have always LOVED guitars and when I first had money of my own to spend I bought a rinky dink sears brand guitar off this guy at church for $20. I was in high school by then and was a metal head (think 1980's). I created a frankinstein by adding bits and pieces to it, eventually it had 4 seperate pick-ups running constantly since it origionaly only had one... The frets had sharp edges that cut my fingers and the action was probably 1/4" or more.

For an amp I had pieced together an old amp (my dad actually bought for me to fix!) who's speaker had blown and connected that to a car stereo 6X9 and a few other assorted house hold and car speakers. Needless to say it had a very "unique" sound to it. It was uncomfortable to play and yet there I was trying to hammer power chords, fingers actually bleeding and me never progressing. I could pick out songs by ear, as in single notes that played the tune but never got into real chords or actual guitar playing. I graduated high school, moved out of my parents house and traded that guitar away for a bayonette...hey seemed like a good deal at the time :p Got a job and forgot about the guitar.

Maybe 3 years passed before I got the bug again and borrowed a friends acoustic. I begged to keep it but he wanted it back so I broke down and bought one for myself. A $200 washburn accoustic, I still own. Thats when I took it a step further, started buying chord and song books, a vhs video lesson and learned to play actual chords. I then bought a squire strat, even at $100 it was kind of a waste of cash because they REALLY go cheap on them. I bought a bunch of song books and could play along with music I actually listened to or that people could recognize from my playing but it was just really strumming chords and nothing more. Eventually I kind of gave up.

Then one day I walked into a guitar store and saw a real Gibson SG for $700! I have ALWAYS wanted a SG. It was the "faded" cherry, wasn't the sweetest SG ever but it was one I could afford. Embarassed to even try it out in the store I just bought it before I had a chance to really think it over. I promised myself I'd get my $700 worth out of it and really learn to play it. It wasn't but just a few months after the purchase I had the tip of my finger torn off.

I didn't even try to attempt to play guitar for a year or so after the accident. The finger was so odd feeling and the nail is difficult to keep trimmed. But finally after a few beers and great music I HAD to mess around with my dusty sg. It hurt to hold strings, not just hurt but hurt and felt just...nasty. The tip has no real feeling, kind of numb but pressure causes a searing, burning kind of pain. It wasn't that I couldn't force myself to do it, I did and I do now, it's that I can't really feel the string and the dexterity just isn't all that great. Even with a nice callous worn into the tip it still hurts like hell but the biggest problem is I cannot feel the strings! I'm constantly buzzing because the dead finger is touching a string it shouldn't. But atleast I can handle a mess around with my guitar again.

But I'm determined. I am really hoping I can start making my poor SG sing. Sorry this has been a long post but I guess I'm fishing for encouragement, that I can and will over come my lack of tallent with tenacity and effort. That my dead finger will be able to be re-trained to do more than GGGG, CCCC, DDDD, AAAA....

Thanks,
Nynvolt

Hi Nynvolt,

Wow, what a story! I am glad to know you are back on the guitar after all you have been through!

I have taught many students in the "real world" who have injuries or disabilities. Of course, every single case is it's own unique situation, as is yours, but I have yet to find that the injury or disability prevented the student from making music on the guitar and really enjoying it. It may require some work-arounds, but that's the nature of the beast I guess.

I imagine it is possible that your injured finger will continue to slowly improve - nerve damage can continue to get better for years. And I also imagine there will be some limitations you'll just have to live with due to your injury. It's also possible that playing guitar is good physical therapy for you and will contribute to the healing process!

In the meantime, it sounds like you are on the right track with careful practicing, trying to nail down the best angle that you can to get the best tone. Gently retrain that finger to do the best it can.

A couple of other thoughts come to mind for you: maybe you might experiment with some other techniques that do not necessarily ask as much from that finger. Bottleneck/slide guitar comes to mind. Also, experimenting with some open tunings which can make chord voicings a whole lot less of an athletic pursuit than standard tuning.

Keep us posted - and have fun!
-Lisa McCormick

Thank you for the positive comments and tips!

I have been basically trying to get clean chords lately, also refreshing some basic guitar books. I experimented with tuning down the first few days tinkering with it and that did help. I also find standing helps ALOT, guess it forces my hand into a better position. I have better luck with the acoustic than my electric on all accounts but I think playing the electric will be a better training tool. Since the strings are spaced closer and require more precise positioning and a bit more pressure.

Looking forward to starting my lessons here, going to give my self a week or so more going over old material so I don't struggle getting into the new.

Thanks,
Nynvolt