I am new to ukulele and I have been trying to play songs and chords and such but my fingers really hurt and it is almost bleeding at the corner on my index and middle finger nail bed. The edge of the nut is hurting my hand: The part of my hand that hurts is in the red circle: As you play ukulele more you will start to develop calluses which builds resistance on your fingers and decreases sensitivity. ... like Mississippi John Hurt and Blind Blake. Because the ukulele and guitar have so much in common, uke players like me, who started on guitar, are inclined to adapt their guitar skills to the uke. Click for chords “Moon River” from Breakfast at Tiffany’s has 12 chords, but they’re not terribly difficult and the tempo is nice and slow. The tenor and concert ukuleles are in between and are also an option. Is this normal? One woman commented to me that her arthritic fingers are less sore with the regular exercise of ukulele playing. So, I'm pretty new to playing instruments. You can avoid hurting your fingers while playing the ukulele by naturally developing calluses over time. If you’re familiar with this song, you’ll find that with just a little bit of practice, it’s fairly easy to finger pick on the ukulele. There certainly shouldn't be any bleeding and the nail bed certainly shouldn't hurt. In time, your fingers will get used to the new exercise that you're putting them through, and those sore fingertips will develop calluses and stop hurting all the time. different chord fingerings may work better. How to strum a ukulele without hurting your fingers? I just got a ukulele, and man does it hurt, I have some experience with stringed instruments, but nothing like this , my middle finger is the worst, it's all cut up, but from past experiences I know it'll only get better. In that case there are usually options – e.g. Here's a ukulele fingerpicking tutorial for Everybody Hurts by R.E.M. And that's probably the best advice that can be given to a beginner on the uke...just stay the course and play through the pain. My fingers hurt While I'm waiting for my sceptre to get here I unearthed a souvineer grade Westbrook ukulele that has been sitting in it's original box for at least the last 48 years untouched and I tryed to teach my self chords all day and all night Sunday now my finger tips hurt Some players find specific finger exercises helpful. For my first instrument to learn, I got a ukulele, imagine my surprise when I tried to learn how to strum and it hurt. It's higher-pitched and is a small one, which makes it harder to play for those with bigger fingers. A baritone ukulele is the biggest type of ukulele, has the lowest pitch and is good for guitar players crossing over. The finger tips might become a little sore, anything worse than that might be expected on steel guitar strings but not low tension nylon strings on a ukulele. Will it stop after I play more? Others may have one or two stiff fingers that just can’t play in some positions. I'm just asking if it's supposed to hurt and I'll get used to it, or if I'm doing something wrong with my ukulele strumming. I recently started playing the ukulele, but after some time practicing, my left hand starts to hurt from rubbing against the nut. ... while playing melodies on the higher strings with their fingers. - one of my favourite songs by one of my favourite bands! It only starts to hurt after playing for some time, but it still is keeping me from playing as much as I would like to.