Index Finger Bone Bruise and fiddle tunes

[Loretta Callahan]

After a pretty persistent sore index fingertip, I've changed the way I'm approaching the mandolin. I was trying to learn as many ITM/Celtic fiddle tunes as I could once I learned how to read standard notation.

Noticed that the most callused finger was my index. It started to get very sore, but figured this was normal. Thanks to a kind cafe member who sent me a PM, I realized it may have been a "bone bruise". (I had misread a thread about brain calluses and mentioned my finger, lol).

Anyway, I stopped fiddle tunes for a few days, it got better, but kept coming back. I'd stop the tunes, it would get better, then get worse ... clearly a cycle here.

Sooo, finally realized I needed to slow way down and take stock of my practice routine. The thread on Tim O'Brien's arpeggio exercises inspired me and I bought Mike Marshall's 2 DVD set.

Anyway, am now approaching the fretboard focusing on all four of my fingers, using Mike's exercises: arpeggios and crawling up and down the neck, etc. In less than a week, I'm noticing calluses beginning to get serious on my other fingers ~ even my pinky!! My fingers are sooo much stronger. I'm now playing those fiddle tunes as only half of my practice, instead of most of my practice. So far, so good. Guess there's music "theory" for a reason!

Occurred to me that we beginners can really work that poor index finger much harder than we should (or need to) when we barrel through tunes. Might not be a problem with whose folks with super finger powers, but, boy howdy ... mine just didn't hold up.

[Salty Dog]

A bruise is worse than a blister and takes longer to heal - it was caused by "hammering" on the strings too hard, which is common to mandolin beginners. It will heal if you heed the message your finger sends you when it is time to rest. Runners don't run marathons on the first day and the fingers of mandolin players don't either. Start slowly and gradually increase your playing time and exercises each day or week. You are also building strength in your arm, wrist, and fingers which does not occur in an instant. Be patient, listen to your body, and be PERSISTENT - that's the answer.

[Brent Hutto]

I've had those under-the-callus index finger bruises a couple times when I was playing guitar. So far, none on the mandolin but that index finger tip does quite sore. It's the limiting factor to how much I can play in a day.

I don't have any problem with spreading the calluses to the other fingers, the ones on the middle and ring finger are easily as thick and large as the index. I think my problem comes from working on particular tunes that have a lot of F-natural and B-flat notes at the first fret of the A and E strings.

But the Salty Dog has it right about "hammering". The thing that will make any of my fingers sore quickest is playing too many new songs with a Strathspey type rhythm where you can ultra-short sixteenth notes following immedately by elongated dotted-eighths. Once I know one of those songs I can play them under control but when I'm learning a new one I really jam those fingers down hard trying to force it to be clean. Since the index has the best mechanical advantage for driving straight down onto the fretboard, hammering too hard affects it the most.

[mandocrucian]

Play the fiddle tunes, but just don't use the index finger. Shift the hand so that frets 2 4 5 are now played using m-r-p. Besides exercising those fingers (and giveing the index a rest), it is good mental exercise. Now instead of thinking primarily about what finger plays the note, it shifts you into thinking about the fret under the finger (i.e. what fret needs to be stopped, regardless of the finger doing it).

This flexibility of thought will be quite helpful if and when you ever start playing an OM/cittern and need to use chromatic fingering (1 finger per fret) because of the scale length.

Also, when you play a G tune in open position using m-r-p (instead of i-m-r), when you go back to using your index, playing those same tunes in the key of A will be much much easier and automatic, since you've ingrained the fingering for 3 or your 4 fingers.

Niles H

[Brent Hutto]

Niles,

That's a great suggestion. The one time I had a seriously bad "bone bruise" when playing the guitar I could not fret a single note with my index for about 8-9 days. So I practiced all my barre chord patterns and changes with the other three fingers, leaving an index finger barre lightly resting on the string to damp them behind those three fingers. After that got boring I relearned a couple of songs using m-r-p instead of the usual i-m-r and that was fun, too.

I have a chopped-off pinkie (childhood accident) which only has half the "tip" left past the last knuckle. So any extra pinkie practice is good as it has to work twice as hard to play cleanly because when I arch it I don't get much clearance of that knuckle above the string.

[Loretta Callahan]

Thanks, all. Really great feedback here. I had been hammering that index finger like a jackhammer, Salty. Probably a holdover from bad dance teachers who encouraged us to dance until our feet bled, which mine did. Age is bringing me the surprise of mortality, lol.

Dunno about strathsprey rhythms Brent, but I've been belting out reels, jigs and slipjigs like crazy, and it seemed like the songs I chose loved my index finger on the A & E strings. The fact that my non index finger calluses are lighter than the index tells me my practice was out of whack. Uniform calluses are happy calluses, eh?

Ok, Niles … that's a good idea. The arpeggio practice has started me thinking more about frets than finger positions on the fretboard. Mike Marshall says to learn all the notes on the Fretboard … which I've started to do. I think I'll start with knowing where the key notes are: A, C, D, G .... and use them as touchstones.

Thanks again!!