Mykesbass Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 OK, bit of nonsense really, and nothing life threatening, Rehearsed last night and as soon as I started playing discovered a tiny thorn in the tip of my third finger - made stopping the notes (fretless so don't want to get that fretting argument going again) really painful and ended up doing some strange alternatives. One of the problems with being a gardener - the other being that the constant wearing of leather gloves keeps softening my callouses. Anyone got anything more dramatic - sawmill workers etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grassie Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Nothing physical like that, but I recently came out of a band due mainly to boredom. Hooked up with a guy I used be in a band with years ago, and he asked me if I'd like to do something with him. It could have gone swimmingly had it not been for the fact that we both work shifts for different companies, but on opposing shifts, so when I was on earlies, he was on lates. Generally, shift work is a pain in the arse when the rest of the band work "standard" hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clauster Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 [quote name='Grant' post='1260739' date='Jun 8 2011, 08:57 AM']Generally, shift work is a pain in the arse when the rest of the band work "standard" hours. [/quote] +1 The same situation meant I ended up being a "bedroom muso" for 7 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime_BASS Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Used to work as a chief in a pub chain. Long days sometime 16 hours a day plays havoc with gigs and rehearsing. Also the usual tiny cuts or burns are a pain. Worst was the cleaning chemicals and constant water softening callouses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guyl Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Played in a band once with a furniture maker that chopped fingers off in a saw. Fortunately he was a trombonist and the fingers were on his "slide" hand. He is now able to hook whatever is left into the slide and can still play great. (Not sure what his furniture making is like now ....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 [quote name='guyl' post='1260763' date='Jun 8 2011, 09:19 AM']Played in a band once with a furniture maker that chopped fingers off in a saw. Fortunately he was a trombonist and the fingers were on his "slide" hand. He is now able to hook whatever is left into the slide and can still play great. (Not sure what his furniture making is like now ....)[/quote] Good job he wasn't a classical guitarist. Could have put a new meaning to "fingerpicking"! I'm in the "working silly shifts" camp. Every couple of weeks I'm working evenings & finish between 8-10pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matski Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Back in the days before Macs were used in design studios we used to use surgical scalpels for cutting things out etc. First thing on a Monday morning I managed to slice the corner off the little finger on my left hand. Doh! Another time I managed to slash through the inside of the middle and ring finger on my left hand too. Bit of a hindrance to my fretting hand... Not work-related, but I used to play in a band with a guitarist who rode motorbikes and was forever tinkering about with them - he had most of the index finger on his right hand missing due to getting it caught in the chain of the bike when the engine was running. Not very smart. It didn't affect his playing much as he used to grip a plectrum between his thumb and middle finger instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham56 Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I'm a freelance trainer and end up travelling quite a lot around the UK and to Europe. I can usually make weekend gigs (not always Fridays though). Committing to a regular midweek rehearsal schedule is impossible . Which is fine for my existing band as we've been going for over 5 years and only rehearse occasionally. That band is coming to a natural end soon and I'm not sure what to do next. I can see how it's going to go if I start answering ads for new bands: "Sorry, I can't rehearse next week. I could to the Tuesday the week after but that's it. And nothing for the week after either..." I'm not that good a player that people will build a band schedule around me! Cheers Graham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 One guitarist I work with managed to lose his left middle finger at the knuckle in a bandsaw accident many years ago. Being both an ardent music lover [b]and[/b] a stubborn git, once it had healed he taught himself how to play left handed. Once he'd done that he decided to specialise in finger picking style and is quite possibly one of the finest players in that style that I've come across! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urb Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Getting my brain into gear to play 'jazz' type stuff after a long day in the office can be hard for me - as it's more mentally fatiguing than physically tiring - I did find a cure though... a large cocktail actually chilled out my brain enough to let my fingers find the right notes Not something I'd recommend for every playing situation - just worked for me on Monday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgraham Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I'm in a solicitor type role in an office environment. Very mentally draining and computer intensive. I did find within the first year that my right wrist was absolute killing me from typing, mouse-use, gym and exercise, and playing bass for hours on end. I switched my mouse to my left hand to split the load and its been fine since. In general I find playing music for the sheer fun of it really relaxing and energising. Whether playing out or arranging or the like, it just invigorates me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 [quote name='matski' post='1261143' date='Jun 8 2011, 01:19 PM']Back in the days before Macs were used in design studios we used to use surgical scalpels for cutting things out etc.[/quote] Aaaaaah! The smell of the Spraymount; the roar of the Process Camera! I've got multiple scars on my left hand off scalpels, many of them from the traditional dicking about in the studio. One quiet friday we made a full size wheel clamp from cardboard & yelo sticky backed plastic, then clamped the MDs car. Oh how he laughed when he had to explain to a visiting RBS board as to how his own car was clamped in his own car-park. "Goan practise yeer f*ckin' black arts instead of yeer f*ckin play-school sh*te" Though I preferred the 5 foot wide "clockwork key" that we fixed on top of a printers' Skoda myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongebob Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Postie here - havoc of finger-based papercuts of fretting hand! Can actually be quite an issue. I managed to go over the handlebars of a bike a few years ago on the day of a gig. Totally spreadeagled on someone's driveway....bit of grazing, but managed to get through it on the night! Oh, the pains of also getting up early after a late night...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidbass Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 When I worked full-time in an office, I used to get really bad RSI from sitting at a desk all day typing and using a mouse, which impacted on my playing that night a lot of the time. I recall one gig where I couldn't even grip a plectrum! Needless to say, I chose the better option in the end and went back to being a full-time musician Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Not work-related but gig-related having an effect on work. If I had a 'challenging' project come up on a day that I had a gig in the evening I'd think of the gig and idle a lot - to the detriment of the job. I used to have a lot of gigs come up! I'm sure there are others who had this prob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonunders Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Our whole band work different oin-call shifts, we practice when we can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ficelles Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Not work-related but last week I was bringing stuff in from the car and noticed the index finger on my left hand feeling slightly numb. Looked down and while I was watching the base of it swelled up and the first two phalanges after the knuckle started to go deep red then purple. But nothing hurt! It looked even worse the next day so with an impending lengthy rehearsal on double bass on Saturday I went to the medic who pronounced a burst blood vessel and said it would probably go away in a few days, which it did. Weird thing is that although it looked awful, it didn't hurt at any time and I still don't know how it happened. Anyone else done that? ficelles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I work shifts, so being in a band which regularly rehearses would be a nightmare to arrange and playing live would similarly be difficult to arrange. However, I gave up on live music years ago so it's not something that bothers me. Instead, I'd rather just play with people who work for the same organisation as me, it's fairly large and there are plenty of people who play instruments so getting a few guys together to make music isn't really a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Thought Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 +1 on the shift work. Thankfully all three of my band are in the same job, so we can manage to get together during the day etc. Don't think it would work with somebody from outside the job. We only get about one rehearsal a month as it is. We don't do badly considering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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