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Fingers bleeding/Blistering after playing.
- Thread starter misslynn909
- Start date
^^^This^^^
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^^^And most definitely, this.^^^
You will find that, over time, even calluses will soften and fade as your fingers become used it all. Blisters are an overuse injury. Let them heal.
Welcome to the dark side.
Good advice here. I recall learning guitar as a teen. My left hand fingers would hurt from pressing the strings into them.
Stop when they hurt and come back later. They will toughen up soon.
Being efficient is very important with either guitar or bass. You want to do as little work as possible. Practice fretting and plucking with just enough force to get a clean sound. Pick and pluck with as few wasted motions as possible. This will be key latter on when you want to play faster.
I would suggest not playing the bass when it isn't plugged in. If you do, you may get in the habit of plucking really hard so you can hear it. When you plug it in, it'll sound terrible to pluck that hard.
Stop when they hurt and come back later. They will toughen up soon.
Being efficient is very important with either guitar or bass. You want to do as little work as possible. Practice fretting and plucking with just enough force to get a clean sound. Pick and pluck with as few wasted motions as possible. This will be key latter on when you want to play faster.
I would suggest not playing the bass when it isn't plugged in. If you do, you may get in the habit of plucking really hard so you can hear it. When you plug it in, it'll sound terrible to pluck that hard.
I know your situation , i remember it well. When that was happening to me a wise bass player friend said" Get good with a pick while it heals,Then you'll know both styles".I'm glad I listened . I usually play two fingers but there are certain songs that need the pick tone.
The callouses will come. You’ve already heard lots of advice as to how to facilitate that process. In the meantime, I advise lightening your touch and making sure that your amplification is doing most of the work. This approach is also more conducive to learning how to use dynamics to increase the expressiveness of your playing.
Turn up louder and play lighter. If you're into them, get some flatwounds. They are a delight on the fingers. If it hurts, stop playing til they feel good again. I was 14 when I started, you're definitely not late. Still plenty of time to learn. and I would recommend learning everything. Get big into theory, and use what you learn in the music you make. I always wish I had understood the use of it earlier. Learning to read sheets could very well be helpful for a lot, too. Particularly if you want to end up in composition or session work. Even if you don't now, you may like the sound of it later down the line. I did. I still can't read it very well, and that holds me back from a few things. Above all things, though, enjoy doing it. Make it fun to dive in deep and learn all this stuff. Challenge yourself, reward yourself when you nail it, and let the passion flow. =] Enjoy.
I have been playing bass for 30+ years and have never developed any calluses on my fingertips. I also work in landscaping, carpentry, and fabrication, so I have no clue why my fingers have stayed baby soft while the rest of me becomes steadily more grizzled by the day.
A lot of good advice here. Here are some other ailments you can look forward to that are totally normal:
Forearm soreness - Either arm. I noticed this more in my fretting arm (left) since I'm short and so are my fingers.
Sore shoulder/upper back - When you start playing in a band, especially at longer gigs, your strap + the weight of the bass can wear on ya.
Sadness - When the gig is over
Overall totally worth it
Forearm soreness - Either arm. I noticed this more in my fretting arm (left) since I'm short and so are my fingers.
Sore shoulder/upper back - When you start playing in a band, especially at longer gigs, your strap + the weight of the bass can wear on ya.
Sadness - When the gig is over
Overall totally worth it
No one has addressed this, but if your hand is going numb, you are doing something wrong. That is not normal and will probably get worse, not better.
I don't have any calluses. I used to get them when I had my first guitar. I used heavy gauge strings because I thought that was better and it had an awful setup.
My advice to make playing easier is to use light gauge strings and make sure your guitars and basses are properly setup to as low action as possible. Your nut will probably need filed and your truss rod will probably need adjusted. Doing a setup is pretty easy to do yourself, but I would recommend finding someone to do it for you.
I don't have any calluses. I used to get them when I had my first guitar. I used heavy gauge strings because I thought that was better and it had an awful setup.
My advice to make playing easier is to use light gauge strings and make sure your guitars and basses are properly setup to as low action as possible. Your nut will probably need filed and your truss rod will probably need adjusted. Doing a setup is pretty easy to do yourself, but I would recommend finding someone to do it for you.
Get some Bag Balm from a feed store or Tractor Supply. While blisters are present, apply am and pm. After blisters heal, apply after every practice session. Stuff is made to toughen up cow udders to prevent chaffing. Works great. It's not a lotion, so it doesn't inhibit calluses from forming.
Use moisturizer on your fingers until you get calluses. I still keep some moisturizer in my gig bag and some "sports tape" for emergncies when I feel a blister coming on mid-gig.
It might be a good idea to have your bass set up by a pro. With a good set up that should not happen to your fingers.
I started playing with a three piece rock covers band back in the 80's after playing guitar for several years. One night we were jamming out to some ZZ Top when I noticed some blood on my white pickguard. I had literally rubbed the tips off of my plucking fingers and didn't even notice. Then came the pain... I finished the night with a pick, took a couple of weeks off to let my fingers heal, and resumed my daily practice schedule. It took a couple of weeks for the calluses to form, but i continued to play bass for almost 40 years. I don't play as hard now as I did back then so it hasn't been a problem. But... Yea... give it a few days to heal and practice, practice, practice, and you will be fine... 
Welcome to TB. I was 56 when I first picked up a bass, so no, you're not late to any game.
+1 on limiting your practice sessions to under an hour while you build up your callouses. And it's OK (actually me to me even beneficial) to skip a day here and there - your body needs to rest to recover from previous sessions - just as if you were doing weight training. And you can break up even that hour into multiple sessions. Maybe play for 30 minutes in the morning before school and then another 30 minutes after school. This will typically get you the most bang for your practice time.
It's great that you have such a passion; if you're really serious about being a musician, you can channel some of your time and energy into learning some basic theory concepts as well as work on ear training. When you take some time off from physical practice, you can devote some of your time to do mental practice. These skills will enhance your physical practice sessions almost immediately.
I would also suggest that you consider learning to use a pick. I prefer fingers as well, but sometimes the pick is appropriate. This is another way to keep up your practice routine while resting your plucking finger tips.
I started when I was 19 so good for you misslynn! Keep it up. It’s also awesome that all you wanna do is play. Hopefully that never goes away. Just wait till you really get into tone and sound, then you’re REALLY in for a treat! Haha
I don’t ever remember playing to the point of blood blisters. But then I wasn’t learning guitar at the same time either. That could be why you have some sever spots. But then it could just be your virgin hands. Either way, don’t play if it hurts. I know it sucks but it is what it is. I sliced one of my fretting fingers last month and I couldn’t really play for a week. It sucked but I simply didn’t have a choice. It was right on the spent where my finger fretted the note. Just had to let it heal. The good news is our bodies rule and healing doesn’t normally take that long.
But yes, your fingers will blister, callas, bleed sometimes, and hurt in the beginning. But depending on how much you play, you should have some pretty nice calluses but the end of the first month. At that point you should be able to play nonstop..
Welcome to TalkBass @misslynn909 !!!!
I don’t ever remember playing to the point of blood blisters. But then I wasn’t learning guitar at the same time either. That could be why you have some sever spots. But then it could just be your virgin hands. Either way, don’t play if it hurts. I know it sucks but it is what it is. I sliced one of my fretting fingers last month and I couldn’t really play for a week. It sucked but I simply didn’t have a choice. It was right on the spent where my finger fretted the note. Just had to let it heal. The good news is our bodies rule and healing doesn’t normally take that long.
But yes, your fingers will blister, callas, bleed sometimes, and hurt in the beginning. But depending on how much you play, you should have some pretty nice calluses but the end of the first month. At that point you should be able to play nonstop..
Welcome to TalkBass @misslynn909 !!!!
