Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar

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WGuitar

Posts: 46
Joined: Apr. 21 2014

Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar

Hi folks!

Hope you all having a good time.

Got a strange question really! Anybody here get overly sweaty hands when playing? because I do, and this and playing guitar is so not a good match, let alone a very demanding style such as flamenco.

Its just a pain in the ***. My hands sweat alot very easily even if I only been playing for 2-3 minutes! My left hand is where the bigger problem is. My right hand is fine since I can use the nails so I can get away with it to some degree..

Some would say it might be due to frustration. True, it gets worse if i get frustrated, but the problem is still there all the time anyway.

Just wondering.. anyone here with the same/similar problem? Did you find some sort of way to solve this problem? Can you continue playing with your sweaty hands for a long time or you need to stop playing to wipe your hands with a tissue or something, (like I do every 2-3 minutes)? Am I making excuses here for having slow progress at times?

I really wanna know if I still stand a chance of becoming a decent flamenco player someday despite having this problem.
I'd appreciate any input from you guys. And plz excuse my ranting!

Thanks a bunch

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 30 2014 23:24:27

tele

Posts: 1464
Joined: Aug. 17 2012

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

I have heard some people use some sort of powder to help with sweaty hands, I'm sure many people have this problem so maybe google can find some suggestions also.

_____________________________

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 31 2014 0:10:45

Sr. Martins

Posts: 3077
Joined: Apr. 4 2011

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

Wait...

You use the palm of your hands when playing guitar?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 31 2014 0:23:15

WGuitar

Posts: 46
Joined: Apr. 21 2014

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to Sr. Martins)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Sr. Martins

Wait...

You use the palm of your hands when playing guitar?

lol..
inside of fingers and fingertips included too. I see the sweat on my palm first, I guess..
I'll edit my post for you

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 31 2014 0:35:26

Sr. Martins

Posts: 3077
Joined: Apr. 4 2011

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

I used to play double bass and I would actually use my palm behind the neck, that's why I asked... just to make sure you weren't doing any funny business with your guitar

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 31 2014 1:03:09

gerundino63

Posts: 1743
Joined: Jul. 11 2003
From: The Netherlands

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

You can use talcon powder.
But I saw a guy who was addicted to the stuff, really, he could not play without it anymore ant put the powder on every other
Tune......he was very occupied with the talcon powder, and not annymore with his musuc.

So, why don't you train yourself to play with sweaty hands. Leave it on do not stop, just play with it.
You will see that in a while you are used to it
I played a long time in a restaurant and in summer it was hot and sweaty, not nice, but after a while you do not think about your hands and the sweat anymore

Good luck!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 31 2014 14:56:18

ToddK

Posts: 2961
Joined: Dec. 6 2004

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

The problem i used to have was that my hands would get a bit puffy
when they sweat, which made my nails suddenly feel shorter.
They also get sticky which caused some drag.
Baby powder did help a bit.

For whatever reason, i dont really have this problem anymore.
Maybe my body chem has changed as i've aged.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 31 2014 16:09:22

n85ae

Posts: 877
Joined: Sep. 7 2006

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

I've been married for a long time, my hands quit sweating after I got married ...

Jeff

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 31 2014 17:32:44

Aretium

Posts: 277
Joined: Oct. 23 2012

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

I think metabolism could have something to do with it.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 31 2014 23:38:19

jshelton5040

Posts: 1500
Joined: Jan. 17 2005

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

Victor Monge (Serranito) has such sweaty hands that you can see the wet spots on the fingerboard when he is playing. Doesn't seem to impede him

.

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John Shelton - www.sheltonfarrettaguitars.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 1 2014 14:37:05

WGuitar

Posts: 46
Joined: Apr. 21 2014

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

Thanks for the help guys. I really appreciate it

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 1 2014 21:40:19

Ricardo

Posts: 14801
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

I used to have this problem in my 20's and early 30's. I notice now others in the age range with the same issue. Kills strings horribly quickly. Now I am approaching 40 it's never a problem. I get a lot of mileage out of strings these days. So I guess it is a metabolism PH thing in the body as it seems so common. I notice the old men flamenco players always have sparkly new sounding strings.

_____________________________

CD's and transcriptions available here:
www.ricardomarlow.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 2 2014 13:58:05

eitanfar

Posts: 68
Joined: Oct. 16 2014

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

Same here, I used to have sweaty hands in my teen years and in my twenties, in my thirties though, the problem seems to have gone away.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 3 2014 6:34:48

Guest

[Deleted] (in reply to WGuitar)

[Deleted by Admins]

_____________________________

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 3 2014 12:17:12

hamia

Posts: 403
Joined: Jun. 25 2004

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

quote:

ORIGINAL: WGuitar

Hi folks!

Hope you all having a good time.

Got a strange question really! Anybody here get overly sweaty hands when playing? because I do, and this and playing guitar is so not a good match, let alone a very demanding style such as flamenco.

Its just a pain in the ***. My hands sweat alot very easily even if I only been playing for 2-3 minutes! My left hand is where the bigger problem is. My right hand is fine since I can use the nails so I can get away with it to some degree..

Some would say it might be due to frustration. True, it gets worse if i get frustrated, but the problem is still there all the time anyway.

Just wondering.. anyone here with the same/similar problem? Did you find some sort of way to solve this problem? Can you continue playing with your sweaty hands for a long time or you need to stop playing to wipe your hands with a tissue or something, (like I do every 2-3 minutes)? Am I making excuses here for having slow progress at times?

I really wanna know if I still stand a chance of becoming a decent flamenco player someday despite having this problem.
I'd appreciate any input from you guys. And plz excuse my ranting!

Thanks a bunch

This can be fairly easily controlled. Get 2 stainless steel pans big enough to put your hands in with fingers extended. Fill with water so that palms can be submerged (back of hand doesn't need to be submerged). Get an electrical adaptor, eg for a mobile phone, strip of the 2 leads so they have exposed wires, tape one to side of one pan and the other to the side of the other pan. Plug in and put your hands palm down in water. Voltage and current are very important. I would say don't exceed about 300mA and 12V (if too high you may die). The hands will tingle and it can be painful. If too painful then find another adaptor with lower current (and or voltage). Do about 20 minutes and then reverse the plug (to change current direction). Do another 20 minutes. Do once a day for a 10 days and your hands stop sweating entirely. Then do about once every 2 weeks to maintain the effect.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 3 2014 14:04:17

n85ae

Posts: 877
Joined: Sep. 7 2006

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

115VAC, and 15-20 Amps should do it with that method, sweat while playing
guitar will no longer be an issue ... In fact a lot of life's little problems will be
gone forever ...

Seriously - Don't do the electricity in the water pan thing.

Jeff

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 3 2014 16:57:09

Ricardo

Posts: 14801
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to n85ae)

I can't believe we read electrocution as guitar playing advice!

_____________________________

CD's and transcriptions available here:
www.ricardomarlow.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 3 2014 18:59:27

n85ae

Posts: 877
Joined: Sep. 7 2006

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

I think the idea is well intended to use the electricity, however having worked
a lot with electricity and electronics, I find the idea to be a bit farfetched, and
if done carelessly - Dangerous. So I just feel it's a bad idea. However that's not
to say it won't work. Heck it might. I'm just glad my hands don't sweat.

Jeff

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 3 2014 21:07:57

rombsix

Posts: 7808
Joined: Jan. 11 2006
From: Beirut, Lebanon

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

Botox injections...

_____________________________

Ramzi

http://www.youtube.com/rombsix

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 3 2014 21:18:18

hamia

Posts: 403
Joined: Jun. 25 2004

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to n85ae)

quote:

ORIGINAL: n85ae

I think the idea is well intended to use the electricity, however having worked
a lot with electricity and electronics, I find the idea to be a bit farfetched, and
if done carelessly - Dangerous. So I just feel it's a bad idea. However that's not
to say it won't work. Heck it might. I'm just glad my hands don't sweat.

Jeff

I'm not sure what you call a lot but I feel you don't have much understanding about electicity. You don't really need a PhD in physics to understand this method (although I do have one). Basically, a 300 mA current applied directly to the heart muscle would probably stop it and kill you. But skin is a pretty good resistor and 0.3A directly on skin wouldn't give much more than an unpleasant shock. And going through stainless steel and water (both of which are not especially good conductors) is going to reduce the current further. So basically no danger at all.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 4 2014 17:56:52

n85ae

Posts: 877
Joined: Sep. 7 2006

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

I always love it when people unzip their pants and whip out their PhD to
qualify their opinions.

However there may be some merit to your theory, at least if you search
the Internet for - Iontophoresis

Jeff

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 5 2014 2:15:50

jmb

Posts: 119
Joined: Oct. 14 2014
From: Vallecas - Madrid - Spain

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

I also had this problem. With 40 I don't. The worst is that the strings are rapidly rusty. I get the habit to wash my hand in fresh water before start playing and check room temperature. In my case, I also think than now I play more quiet than 10 years ago and that anxiety played an important role in sweaty hands.

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Suenas payo ¡y lo sabes!

Sing and string - other flamenco blog

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 5 2014 12:44:01

hamia

Posts: 403
Joined: Jun. 25 2004

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to n85ae)

quote:

ORIGINAL: n85ae

I always love it when people unzip their pants and whip out their PhD to
qualify their opinions.

However there may be some merit to your theory, at least if you search
the Internet for - Iontophoresis

Jeff

And I love it when people qualify their opinions based on nothing but conjecture and wild guesswork. Your post was confused: you have "a lot" of experience with electricity, but "feel" it's a bad idea although it "might" just work. Does it work or doesn't it? How will you decide if it works or not - by guessing? Or will your expert knowledge kick in somehow and guide you to the right answer?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 5 2014 12:57:14

n85ae

Posts: 877
Joined: Sep. 7 2006

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

You win. Next subject?

Jeff

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 5 2014 13:38:43

Ricardo

Posts: 14801
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to n85ae)

So we learned that metal and water are NOT good conductors of electricity.

_____________________________

CD's and transcriptions available here:
www.ricardomarlow.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 6 2014 3:17:46

hamia

Posts: 403
Joined: Jun. 25 2004

[Deleted]

Post has been moved to the Recycle Bin at Nov. 6 2014 4:07:47

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 6 2014 4:06:03

hamia

Posts: 403
Joined: Jun. 25 2004

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to Ricardo)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ricardo

So we learned that metal and water are NOT good conductors of electricity.

Well, everything is relative. But if you use Google you'll find that stainless steel (and of course water) is a much poorer conductor of electricity than most metals. I haven't checked the conductivity values but think it's about 40 times worse than copper.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 6 2014 4:18:01

hamia

Posts: 403
Joined: Jun. 25 2004

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to n85ae)

quote:

ORIGINAL: n85ae

You win. Next subject?

Jeff

Thanks.

As you were.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 6 2014 4:19:12

n85ae

Posts: 877
Joined: Sep. 7 2006

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to WGuitar)

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/news/20110222/electricity-alone-stops-sweaty-palms

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 6 2014 5:22:28

hamia

Posts: 403
Joined: Jun. 25 2004

RE: Sweaty Hands and Playing Guitar (in reply to n85ae)

quote:

ORIGINAL: n85ae

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/news/20110222/electricity-alone-stops-sweaty-palms

My tap water in pans method with a suitable electric supply is incredibly effective at reducing sweating. Actually it completely prevents the hands from sweating in any situation. I was in Kuwait a couple months ago and the temperature was over 50 degrees and my hands were completely dry. I believe you can buy machines for several hundred dollars but what's the point when you can make your own for about 20.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 6 2014 13:52:04