The Secrets To Building The Perfect Calluses... Options

[slash48]

Hello, I've gotten some pretty interesting information about building, and maintaining calluses over the years. These are some of my own discoveries, some of Clapton's discoveries, and some from all over the internet. Keep in mind that although these tips are useful to developing nice, thick calluses, none of them can substitute actual playing ...Enjoy

1. Play... This is the most obvious one of the bunch. Make sure to play every single day.... Even if it's only 5 minutes a day because calluses need maintenance.

2.Isopropyl Alcohol-The Magical Elixir This Eric Clapton secret is one of my favorites. He puts this on his fingers to keep them dry and to ease pain. The dry fingers make building calluses such a faster process in my opinion...I recommend putting this on your fingers 3 to 8 times a day.

3.Rinsing Your Hands Rinsing your hands before you play really preserves your strings but it can be detrimental to building nice calluses if your not careful. To avoid this, use cold water, do it quick, and don't use the skin-softening soaps. If your hands still feel wrinkled and soft fingertips after, wait till they feel hard before playing....

4.Taking a Shower/Doing Dishes Wear gloves when your taking a shower or doing the dishes. I know another GMC member mentioned this so I'm not the only weirdo! The hot water couldn't possibly remove your calluses but it can stall you from playing for an hour or so. The shampoo/conditioner/soap could though.... Go out and buy some latex gloves as soon as you can!

5.Play on HEAVY strings String one of your guitars up with 12s or 13s and have a blast. This method will obviously hurt like hell but it should give you some nice, thick calluses pretty quickly...

6.Hotel California My final and favorite tip right here. Go and learn the Hotel California solo....seriously. You do so many bends and so much vibrato that it'll be a callus workout. Plus, it's a mind-blowing solo, you'll have a lot of fun, you'll train your ear, and the solo will teach you how you can highlight certain chords with certain notes... If you can't get enough when you've learned the studio solo, learn the one off "Hell Freezes Over" too, it's just as brilliant, I promise.

That's all I've got for you on the topic. If you loved the thread or want to add a tip of your own, just post below and I'll add your tip to the list!

Cheers,
Dylan

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

This post has been edited by slash48: Aug 13 2011, 12:08 AM

[Fran]

4.Taking a Shower/Doing Dishes Wear gloves when your taking a shower or doing the dishes. I know another GMC member mentioned this so I'm not the only weirdo! The hot water couldn't possibly remove your calluses but it can stall you from playing for an hour or so. The shampoo/conditioner/soap could though.... Go out and buy some latex gloves as soon as you can!

Cheers,
Dylan

Hhahahaha, I knew I wasn't alone on that one

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!