Anybody had this problem? I have been playing the mandolin too much (probably). I'm used the the thickening of the skin on the finger tips and the wearing away of the ends of the fingernails, but this last week I have had a kind of ache going right down to the bone in my left hand index finger. It goes away again but then comes back - does this sound familiar to anybody?? Suggestions (other than don't play)
Try using as little pressure as possible to hold each note down. Slow down a bit in your practice so you don't have to grab the notes hard. Use open strings. Choose tunes that use a lot of open strings.
Does that help? I don't know, as I'm a fiddle/violin player. But good luck with your finger.
Is your action (height of the strings above the fingerboard) too high? When I learnt the Spanish guitar I was instructed not to press the fingers down so hard that the string actually touched the fingerboard. Apart from the extra effort involved (which hurts the fingers and slows you down anyway), the note you're playing will go sharp.
I don't play the mandolin, but perhaps these comments may be relevant and give some help.
As Trevor says, check your action (bridge height). I don't know what type of mando you have but you might also check the frets, make sure they aren't too high. Lighter gauge strings can help, too. Good luck!
Welcome to the wonderful world of osteoarthrosis. Ain't it grand? Consider this part of your, purely hypothetical of course, midlife crisis.
"Suggestions (other than don't play)"
Take all of the above advice, and . . .well, don't play very much for a while until the condition at least moderates. Then be careful not to overplay. Take aspirin if you tolerate it. Ice it. Don't apply heat. Heat feels good but actually increases any possible inflamation, which would just convert arthrosis into arthritis.
Oh, and I can't help mention that some luthier, sometime in future, is going to curse you soundly, perhaps for hours, for what you did to that fiddle.
to add to earlier comment: My friends and I have a home remedy for inflammatory injuries--in a cup of water (hot or cold) stir in 2 tbsps of apple cider vinegar and 1 tbsp of honey. Drink this, don't soak in it. It doesn't taste as bad as it sounds. If you faithfully do this daily you truly will feel results in several weeks. As KFG suggests, play moderately and rest whenever you feel strain. Again, good luck.
i played my banjo non stop for the first few months of owning it and i actually created a hole in my middle finger. neways my fingers are as hard as iron now so they havent hurt for a long time. I fount that if u stop playing for a while say like 2 months then play again u have to harden your fingers all over again.
I had serious problems with my fingers after the willie clancy week this year. Playing from 10am-2am or later for 6 days is not great for the fingers!
I've always suffered slightly with my third and fourth fingers not working too well and getting painful, owing to too much classical pianoing as a youngster, which meant that I had to drop down to the first two fingers for fiddling fairly often when I first took it up. Now I have full use of all my fingers most of the time, unless I'm playing loads (e.g. willie week!) and, owing to doing plenty of finger exercises, my previous useless fourth finger is actually able to do more than just cuts and the odd to b note!
Try some finger 'warm-ups' before you play (especially if you play fast stuff), like a few scales or arpeggios, preferably on a piano as this requires full movement of the finger. Even little things like tapping your fingers thumb-5th on a desk or steering wheel etc is helpful, as it loosens up your fingers and helps the muscle development etc.
I hate to say it (and do it) but if you're getting muscular injuries you should probably take a break. I had to have a week without fiddling once I'd done the post willie-week gigs this year, and it was horrible, but at least my fingers were back in working order for the rest of the summer! Also, it might be worth reconsidering your technique - oddly enough, I was getting muscular pain in my weaker 3rd and 4th fingers whilst playing in Gmin/dorian type keys, so I changed the position of my hand slightly for tunes in this key and it's helped to relieve the pain. Weird that it was only these keys, but never mind!
Just check your technique. Make sure there isn't too much stress in your arm and shoulder and watch how hard you press. Take into account classical guitar technique,(seriously: same principle). And also working on the same principle, James Byrne apparently had the problem of overpressing when he was younger. The advice he got, was to apply the least pressure possible. Added advantage, for fiddles anyway, is it improves your tone.
In the meantime, a rest probably is advisable. 'A heart attack is nature's way of telling us to slow down!'
I can firmly recommend stretching, your fingers have muscles like any other part of your body and over use will tighten them up. I had similar problems, but with regular stretching it has gone away.
Finger injuries?
Finger injuries?
Anybody had this problem? I have been playing the mandolin too much (probably). I'm used the the thickening of the skin on the finger tips and the wearing away of the ends of the fingernails, but this last week I have had a kind of ache going right down to the bone in my left hand index finger. It goes away again but then comes back - does this sound familiar to anybody?? Suggestions (other than don't play)
# Posted on August 20th 2005 by Edgar Bolton
Re: Finger injuries?
Try using as little pressure as possible to hold each note down. Slow down a bit in your practice so you don't have to grab the notes hard. Use open strings. Choose tunes that use a lot of open strings.
Does that help? I don't know, as I'm a fiddle/violin player. But good luck with your finger.
# Posted on August 21st 2005 by fiddlefingers
Re: Finger injuries?
Is your action (height of the strings above the fingerboard) too high? When I learnt the Spanish guitar I was instructed not to press the fingers down so hard that the string actually touched the fingerboard. Apart from the extra effort involved (which hurts the fingers and slows you down anyway), the note you're playing will go sharp.
I don't play the mandolin, but perhaps these comments may be relevant and give some help.
Trevor
# Posted on August 21st 2005 by lazyhound
Re: Finger injuries?
As Trevor says, check your action (bridge height). I don't know what type of mando you have but you might also check the frets, make sure they aren't too high. Lighter gauge strings can help, too. Good luck!
# Posted on August 21st 2005 by dmarie
Re: Finger injuries?
". . .does this sound familiar to anybody??"
Welcome to the wonderful world of osteoarthrosis. Ain't it grand? Consider this part of your, purely hypothetical of course, midlife crisis.
"Suggestions (other than don't play)"
Take all of the above advice, and . . .well, don't play very much for a while until the condition at least moderates. Then be careful not to overplay. Take aspirin if you tolerate it. Ice it. Don't apply heat. Heat feels good but actually increases any possible inflamation, which would just convert arthrosis into arthritis.
Oh, and I can't help mention that some luthier, sometime in future, is going to curse you soundly, perhaps for hours, for what you did to that fiddle.
Bad fiddler. No Guinness.
KFG
# Posted on August 21st 2005 by KFG
Re: Finger injuries?
to add to earlier comment: My friends and I have a home remedy for inflammatory injuries--in a cup of water (hot or cold) stir in 2 tbsps of apple cider vinegar and 1 tbsp of honey. Drink this, don't soak in it. It doesn't taste as bad as it sounds. If you faithfully do this daily you truly will feel results in several weeks. As KFG suggests, play moderately and rest whenever you feel strain. Again, good luck.
# Posted on August 21st 2005 by dmarie
Re: Finger injuries?
i played my banjo non stop for the first few months of owning it and i actually created a hole in my middle finger. neways my fingers are as hard as iron now so they havent hurt for a long time. I fount that if u stop playing for a while say like 2 months then play again u have to harden your fingers all over again.
# Posted on August 21st 2005 by S.McMullen
Re: Finger injuries?
I had serious problems with my fingers after the willie clancy week this year. Playing from 10am-2am or later for 6 days is not great for the fingers!
I've always suffered slightly with my third and fourth fingers not working too well and getting painful, owing to too much classical pianoing as a youngster, which meant that I had to drop down to the first two fingers for fiddling fairly often when I first took it up. Now I have full use of all my fingers most of the time, unless I'm playing loads (e.g. willie week!) and, owing to doing plenty of finger exercises, my previous useless fourth finger is actually able to do more than just cuts and the odd to b note!
Try some finger 'warm-ups' before you play (especially if you play fast stuff), like a few scales or arpeggios, preferably on a piano as this requires full movement of the finger. Even little things like tapping your fingers thumb-5th on a desk or steering wheel etc is helpful, as it loosens up your fingers and helps the muscle development etc.
I hate to say it (and do it) but if you're getting muscular injuries you should probably take a break. I had to have a week without fiddling once I'd done the post willie-week gigs this year, and it was horrible, but at least my fingers were back in working order for the rest of the summer! Also, it might be worth reconsidering your technique - oddly enough, I was getting muscular pain in my weaker 3rd and 4th fingers whilst playing in Gmin/dorian type keys, so I changed the position of my hand slightly for tunes in this key and it's helped to relieve the pain. Weird that it was only these keys, but never mind!
# Posted on August 21st 2005 by Tize
Re: Finger injuries?
Just check your technique. Make sure there isn't too much stress in your arm and shoulder and watch how hard you press. Take into account classical guitar technique,(seriously: same principle). And also working on the same principle, James Byrne apparently had the problem of overpressing when he was younger. The advice he got, was to apply the least pressure possible. Added advantage, for fiddles anyway, is it improves your tone.
In the meantime, a rest probably is advisable. 'A heart attack is nature's way of telling us to slow down!'
# Posted on August 21st 2005 by Pól
Re: Finger injuries?
Thank you - everybody
# Posted on August 21st 2005 by Edgar Bolton
Re: Finger injuries?
Don't forget to ice and elevate it...just like athletes do with injuries.
# Posted on August 21st 2005 by crazy
Re: Finger injuries?
I can firmly recommend stretching, your fingers have muscles like any other part of your body and over use will tighten them up. I had similar problems, but with regular stretching it has gone away.
# Posted on August 22nd 2005 by nick b