Hurting like blisters...

Suckbird · #1 06-02-2005, 10:32 AM

So i've been working at my tapping, mostly my 2 index fingers and my pinky..

and now my pinky and right index finger hurts, on the skin almost like a i have a blister..

now to the question, should i stop play til it doesn't hurt or play harder and harder? i heard something about callupoes or something
that would make my fingers not hurt, everytime i have blisters i blow them...

ireidt · #2 06-02-2005, 02:57 PM

Suckbird, Stop tapping for a little bit and take it easy on your fingers. All you will do is make the pain get worse. beleive me, when I first started playing bass, I didn't want to put it down, and got blood blisters becuase of it.

When your hand starts to hurt, stop what your doing, go clear your mind, relax, after your hand feels better, get right back to it.

~~Isaac~~

Correlli · #3 06-03-2005, 05:36 PM

Keeping tapping till your fingers bleed.

And when you feel like giving up - KEEP TAPPING!!

Eventually, you'll brake through the pain barrier. Either that, or you'll give up like a little sissy.

Daniel Baskin · #4 06-03-2005, 05:45 PM

From my experience, I think both of you are right (even if the latter may be being sarcastic). Its up to you, and because you don't know what to do, just give it your best guess. You'll never really know unless you unmistakeably KNOW from pain or you tap through it into callouses.

Correlli · #5 06-03-2005, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daniel Baskin

(even if the latter may be being sarcastic)

Not being sarcastic. I'm being very very serious.

Can you handle that?

Red Wonder · #6 06-04-2005, 09:29 AM

"My fingers may bleed but I've got to get there still...
Standing on the hill."

Lee

Paintballer · #7 06-05-2005, 11:52 PM

Stop playing for a little bit, it'll heal and grow back thicken and more rugged. You'll notice that you will be able to play for longer and longer without them hurting and they'll become calloused. Callouses are why people who do thinks like farming and other hand intensive jobs can do it over and over again without getting blisters.

Kael · #8 06-06-2005, 05:35 PM

Heat up a mug of (very) salty water as hot as you can stand it and soak your fingers in it. This toughens them up.

Serac · #9 06-06-2005, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kael

Heat up a mug of (very) salty water as hot as you can stand it and soak your fingers in it. This toughens them up.

that's hilarious!

unless it's true...

steveksux · #10 06-07-2005, 06:53 AM

Getting your body used to new demands is all the same, whether its endurance training, weight lifting, or getting callouses on your fingers. This is how the Rock got so big, this is how Lance Armstrong got so fast, this is how your fingers develop callouses.

Step 1. Stress.
Do the new thing more than you did it last time. Its ok to hurt a little. No need to hurt too bad. More is not necessarily better.

Step 2. REST.
Your body becomes stronger to adapt to the stress.

Step 3. Repeat.

Your fingers are breaking down from the stress. They need time off to heal. They heal stronger than they were to adapt to the stress. That's how it works. The stress makes you weaker. The REST between your bouts of stress is makes you stronger. All stress and no rest = breakdown. Whether its finger blisters, knee problems for runners, ligament damage for weightlifters. You want Stress->Adapt->Stress->Adapt. Not Stress->Heal->Adapt->Stress->Heal->Adapt.

The extra "heal" cycle in there slows down your progress. Sometimes less is more. So don't overdo it at first.

If you're sore the next day, take it easy or take the day off if its real bad, and don't overdo it so much next time. Its good to play every day, and alternate hard days/easy days while you're building callouses. Hard vs easy could be based on amount of time practiced, or slap or tapping one day, fingers the next.

Pretty soon your fingers will be able to handle whatever time you're able to dedicate to practicing. Or you'll be racing 87 miles on skates, or lifting volkswagens, depending on what you're working on.

Randy

JoeyZ · #11 06-07-2005, 09:37 AM

i do alot of tapping...my advice is to keep tapping until you cannot stand it..stop..let the pain subside...start tapping again..you'll get used to it. either that or you will give up like a baby and cry to your mommy like kiwi kid said..

im only kidding. just keep at it

Serac · #12 06-11-2005, 08:46 PM

hey, I know it takes a few weeks to build calluses, but is it true that the more you play the faster they build?

And also, once you have them do they ever go away? Besides a chemical burn...

steveksux · #13 06-11-2005, 09:07 PM

Quote:

but is it true that the more you play the faster they build?

Only up to a point. If you get to the point of blisters, you have to stop and let them heal. That wastes time healing when you could be building callouses.

Play till you're a little sore, stop. If you're really sore the next day you went at it too hard, don't be afraid to take a day off. Build up gradually, adding more time each day. You shouldn't be very sore, or not at all when you start for the day.

The idea is to move forward all the time, if you do too much damage you move backwards, have to take time off to let it heal.

Randy

Suckbird · #14 06-12-2005, 02:49 AM

Now i have blister under my skin on my index finger, it looks kinda weird and it feels like a big bowl going into my bone.

It started at the same time as i started to slap, first a small blister(under the skin), i let it cure for a day(it wasn't gone but it didn't hurt) so i started to play again, it started to hurt, i took a rest a day more and did like this for a week, and then i did 1hour intensive slapping and after a half hour it hurted very bad, i kept slapping intensive for 10min and then i couldn't do it anymore, so i started to use my long finger for the popping.

And this isn't the kind of blister that you can poop.

Serac · #15 06-12-2005, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steveksux

Only up to a point. If you get to the point of blisters, you have to stop and let them heal. That wastes time healing when you could be building callouses.

Play till you're a little sore, stop. If you're really sore the next day you went at it too hard, don't be afraid to take a day off. Build up gradually, adding more time each day. You shouldn't be very sore, or not at all when you start for the day.

The idea is to move forward all the time, if you do too much damage you move backwards, have to take time off to let it heal.

Randy

thanks for the answer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serac

And also, once you have them do they ever go away? Besides a chemical burn...

can someone answer this question?

Bassic83 · #16 06-12-2005, 11:07 AM

They go away from lack of use, from overdrying (they peel), from all sorts of things. Even swimming in an over-chlorinated pool can break them down. When the edges of the callous get raggedy and start to lift up, I get a pumice stone and some Vitamin E oil and oil the callous, then start scrubbing at the edges. If you do it right, the raggedy part gets blended off, you still have a callous, although softer and smaller...but it is still there. If it hurts to touch things, you may have a subcutaneous bruise. Don't play for about a week, and try not to put yourself in the situation where you have to use your fingertips much (i.e.- typing, wood carving, peeling veggies...). This method has been very successful for me. Good luck!