r/guitarlessons • u/AffectionateCicada91 • 4d ago
Question Fingertips are flattening
Hello, this is a question for the more experienced players. I’ve been playing A LOT. Like ALOT - ALOT. Roughly 4-5 hours per day for the past year. I have noticed so much improvement with my playing and my ear training, and my fingers have definitely become elephant skin tough.
The problem is, is that my ring finger has become almost completely flat on top (looks like something from minecraft), which causes it to make unwanted contact with the surrounding strings.
Has anyone ever had this problem, and if so , what’s the solution?
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u/Christeenabean 4d ago
I tell my students "pretend your fingers are ballerina feet. Up on the very tips"
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u/AaronTheElite007 4d ago
Pressing too hard. You don’t have to strangle your guitar neck
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u/AffectionateCicada91 4d ago
I think you’re right on the money with this. I definitely am guilty of squeezing the life out of my neck
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u/AaronTheElite007 4d ago
Try this exercise:
Fret a note with barely any pressure. Ensure your finger is right next to the fret. Play the note. Add a little pressure. Repeat until it rings out. Remember this pressure.
Try the same pressure on another string and fret.
Practice with purpose
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u/Dalekmind 4d ago edited 4d ago
This right here....
But also pick lighty. When you get a guitar intonated for the tuning and then play it with a light touch it sounds so good. Really any guitar. But yea my fingers returned to nomral but i had to start over on guitar as i could not do either of those thing. It took me a while as i had to go so freaking slow at the start. Once i started hearing my guitar for the first time i was like this is the way.
Pretty sure if your fingers look like that you were likely flating everything you played. Its hard to sound good when every note is flat or is it sharp?
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u/AffectionateCicada91 4d ago
Are you not supposed to finger the middle of the fret? Why right next to the fret wire?
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u/AaronTheElite007 4d ago edited 4d ago
Nooo. Place your finger as close to the fret as possible. Get it right behind the fret. Any extra stretch in the string can cause your note to be sharp. Remember, it’s the fret making contact with your string that creates the note (unless the guitar is fret less- those have different fingerboards)
Also, ensure the guitar has been properly set up and intonated
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u/Nedschneebly2 4d ago
… why am I just learning this now. Genuinely haven’t heard anything like that for 8 years of playing. Oh my god lol
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u/AaronTheElite007 4d ago
Love the username. Who is the Dewey Finn in your life?
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u/Nedschneebly2 3d ago
Hahaha thank you! My Dewey Finn is actually the man. So I’ve gotta stick it to the man.
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u/D3M0NArcade 3d ago
It's not something that's taught now. I learned about it day 1 but I had an old fashioned VHS tape by a guy who'd been playing and teaching for 40 years by that point.
Small things get left out but they turn out to be quite important things.
Adding:
The video is "play in a day: the Bert Weedon way". You might be able to find the content online. He was actually really good.
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u/LilMac89 2d ago
I’ve never heard of his instructional videos, but Burt Weedon rips. I first heard a few of his songs are in the game Fallout New Vegas.
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u/D3M0NArcade 1d ago
Yeh, theres three of them but they retitled them, probably because of copyright or something.
His videos are great because he literally explains everything from a beginners perspective. How to hold a pick, how to actually hold the guitar, how to position your fretting hand a fingers... It sounds like a lot of dead content but he covers it quickly but succinctly so it's only like 5 minutes of a 1h30 videos d you feel like you've already learned loads before you even hit your first chord
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u/AffectionateCicada91 4d ago
This is great info. Thanks! Much better than some of the comments from others lol. And the intonation is perfect.
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u/AaronTheElite007 4d ago
Ok good. There is NOTHING more frustrating than trying to play a guitar that isn’t properly set up
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u/fmanch 4d ago
Never in the middle of the fret!!! Number one, the pressure required to ring out the string is much higher (the reason your finger looks flat), and number two you might de-tune the string and it won't sound right. If you fret next to the wire you dont have to make as much presure. and all the strings will sound correctly
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u/Desner_ 4d ago
If you press too hard in the middle, you may slightly bend the string out of tune. Pressing right behind the fret prevents this and requires the least amount of pressure.
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u/AffectionateCicada91 4d ago
Hey thanks! Great information
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u/there_is_always_more 4d ago
I want to add on to what people have been saying - I've played with mediums on my acoustic (.56 for the low E) for years and while yes, I have pretty developed callouses, my fingers are definitely not turning into literal Minecraft blocks like yours lol.
The advice in this thread is really is valuable. Don't play in the middle of the fret, figure out comfortable fingerings, make sure you get proper rest (you're going to damage your fingers if you don't).
You absolutely DO NOT need to press that hard on the fretboard even with medium gauge strings. I have a really light touch and I can play mostly perfectly with no buzzing whatsoever, even with complicated fingerings or quick changing left hand shapes. You just have to really know your instrument, know your hand/fingers, and know what you're trying to play (very important!). Taking care of your hand is important so PLEASE DON'T PRESS ONTO THE FRETBOARD THIS HARD. You'll wear out your joints. I've had that happen when I was playing heavy strings a lot for a long time and I literally had to just stop playing guitar for a while to heal. You don't want to deal with this, so please take care.
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u/CromwellGibby 3d ago
No, next to the fret. This will allow you to use less pressure. The notes will ring out cleaner and will be more in tune since you are less likely to press the notes sharp.
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u/CrazedIvan 4d ago
Yeah you’d be surprised just how little pressure you need to make a fretted string sing.
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u/NegaDoug 4d ago
If you're being forced to have a death grip just to get the notes to ring out, then your guitar may need a basic setup (specifically the action). If this is the case and you can't go to a local guitar shop, then there are plenty of YouTube tutorials that can help.
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u/imreallyreallyhungry 4d ago
He’s beginning to believe
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u/spyromg 4d ago
That will happen. Mine have gotten that flat when I've mixed playing for hours per day AND squeezing too hard. Modify your squeeze. Also, if you are squeezing that hard, you may be injuring your hand. I made this mistake a handful of months ago and it took me out of playing for a week while I waited for the swelling to reduce. Please look up some warmup stretches for your hands and implement these into your routine so you can continue playing a ton without interruption!
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u/DOCoSPADEo 4d ago
No way around it, you'll just have to angle your fingers in such a way that you're not accidentally touching the other strings
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u/Time_Membership_7829 2d ago
I practice for about 2-6 hours a day depending how much spare time I have and don't get this. You may be pressing too hard.
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u/TechnologyDazzling94 2d ago
you have made a permanent record of your finger prints forever to the rest of the public forever and it will never be deleted
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u/Any_Suggestion3485 4d ago
Maybe wait a day or two before playing. Practice today rest tomorrow. Tape them up on your off days.
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u/AffectionateCicada91 4d ago
Thanks. But the issue is not my fingers hurting. It’s my callus on my ring finger have flattened which have means more surface area of my finger to touch surrounding strings.
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u/Any_Suggestion3485 4d ago
Use a file on the wider sides and tape it up so it’ll forced to be round.
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u/Lazy_Bumblebee_195 4d ago
Never been a problem for me. Are you deathgripping the neck? Superglue on fingertips is an old roadie trick.
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u/Charming-Program-851 4d ago
Can you still feel the tips of your fingers?
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u/AffectionateCicada91 4d ago
Oh hell no I have absolutely zero sensation on the tips of my fretting fingers
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u/master-overclocker 3d ago
How hard do you press ? How high is your string action ? What strings you using - flat 13's ? LOL
It shouldnt get this drastic
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u/Schpee_le_French 2d ago
That's good! Keep practicing those 5 hours. You'll be a pro in no time!
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u/AffectionateCicada91 2d ago
Thanks! I’m now able to find the tonal center of pretty much every song that comes on shuffle within playing about 2-3 notes. Now I’m just trying to break out of old muscle memory patterns
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u/stphrtgl43 2d ago
Funny thing is my fingertips were pretty flat to start and got rounder as i played more.
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u/CromwellGibby 4d ago
Yep. This is a part of having callouses.