an observation about ukulele finger syndrome

Keef

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early on I complained of my beginner's fingers hurting and the general response don't worry about it you will build a callus and it wont hurt any more .......... fast forward ok now the tips of all 4 fingers on my left hand are dead to the touch much like my heal I'm guessing this is normal too?
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ive been a mechanic the last 32 years so my hands are well weathered but not the very tips of my fingers pretty soon my hands will have all the sensitivity of a baseball glove :)
 
Yup that's the normal response. The calluses build up so you won't feel the pain of the strings digging into them, but you also kinda give up feeling just about everything else, unless its either 1. on fire, or 2. freezing cold.. I guess that just comes with the territory..
 
I disagree. I believe it is a process of learning exactly how hard you need to press down the strings. Most people press much too hard initially, much harder than is really necessary to produce a clean tone. This leads to prematurely sore fingers. I've been a guitar and uke player for many years, I have no visible callouses on my fingertips and I do have plenty of sensitivity. Either that or I've learned to feel through them and I have no idea what my fingers looked like before I had callouses :)
 
I don't have visible calluses either, but I still feel a noticeable difference in sensitivity between the fingers on my fretting hand and those on my strumming hand...
 
I have a face like an old catchers mitt, but it's not sensitive....
 
I don't have visible calluses either, but I still feel a noticeable difference in sensitivity between the fingers on my fretting hand and those on my strumming hand...
Hmm, just rubbed my fingertips together on both hands, you are absolutely correct!

D'OH!
 
Yeah, the fingertips on my left hand are much less sensitive than my right hand. I think I have fairly decent callouses. (I think they're partially from cello too, though.)
Mine tend to peel a lot, which is annoying.
 
I was talking shop with a guy who teaches guitar the other day and he said that during his first lesson he shows a chord by putting the student's fingers in the correct place, has then strum it, and then says to hold it there while he explains something else. He loves the reaction he gets from some folks on it.

Me, I played guitar for ten years before picking up the uke. So, fingers aren't a problem. The nylon is so soft that I have troubles going back to guitar occasionally because my fingers get week.

~DB
 
It's the normal, get used to it......You're lucky you're not playing steel strings guitar....If you want to build up your callouses, do so... only kidding!!!
As for the numbness and the sensitivity in the fingers, it comes with the territory...when overdoing things...
 
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Me, I played guitar for ten years before picking up the uke. So, fingers aren't a problem. The nylon is so soft that I have troubles going back to guitar occasionally because my fingers get weak.

I can agree with this. I had awesome callouses when I played guitar, but since I've made the uke my main instrument I've lost them all.
 
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