Finger tip amputation

onefortynine

Hi all,

4 weeks ago I lost the tip of my ring finger (just above the distal joint) and Ive been wondering about my options since then. I play drums, guitar and was learning the piano but I'm not sure how limited I will be on the last two. My finger is still bandaged so I can't really test it but I did try to shape a C chord on the guitar and my finger fell short
I think for everyday use I won't really miss it but for things like guitar and piano, I'm not sure what I can do to return to being able to play. I am a lefty but it hasn't affected my writing and I do play the guitar right handed. I swapped it around to see how playing left handed guitar would feel but it just sat wrong.
Has anyone got any experience with this kind of injury. I would love to hear about all types of solutions from prosthesis to surgery.

Thanks,
Niall.

onefortynine

Hi again.

Could anyone help or point me in the right direction?

thanks again,
Niall.

Lenin Skynard

Hi Niall, sorry to hear about your finger. I've never met anyone in your situation but I've played guitar my whole life and I did have a friend once who broke his arm, causing his elbow to have very restricted function thereafter. He was a lefty too but played left handed (the elbow injury is in his left elbow and would get very sore after 10-15 minutes at an angle). He re-learned to play right-handed, it took a while but he eventually was successful with it.

I'm not sure if you've heard of Django Reinhardt, but he had a somewhat similar injury to yours and he overcame it to become one of the real great jazz guitar pioneers.

Another one who had something similar to you is Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath who lost two fingertips when he was seventeen, but re-worked his technique through various methods and also became one of the greats.

I think if I was in your position I would wait for it to heal and then start back playing the guitar in your normal orientation but just in small steps, power chords first and then scales and so on. I know this is just hypothetical advice from me because I haven't been in your situation but really I'm sure you love playing music enough to overcome this addversity. Best of luck.

onefortynine

thanks Lenin,

I heard the names mentioned recently. I appreciate the advice and agree about waiting for it to heal - in the last week I've had the dressing off more and more but it's still way too sensitive to use. I guess the only thing about switching hands that worries me is that if I do switch, it might never be as natural as if I stuck with the left hand and learned to adapt.
Also, I can't be the first person that has wondered about an attachment or fake fingertip that can stand up to everyday use and guitar strings. I wonder if anyone has found a solution.

thanks again,
Niall.