On the subject of hands....

[ModmanQ6]

I once had an audition where the first request from the bandleader was to see my hands... Apparently, he was looking for the telltale calloused appearance of a seasoned and well practiced musician's hands. He got what he was looking for and I could play to boot.

This started me thinking...
Is this a meter by which a stringed instrument player's dedication can be measured? I know that some guys can practice and practice and practice, but just don't have the ear to really be an intuitive player. What if their profession is such that callouses are normal during the course of their work...I suppose they would be in different places, as the tools of their trade would not fit the same places a musician's would... If you work construction, does this make it easier to play since your hands have a tougher surface to start with (Bill?)? I know when I was playing a lot, I had serious callouses on the tips of my fingers that would peel every so often, and when I didn't play much, there was always a period of blisters and build up to suffer through. Does lotion help, or soften them so they tend to rip off?

Can you tell musicianship from the hands, or is it a myth?

I'll add a poll to this in the interest of seeing what the group's various hands are like...

[Toasted]

I think its pretty primadonna-ish to ask to see your hands to tell if your a good musicican. I wouldnt have been inclined to show him.

[JMX]

You can't just see it from the hands. Some get large callouses, some not (I use a light touch and don't have any real callouses, just thicker skin at index and middle finger and side of the thumb). Some can rip with small hands, some have big hands and suck.

Most application tests of that kind, even in the business world, are totally bogus.

[Squidfinger]

I used to have some fairly thick, hard callouses on my fingers. But now, even though I play twice as much, all my callouses have almost disappeared since my touch has become so much lighter. I never get blisters anymore either.

[McHack]

This isn't a good gauge...

A player who has a light touch, & prefers a low action,, won't have nearly the callouses as a player who really digs in hard,,,& has the strings riding half an inch off the fingerboard... NOW, add in the type of strings... Flats, Rounds, Nickle, Stainless... It ALL matters a great deal.

[IvanMike]

look at it this way, it could have been worse. What if the guy was interviewing you for a porn star position?

[jenderfazz]

My hands aren't really that calloused. I don't get blisters as often as when I started but they definitely get a little blistery once in a while after playing hard for a long time. I don't think it's a good measure to check callouses, but it's just like anything else. People have their superstitions and beliefs, and some of the greatest musicians were much crazier.

[Brad Johnson]

Callouses only prove you have callouses.


By that bandleader's logic, a mason who's a part time bassist would have an edge over someone like me with no callouses (heck, I'd give him the edge too... if he cut me a deal on some brick work for my house). That's the mark of an unseasoned bandleader

It what you "do" with your hands that counts.

[aluminumcatfish]

Originally Posted by Brad Johnson

Callouses only prove you have callouses.


By that bandleader's logic, a mason who's a part time bassist would have an edge over someone like me with no callouses (heck, I'd give him the edge too... if he cut me a deal on some brick work for my house). That's the mark of an unseasoned bandleader

It what you "do" with your hands that counts.

Hmmmm...I just happen to be a mason who's a part time bassist.

[Aaron Saunders]

I've got almost no callusing at all. I have a small one on my ring finger that's a remnent of the time when I played with rounds. Since I transferred to fretless and TI flats, I don't have any others at all. I play with a light touch and uber-low action.


*sigh* Upright's gonna kick my butt.

[Brad Johnson]

Originally Posted by aluminumcatfish

Hmmmm...I just happen to be a mason who's a part time bassist.

Then the gig is yours.

[Figjam]

Callouses on a few fingertips, just really tough skin on others.

Somewhere inbetween.

[ModmanQ6]

Thanks for the input guys! I knew he was full of it when it happened (17 years ago), but the memory popped back into my head and I thought it would make for an interesting poll and thread... It has...

[Brendan]

I play pretty heavily (technique wise), and only have thicker skin on my fingertips, with no real callouses. Ever, really.

[aluminumcatfish]

Originally Posted by Brad Johnson

Then the gig is yours.