25+ years playing and another 20 working in kitchens. After awhile you grow accustomed to it. I've stopped using round wounds and cooking as often, but I can still pull potatoes out of the oven with my fingertips.
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Will my fingertips ALWAYS hurt after playing for a few hours?
- Thread starter George Ortega
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- fingertips soreness
Back in 1968 an old guy (probably 18 or 19 years old), suggested I unplug and played as softly as a I could and still be heard, barely heard but still heard.
Later in life i had students, and we would always do this for a couple of minutes during warm up. Perhaps this may help your finger tips.
Later in life i had students, and we would always do this for a couple of minutes during warm up. Perhaps this may help your finger tips.
Lots of good advice here - play with as little pressure as possible, let the amp do the work.
Some bad advice too though - play with the pad of your finger. I've studied with a lot of great players over the years and they all taught to play on your finger tips.
Some bad advice too though - play with the pad of your finger. I've studied with a lot of great players over the years and they all taught to play on your finger tips.
A few remedies...
1) Try flatwounds,
2) Try thinner strings with less tension,
3) Refine your strumming and fretting technique.
1) Try flatwounds,
2) Try thinner strings with less tension,
3) Refine your strumming and fretting technique.
LOL three and four-hour gigs are the norm down here. I always love to get that 45 min set warming up a bigger act when they come around... it feels like we're getting paid for nothing.Well sure, but playing for somewhere over a year vs presumably playing for over 10 years (seeing a TB join date of 2009) means some different levels of things like consistent routine, obsession with the instrument
, and certainly, ironing out of bugs in technique.
Also, I'd bet that many of us here would be impressed with 20 hrs of playing time in 5 days. I am! That's more than the average player is likely doing; I'd guess that very busy working players are doing 20 hours in 7 days, if that. And also, 5 hours of downtempo blues (my 3-hour gig Sunday was mostly that) is waaaay different from 5 hours of backing up Al Di Meola.
I strive for that level! But I'd also take a day to maybe work on slap or picking if my fingers hurt after 2 hrs practice the night before. And slowly build, build, build.
And yeah, I've been playing for awhile. I'm 62 now and got my first bass at 13. Tonight is a 3-hour gig, tomorrow is a two-hour rehearsal with my other band, and Friday and Saturday nights are both 4-hour gigs (only 3 gigs this week, yay!). No, it's not bad when playing country, blues, and rock standards, and yes if I was playing all Iron Maiden stuff I'd get pretty ragged out inside a half-hour.
But I still maintain that the OP should have someone monitor them to see if there's anything correctable to help them with their issue.
Could you describe in more details your ailment? If it is the fingertips that hurt. It is usually either:
How much time exactly? 1 hour? 2 hours? More?
- Roundwound strings that are raking your fingertips
- Fatigue developed from plucking or fretting too hard
How much time exactly? 1 hour? 2 hours? More?
I have been struggling to grasp how people build callouses on bass guitar. I have some on my fretting hand from playing guitar, sure. But on my plucking hand from playing bass
?? I must be playing with a super light touch 
It's hard to say for certain what is going on with your fingertips but I can say that I have been VERY guilty of not playing the same live as I do in practice and not practicing the same at home as I do with the full band. This has led to me being able to play for VERY long periods of time at home without fatigue but only a couple of hours at full band practice and, live, I feel the fatigue after 3 or 4 songs. The current pandemic situation gave me the opportunity to really revisit my playing technique. At home, I was just going through the motions of songs. No real GUSTO. So, I could play very long. At practice, I was digging in more sharply for that "edge" on the attack of the note so I was using notably more energy with every note strike. At live shows, I was absolutely POUNDING the strings. Now I have found an approach and posture to playing that allows me to play the same at home as I would at full band practice and even for live shows. It took MONTHS for me to get "in shape" but it got there. ...and I have a cleaner playing technique as a result.
In your position, I would look at just how much force you are exerting on your strings. You didn't mention which hand had the sore fingers. If it is on the fretting hand, perhaps you are clamping down tigher than necessary, If it is your plucking hand, perhaps you are hitting the strings unnecessarily hard. ...but perhaps you like the sound of the strings being attacked that hard so NOT hitting them hard isn't in the cards. For me, I now play with a pick almost exclusively because I wanted the sharp "cut" on the note attack. ...and no more sore and occasionally bleeding fingers.
In your position, I would look at just how much force you are exerting on your strings. You didn't mention which hand had the sore fingers. If it is on the fretting hand, perhaps you are clamping down tigher than necessary, If it is your plucking hand, perhaps you are hitting the strings unnecessarily hard. ...but perhaps you like the sound of the strings being attacked that hard so NOT hitting them hard isn't in the cards. For me, I now play with a pick almost exclusively because I wanted the sharp "cut" on the note attack. ...and no more sore and occasionally bleeding fingers.
Don't listen to people telling you to use a lighter touch. That's a sea change in your approach to the instrument and not an appropriate solution to this issue. It's also wrong overall, since we all need to be able to vary the use of our right hands to achieve tone and dynamics goals. And all else constant, a more deliberate right hand approach sounds more confident and better.
Everyone's body is different. My fingers require a 3-hour gig every couple weeks plus a reasonable practice regimen to keep my fingers in shape. Less than that and I lose callouses and probably regrow some nerve endings. I rarely play that much these days, even pre-Covid. So I do end up with sore fingers the day after a gig.
If you're getting blisters, you probably need to change something. Sore fingers are probably about endurance. If you play more, the problem will abate.
Everyone's body is different. My fingers require a 3-hour gig every couple weeks plus a reasonable practice regimen to keep my fingers in shape. Less than that and I lose callouses and probably regrow some nerve endings. I rarely play that much these days, even pre-Covid. So I do end up with sore fingers the day after a gig.
If you're getting blisters, you probably need to change something. Sore fingers are probably about endurance. If you play more, the problem will abate.
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If you have calluses already it shouldn't hurt, I think your technique needs to be looked at, your action on the bass is probably too high, your fingering too hard because of that and probably pressing to hard on the fretboard to overcome that high action ..
Calluses don't prevent deep tissue bruising, which comes from pressure that harms the tissue below the callus that's closer to the bone. If a player is having fingertip soreness after calluses have developed, that's a likely problem. If it's sharp pain in a small area of the fingertip, it's likely an inflamed nerve.
If your fretting fingers hurt, you need to re-evaluate your technique. If you are practicing consistently and still experience discomfort, there is a problem. My guess is it is one or a combination of these things:
1. Press down with the minimum pressure required to cleanly sound the note.
2. Place your fingertip immediately behind the intended fret.
3. Use the flat pad of your finger to fret the note, not the very tip.
4. Check the setup of your bass - the action may be way too high.
Thanks! How could I forget those? 
Maybe all of us should quit trying to be medical experts and just recommend the OP to see a Real Doc...
Hahah, that could be too. It's a problem I've had, so that's why I said it's "likely," but notice I didn't say that's what it actually is. I'm pretty careful about not using superlative or definitive language, especially when it comes to health issues.Maybe all of us should quit trying to be medical experts and just recommend the OP to see a Real Doc...
Does the OP deserve to hear a possibility that's being ignored by most people here? I think so. That might help him decide if a trip to the doctor is worth it, rather than just trying to power through it, which could do further damage.
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I've been gigging steadily for over 50 years (at least until this year, LOL). Hang in there. Stop at the point of pain. Hopefully that will take longer and longer as time goes by.
In my early years I had callouses, but over time they've integrated with the skin of my fingertips and there's nothing to see any more - a normal-looking fingertip, but it's tough stuff.
I can play 4 nights of 3-set gigs in a row (just did) and never experience fingertip pain.
So just keep going. I assume you're talking electric bass. If it's upright, please find some good instruction because you can hurt yourself.
In my early years I had callouses, but over time they've integrated with the skin of my fingertips and there's nothing to see any more - a normal-looking fingertip, but it's tough stuff.
I can play 4 nights of 3-set gigs in a row (just did) and never experience fingertip pain.
So just keep going. I assume you're talking electric bass. If it's upright, please find some good instruction because you can hurt yourself.
