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How to Care for Fingertips That Hold Down Steel Guitar Strings

When learning to play the guitar, all musicians go through a period where they experience pain in their fingertips. This is because your fingers weren't designed to play guitar and you have yet to build the calluses necessary to protect the tender tissue. Guitar players who have put down their instrument for a few months will also experience pain and need to rebuild the calluses on their fingertips. There are several ways to soothe the pain.

Instructions

- 1
  Rest your fingertips after playing. After one or two days of rest, your fingers will be stronger.
- 2
  Soak your fingers in apple cider vinegar for one minute before and one minute after playing. This will dull pain and improve the strength of your fingertips.
- 3
  Numb the pain by putting your fingertips on an ice bag. While a guitarist won't likely play long enough to think they need an ice bag, the ice will relieve pain that sometimes happens the morning after playing.
- 4
  Practice guitar for approximately 30 minutes each day to develop calluses on your fingertips. The calluses will lengthen the amount of time you can play while improving the crispness of the sound.
- 5
  Use light strings when you play. Electric guitars are also easier to play than acoustic because the strings are much lighter.

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