Yeah, that's a good amount of playing there, Earl ...good on you, sir!
I think it's safe to say that everyone's physiology is different, right? So I offer again that I play a
lot, that's my personal practice and whatever rehearsals, both electric and acoustic; all guits are on the wall because I want to be able to grab at a whim, and do so frequently. All to say I have zero discernable "calluses" as most people know a "callus," i.e. a toughened patch of skin that --as Earl just offered-- is so pronounced that this layer of skin can peel off.
So let me be explicit here: I've had those
genuine calluses on hands when working with tools, on feet with ill-fitting shoes, or perhaps with boots or hiking, various sports where it's usually the feet or hands that bear the callus. And here's the common denominator for me: in
every instance I have gotten whatever callus, it has always been when doing that something repetitively or frequently when that was
not the normal case. I don't swing a hammer every day, so when I spend 3 days out back addressing the patio slats, yup you guessed it, I get calluses on hands. Same goes with holding a paintbrush. Same goes with hiking. And I never really was the seasoned athlete, so when goofing it up with friends, yeah, I have gotten the occasional callus. The point is clear: I am performing a task which I normally do
not do with regularity. Hence, the skin responds with said callus.
FWIW, and now perilously close to off topic, my friend who is a Stage/Set dresser has a
very physically demanding job has tough hands, but zero calluses. Also been a drummer for coming on 50 years (and my current drummer, yay!) and no "calluses" where skin peels. Same with an uncle who is an electrician (on large commercial sites) and just turned 60, still working. So I in my little guitar hobby as a non-pro musician who just loves doing it, likewise have no "calluses." Our common denominator is that the body clearly adjusts, the skin adjusts, and
none of us are walking around with skin patches peeling from repeated work, or
so toughened that there is loss of feel. Moreover, we all just do that which we do, repeatedly, without untoward pain or physical maladies (oooh thankfully!) because the body clearly does what it always does: adapt to its conditions.
Man o man, I have clearly spoken far too much about skin ...LOL! Let's just leave it as everyone's physiology clearly differs, but continually playing guitar will likely not wreak havoc on your fingertips.
Edward
