How to Form Calluses From a Guitar
The finger pain associated with fretting guitar strings is enough to discourage some people from ever learning the instrument. This is where the ability to form calluses becomes extremely important. Once you've built up thick enough calluses, fretting the strings will no longer hurt and you'll be able to play the guitar for longer stretches. Although there are many different ways to form calluses on your fingertips, it's possible to form them almost entirely from playing the guitar.
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Instructions
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Take your guitar to a repair shop or an experienced friend if you're having trouble pressing the strings against the fretboard. If the strings are set too high off the neck, it'll be very difficult to fret the strings and ultimately form calluses. The height of the strings above the fretboard, called the action, can be easily adjusted by an experienced guitarist or technician.
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Cut your fingernails close to your fingertips. You need to to fret the strings with the tips of your fingers without fingernails getting in the way in order to form calluses.
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3
Practice fretting various notes around the guitar neck with your index finger until it begins to hurt. Fret notes on all six strings. You'll want to push your threshold of pain a bit, but you don't want your finger to bleed. Cutting your finger will increase the time required to form calluses.
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Repeat Step 3 using your other fret-hand fingers. It's important to have calluses on all of your fingers if you intend to become an accomplished guitar player.
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Practice fretting basic guitar chords once you're comfortable fretting single notes with each finger. Playing chords speeds up the callus-forming process. Learn open-position major, minor and seventh chords first and, when you're comfortable with them, learn bar chords -- which require you to use different parts of your fingers to fret the notes. Again, push your threshold of pain a bit, but don't injure your fingers. Use a guitar chord chart to show you the exact fingerings for these chords.
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Practice daily using these techniques. You'll form calluses much quicker practicing six or seven days a week rather than once or twice a week. Soon you'll be able to play your guitar for extended periods without feeling significant finger pain.
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Tips & Warnings
If you're still having trouble pressing the strings against the fretboard after having the action adjusted, try using thinner strings. For electric guitars, try .009 gauge strings, named after the thickness of the thinnest string; for acoustic guitars, try .011 gauge strings. Any set of extra-light strings should work.
References
- Guitar for Dummies; Mark Phillips et al; 1998
- Guitar Boomer; Guitar Tricks for Building Calluses; 2008
Resources
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