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I'm pretty lucky and have never had calluses on my fingers. I get them on the upper pads of my hands from pull ups, pulling on things, etc, but never on my fingertips.
We had colleagues in all the orchestras that I played in that had big time calluses, but I don't think they saw it as a big issue for them.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Maybe my fingers don’t really have calluses. I guess I don’t really know what exactly a cases is.
The skin on the ends of my left hand fingers is slightly thicker and somewhat less sensitive than the skin on my right hand. There’s nothing visible there unless I look very closely. But I can play fiddle or mando or guitar without any pain -- except for the pain in my ears when I make a horrible sound haha!
Strabo
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They say a picture's worth a thousand words....
Here's each hand for comparison, left first: -
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Guitar and uke gave me calluses, violin doesn't.
Andrew
Verified human - the ignominy!
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I don't think I'd expect anyone playing a standard 4-string violin to have any issues with fingertips.
I'm just not thrilled with losing any sensitivity in my left hand - so I'm trying to prevent it from getting any worse. Been quite a while since I had any spots of skin that were hard enough to peel off - and before I practice, my fingertips 'look' normal.
Takes a while after I practice - for them to 'look' normal again, but I noticed something yesterday... playing with my 5-string violin plugged into the amp made a noticeable difference in how much pressure I 'perceived' I needed to apply - much less than when I practice without it! (the lower strings)
...guess they don't call it a 'practice' amp for nothing!
The 1st photo is before I practice - the 2nd photo is quite a while after I'm done practicing.
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I've seen literally 3/16 inch build ups on some people. Big hard balls on the end of their fingers. It's totally normal for some people to have these calluses.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Quick update on my fingers.
I pulled out my knit practice glove for my left hand, not too long after I took the photos of my fingers & a short trial period of only playing on higher strings.
Think I'll be sticking with it.
Not only have I been able to practice without discomfort, but my sense of touch has returned enough to make my other hobbies much more enjoyable - now that I can feel what I'm doing! My fingertips have retained enough 'hardness', so I can play as much as I want on my lower strings - no worries! 🥰
I know I feel like I need to press harder when it's time to replace my strings, but I can live with my strings a little longer now - made it a full 6 months (I'm happy).
Nice thing about getting older - nobody cares what I do... not like anyone will be mistaking me for Michael Jackson.
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Fiddlerman
Mouse
ELCBK
Jols
Strabo
