Calluses on plucking fingers

[Jackroadkill]

Hi all, this is a new thing for me - I'm having trouble with the skin on my right index finger and am not sure what to do about it (or whether I just need to be patient).  I'm new to the bass and I keep burning the tip of the finger when plucking the strings.  This then hardens off nicely, but after ten days or so falls off, leaving a soft and very sensitive layer of skin thus exposed to the strings.  I'd hoped that this would have developed into a permanent callus by now, but seemingly it hasn't.  The tips of my fretting hand are perfectly happy and have maintained the calluses they got from playing guitar, and my hands are used to manual labour (I'm a part-time farm labourer).

 

So, my questions are: 1) what am I doing wrong; and 2) what can I do about it, if anything.

 

Any advice is very welcome.

 

Thanks,

 

JRK

[TheGreek]

You're not doing anything wrong. Eventually the skin will harden without falling off (unless you're plucking really hard).

 

I noticed that when I stopped playing over the winter (arthritis) my  fingertips softened and playing roundwounds was "painful". Thankfully most of my basses have tapewounds - like using fairy liquid for strings. I've been swapping all my roundwounds for flats or tapes which are much easier on the fingertip but give a warmer, phatter tone - not everybody's Cappuccino.

[Mykesbass]

Do you wear gloves when labouring? I found when I was a gardener the leather gloves softened my callouses - damned nuisance. 

[Jackroadkill]

3 minutes ago, Mykesbass said:

Do you wear gloves when labouring? I found when I was a gardener the leather gloves softened my callouses - damned nuisance. 

 

No, I'm quite old-school in that respect.  Occasionally I will if dealing with sharp edges on fabrication work, but that's about it.

[Dad3353]

11 minutes ago, Jackroadkill said:

... Any advice is very welcome...

 

Don't play so hard and for so long at a time. Keen practice sessions are great, but your fingers aren't 'up to it' yet. It's not all that productive, either, as a beginner, to play for too long at a time. 10-15 minute sessions, then doing something else for a while (it could be reading through a method book or a song, or brewing a cuppa...), two or three times a day (every day...) is a fast way forward. Once the fingers are in shape, it's reasonable to 'up' the dose a little, but hammering away for a couple of hours is not practice time well spent. Don't rush things; it'll all work out just fine if you give yourself time, and work regularly at it.
Hope this helps 

 

Douglas

[Waddo Soqable]

Play with a pick..! 😁

[Jackroadkill]

24 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

10-15 minute sessions, then doing something else for a while....two or three times a day (every day...) is a fast way forward.

 

Thanks Douglas, that's great.  I'll try that method.  I know that playing is the only way to develop those calluses, I suppose, but the how is what's been beating me so far.

 

12 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Play with a pick..! 😁

 

I think I may have to for certain songs, as much as I'd prefer to use my fingers.  I'm not Robert Tujillo yet!

[fretmeister]

Callous coming off is unusual.

 

Do you have a nickel allergy? 

[Waddo Soqable]

Best to get used to both pick and fingers equally I'd say 👍

[Jackroadkill]

6 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Callous coming off is unusual.

 

Do you have a nickel allergy? 

 

Not as far as I'm aware; I've played guitar for years (badly!) and used nickelwound strings without issue.

[chris_b]

You shouldn't expect to get callouses when playing bass guitar unless you are hitting the strings too hard.

[AndyTravis]

I play at a level at home where it builds up tougher skin.

 

With not rehearsing or gigging much at the moment, I’m actually playing less and less.

 

But at a recent jam night I got giddy and played way too hard.

 

Ended up with blood blisters on my plucking fingers…

 

Idiot move.

[Skybone]

7 hours ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

Not as far as I'm aware; I've played guitar for years (badly!) and used nickelwound strings without issue.

 

This is something I noticed when I played guitar more than bass. Before starting to play guitar more seriously, I'd predominantly used Stainless Roto's on bass (they were generally the cheapest back in the day, as well as using a plectrum). When I played guitar, it was with nickel wound strings, and obviously a pick, never had an issue.

 

Moved back to mainly playing bass with my fingers instead of a plec, and started using nickel wound strings, and really noticed that the skin on my right fingers went really sensitive, and the skin would go white. I'd read in a few places about metal allergy when playing, so bought some stainless strings to try. Problem solved.

 

I think it's probably more to do with the fact that bass strings are thicker (and having more windings), and are all wound, where a guitar, only 3 strings are wound. But that's not scientific, that's just me.

[fretmeister]

8 hours ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

Not as far as I'm aware; I've played guitar for years (badly!) and used nickelwound strings without issue.

 

You can develop it.

 

I've used nickel guitar strings for 30 years too, but then I had some Monel flatwounds bass strings (really really high nickel content) and now I cannot tolerate any nickel strings - even the old ones I used on guitar.

 

My fingers go red, blotchy and painfully itchy.

[Jackroadkill]

8 hours ago, chris_b said:

You shouldn't expect to get callouses when playing bass guitar unless you are hitting the strings too hard.

 

I hadn't thought about it that way; it doesn't feel like I'm overdoing it when I pluck the strings, but after an hour or so of the string sliding over the end of the fingertip it's definitely starting to get sore, and on a couple of occasions has resulted in a small blister.  I assumed this was due to friction that I'm not used to, but after reading what you said above, maybe I need to refine my technique.

 

37 minutes ago, Skybone said:

really noticed that the skin on my right fingers went really sensitive

 

This is just my right hand index finger.  If I'm playing something fast I will use the middle finger to take up some of the work, but it doesn't get enough use to cause any problems.  Neither is there any problem on the fingers of my left hand, but they've had years of guitar playing, so maybe the skin is thick enough that any nickel sensitivity is reduced.

 

 

16 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

My fingers go red, blotchy and painfully itchy.

 

Ow, that doesn't sound nice at all.  Thankfully mine don't do anything as unpleasant as that, I just get the world's smallest carpet burn on my fingertip.

[Saul Panzer]

Out of curiosity, is this a roundwounds thing?

I play flats 95% of the time and haven't noticed noticed anything in the way of callus buildup so far.

[Jackroadkill]

Just now, Saul Panzer said:

Out of curiosity, is this a roundwounds thing?

I play flats 95% of the time and haven't noticed noticed anything in the way of callus buildup so far.

 

I've never played with anything other than roundswound strings, so it could be.  Are they known for being harder on the fingers than flats?

[Martin E]

Get a bottle of surgical spirit and dip your fingertips in the top a few times a day. It really does work to toughen the skin.

[Saul Panzer]

11 minutes ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

I've never played with anything other than roundswound strings, so it could be.  Are they known for being harder on the fingers than flats?

I don't know, that's why I was curious...I'd assume so with flats being a flat surface and rounds being ridged but I'm sure the more knowledgeable members will chime in.

I had a think about it when I read the post, I play at a slight angle so it wouldn't be a flush contact across roundwounds, I'd be doing a bit of a diagonal technique which might be more grating on someones skin.

Could also make no difference and I'm just not doing long enough sessions for flatwounds to build calluses.

[Leonard Smalls]

8 hours ago, chris_b said:

You shouldn't expect to get callouses when playing bass guitar unless you are hitting the strings too hard.

I've been playing for a little while now, and have callouses on my right thumb joint (where I slap), on my right index, second and third fingers (from plucking), my right thumb just by the nail (where I use it as a pick) and on left hand first, second and third fingers, with a little one on the left pinkie... Perhaps I'm doing it all wrong - should I have one on my left thumb as well from the reach-around technique? 

I found that if it's too tender to play, and I had a gig coming up a bit of superglue carefully applied worked wonders. Though I did stick my fingers together once!

 

[nige1968]

I know everyone has their own playing style and that, but I think what you’re describing sounds more like an injury than any kind of “building stamina” thing. If twere me I’d be listening to my body and working on a less abrasive technique. “Burning” doesn’t sound normal to me.

[Mykesbass]

49 minutes ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

I hadn't thought about it that way; it doesn't feel like I'm overdoing it when I pluck the strings, but after an hour or so of the string sliding over the end of the fingertip it's definitely starting to get sore, and on a couple of occasions has resulted in a small blister.  I assumed this was due to friction that I'm not used to, but after reading what you said above, maybe I need to refine my technique.

 

 @chris_bis absolutely right - but I find it incredibly hard not to "dig in" when gigging. The whole "turn the bass up and play lighter" just seems counterintuitive to me. I saw Nick Fyffe (Jamiroquai bass player) playing a much more rock style with Temperance Movement and really got the whole concept -but I still struggle with it!

[Leonard Smalls]

5 minutes ago, Mykesbass said:

turn the bass up and play lighter

That's why I've got a 1500w amp!

But even playing lightly,  callouses are an occupational hazard... The only solution I've discovered is to play no more than half an hour at a time, which is difficult if you rehearse every weekend and practice as well!

[chris_b]

Back in the early 70's I spent 7 months or so playing the US airbases in Germany. That was 5 45min sets from Monday to Thursday and 6 sets on Friday and Saturday.

 

I don't dig in, and didn't get blisters or callouses. I did get very bored, but that's another story.

[Dad3353]

8 hours ago, chris_b said:

Back in the early 70's I spent 7 months or so playing the US airbases in Germany. That was 5 45min sets from Monday to Thursday and 6 sets on Friday and Saturday.

 

I don't dig in, and didn't get blisters or callouses. I did get very bored, but that's another story.

 

That's great once you've acquired the physique for the job. As a beginner, such punishment is counter-productive, as the sore fingers then stop one's playing. Building up to your level is a matter of time, patience and working on solving the problem before it becomes a problem. You did that (as did I, drumming...); a beginner cannot expect to have the same results as an experienced player. Slow but sure, that's the answer; the rest will come, easily, over time. 

Edited March 21, 2023 by Dad3353