Does anyone else find that if they practise for a long time that their fingers start to become sore and blistered? I never had this problem when I played violin but when I changed to viola, my fingers became very sore and blistered. I think it must be the strings, as viola strings are thicker than violin ones. I played in orchestra for 3 hours yesterday and now my fingers are so sore! Has anyone else had similar experiences?

ooo that must hurt....

i have had SIMILAR not really the same tho:

i used to play guitar and well they do hav thick strings and my fingers were getting sore, blistered and red. u shud get used to it over tym then your fingers will kinda adapt themselves and it shud ease the pain little by little..
but after som practising i would run me hand under cold water. i dunno if it would help but it did do me!!

but your fingers shud be fyn after a while - dont worry!!

just rememba to keep practicing. no pain - no gain *(my mum taught me that ALL my lyf)*

I have not much problem with viola strings (imagine the cello and double bass folks with their super-thick strings), but the vibration gives me headache.

Yep i get that with my viola! after playing for a while and especially when using vibrato the skin on my fingers goes all hard and blistery. dont worry it goes after a while though!
jess

I'm the same, I play for about half an hour and they feel like they're about to drop off. All I can suggest is get some softer strings, as soon as I can I'm going to buy some Pirastro Eudoxa as they are a fair bit nicer on the fingers, I was playing on my teachers viola the other day and there was hardly any marks on my fingers after an hour. But nice strings are pricy, I know for a fact that a set of Eudoxas cost about £56!

My fingers go really sore sometimes because my teacher likes to make me practice shifting with glissando and 10 minutes of that on the E string really is painful!

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when using vibrato the skin on my fingers goes all hard and blisery

I've just started to use vibrato -that must be why it's so bad! I thought it was because it was the first orchestra session after the summer holidays as I normally wouldn't play for 3 hours in one go.
Thanks for all the replies!

I had the trouble of my fingers becoming sore whilst playing.

I soaked my fingers in Surgical Spirit (once a week for two months) and changed my strings to Pirastro Eudoxa and they have been much better

If I don't practise violin for a long time then I get blisters on my fingers but that doesn't happen much and usually go away after a very short time anyway.

Yes I did have sore fingers. not blistered but the skin on the tips turned hard, then I peeled it off with fingers. That was during my Grade 2 last year. Ouch... surgical spirit sounds drying and painful esp on burst blistered fingers I thought applying cream at night would work better. But the cold water sounds good.
But am used to it now and that doesn't happen to me. Probably only happens when you first learn a string instrument.

Thanks for all the replies everyone, my fingers are gradually starting to feel better.
Violin-ann, i've been playing violin since I was 8 but I swapped over to viola about six months ago and violas have thicker strings so you get more blisters. I've also been practising more and starting to use vibrato so that's probably why I've got sore fingers!

i get that too on my cello, and sometimes harp. i find on the cello my hand gets tired really easily (the one holding the bow) so maybe im holding it wrong. i do a lot of rowing n get blisters from that too, so its not nice playing the cello after rowing

I find that my rh thumb goes a little numb after 2 hours orchestra practise through holding my bow. Violin that is.

Fiona

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I find that my rh thumb goes a little numb after 2 hours orchestra practise through holding my bow.

Me too, Fiona!

my fingers survive....but I have a very sore neck from practising too much (I think .... I do 3 hrs plus a day) I have a king of blister/ulcer that takes ages to heal and is sooooo painful at times- it's just under my chin - where neck/chin meet chin rest. It only heals when I have a break from practising - which is about a fornight every summer. I've had this problem for years- and tried all sorts of remedies..... any suggestions - apart from giving up the violin which is what my doctor suggested ( I'd rather die than give up my best friend!!)

Maybe you should consider changing your shoulder rest. Get something padded, like Kun, or just put a piece of cloth or folded hanky over that part. And you could also get one of those blister plasters for feet or normal plaster and place it on your neck before you practice.
As for the sore neck, rotate your head all the way round to the right like ten times and to the left ten times (or more if you have the time). Do this exercise everyday. I find that helps to loosen those neck muscles.

The most agony I was in was after an all day rehearsal and play in of Handel's "Messiah". The second violin part seemed to have lots of short little lifted notes which gave me backache. Hummel's trumpet concerto was the same. I've never quite forgiven either piece!

Violin -ann - thanks for the advice ... i have changed my shoulder rest several times - now using a bonmusica one which I find brilliant. the sore neck comes from having a hole in it - not from tension- I've done enough alexander technique over theyears to have solved tension problems. the problem I have is friction related I think.

So does the neck feel any better now? Probably the plaster would work the best... it does a great job for blisters for me! But those normally grow on my feet, not neck

QUOTE (sparkal @ Sep 12 2004, 05:24 PM)

no pain - no gain  *(my mum taught me that ALL my lyf)*

That's a really dangerous idea for musicians! People have had their careers ruined by e.g. repetitive strain injury. As a general rule, if it hurts, stop! Get expert advice. There's a whole organisation (not sure of the name, may be Institute of Performing Arts Medicine) devoted to helping musicians and other performing artists to deal with related injuries etc. Alexander training (related to posture and body use) can be helpful in a lot of cases.

Actually, having said that, blisters from playing stringed instruments are probably a bit of a special case. If possible build up playing times gradually rather than going from nil to three hours straight off! That gives the skin a chance to harden off without actually making blisters.

Maybe you're not used to viola strings...I think you need to practice more.

Thanks a lot DGA! I already practise a lot!

Heyaaaaa,

For blisters on the fingers... to prevent them happening, soak your fingers in white spirit a few times a week and this will toughen them up.
For blisters on the neck... a duster over the chinrest may help... or you might just have to get used to it. I personally am very fond of my violin/viola blisters... although they can provoke some embarrassing questions...

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I personally am very fond of my violin/viola blisters...  although they can provoke some embarrassing questions...

Lol Cheeble!

Blisters on the fingers really aren't necessary, and I heard from a reliable source just the other day that even hard skin isn't necessary because it's a sign of pressing down too hard on the strings - a very common mistake.

For speed and ease of playing you only really need the lightest touch - no squeezing. The gypsies certainly couldn't play at the breakneck speeds they play at if they held their fingers down more firmly, and Simon Fischer the violin pedagogue thinks most violinists press down too hard.

You just need to place your finger on the string enough for a clear tone; any more than that is unnecessary and will only cause tension.

Violinia

Yup, that's true, nowadays I learn not to press too hard on the strings and the sound is fine. Most of the problem lies with the bowing hand if the sounds comes out wrong. So I don't get blisters anymore. Hmm.. or is it because I practice less too?

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Blisters on the fingers really aren't necessary, and I heard from a reliable source just the other day that even hard skin isn't necessary because it's a sign of pressing down too hard on the strings - a very common mistake. For speed and ease of playing you only really need the lightest touch - no squeezing. The gypsies certainly couldn't play at the breakneck speeds they play at if they held their fingers down more firmly,

Thanks for that Violinia, I didn't realise that! No wonder I can't play fast!