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A few years ago our church band had a gig playing early in the morning to a volunteer crew to get them pumped for the day ahead. It was about 7AM and in the 30s F. It's a good thing I was only playing for one song and it wasn't lead because I could barely feel the strings let alone play well. I asked the lead guitarist how he did it and he just said it didn't bother him. So I figure it's not impossible.

Is there anything I can do to play better in cold weather short of lugging an outdoor heater around?

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  • I know of no real good answer to this dilemma, except to bring the volunteers inside for the performance, everybody wins.
    – skinny peacock
    Mar 23, 2018 at 19:09

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I had to do an hour set under those sort of conditions once. It was absolute misery: besides the guitar freaking out and needing to be tuned several times as it adjusted to the cold, I couldn't feel my fingers.

The instrument needs a chance to acclimate to the temperature. Major temperature swings can cause finish checking/cracking, and/or make inlay pop out, so give it lots of time to adjust slowly.

Don't open the case to let air circulate around it until the instrument is close to the temperature of the air; Remember, air circulating will speed up the temperature change.

The same caution is needed when returning the instrument to a normal temperature. If the instrument is cold and you move to a warm room and open the case and see the finish start to turn hazy, close the case and let it sit longer.

Amps can be cold but give tubes a while on standby to gradually warm up.

If playing indoors, I don't think I'd want to take a hot amp outside into cold air to sit either; That cold air would cause the amp's circuit board and components to go through some major thermal cycling.

As far as trying to stay warm, there are big gas-powered space heaters used to warm convention tents and such. They put out enough heat but you'd need a way of enclosing the space to keep the heat from escaping. Trying to do it with an electric-powered heater would use a lot of electricity with no benefit if the heat isn't trapped.

Personally, I would refuse that sort of situation based on my own experience. There isn't a good way to protect the instruments, there isn't a good way to keep YOU feeling good, and, all in all I think you'd put on a mediocre performance for what reason? Better than playing one song in those conditions, go serve hot-chocolate and play DJ, spinning tunes off your portable computer into a PA.

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Maybe not the tip you're looking for, but:

Don't play in 30-degree weather. That temperature would be devastating to the woods on an acoustic guitar. I suspect that it's not ideal for an electric guitar either. If you must play in low temperatures, bring a cheap guitar that you don't mind having cracks in the wood of.

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I have Raynaud's disease. Thus, my digits get unnaturally cold, faster than the rest of my body, gloves or no gloves. I myself have had to play in similar situations, with cold winds cutting through my flesh (sub 30F for an hour, and the only guitarist). And, of course, one cannot wear full gloves in these situations. A few suggestions:

  • Strum hard and fast with a pick
  • Keep your right fist tightened (assuming you're a right-handed player)
  • Yes, the fingers on your left hand will hurt when you fret but keep them as close as possible to the fretboard.
  • Focus on the atmosphere and the singing/worship; you deal with the pain better as your digits grow numb and you can worry about the painful thawing process later
  • Outdoor heaters won't help; better to acclimate than anything else
  • Thus, it may not be a bad idea to practice regularly in cold or gusty conditions
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Keep the blood flowing (run your arms in circles right before you go on). Don't linger in the cold or take your hands out of gloves until its time to go.

I played out in a Christmas parade in northwestern wisconsin last night. It was in the 25F range. I tried fingerless gloves and hand warmers on their back, but they were too bulky. I was able to barre a Bm and F w a set of one size fits all gloves, but i had to concentrate and wanted to finger pick a couple songs. So no gloves. The run for our float was only about 10-12 minutes but it hurt.

I was more worried about my cedar top guitar. That part, it turns out I was able to safely solve by putting the cased guitar in my mildy warmed up car after running an errand and letting them both cool down for a few hours (overnight would have been fine i think now). When I finally took it out of its case, it was air temp (call it 25F) and was in tune w itself, but about a quarter step sharp. After the parade, I cased it up brought it home and just played it now. Not a crack (sigh of relief). It was about a quarter step flat.

In retrospect, i should have dropped it a step before I did the whole thing. Other than that and some slow to warm limbs, it was all good.

If I do it again, I'll either cut the fingers off really cheap gloves or buy some fingerless ones that are thing and put a pouch on the back to hold a couple hand warmers on the back of my hand. I also realized my right hand (strumming) was colder than my left. My left was mostly bunched up and fingers together, right right i have the habit of stretching out all my fingers - and figured out half way through that habit needed a rest for the evening.

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Fingerless gloves can help, particularly for simple things like strumming open chords on an acoustic guitar. Not so good for barre chords or palm muting.

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I too suffer from cold hands, worst thing is it can happen at any temperature. I have a long wrist band which I put rice or another grain then sew up the hole and microwave. It heats the blood in the wrist as it enters the hand. Not a real solution but if the venue has a microwave it’s an instant fix. I have searched for years trying to find a battery powered wrist warmer that heats to a high temp as most are lukewarm at best. If you have raynaud’s you can go Frim hero to zero in a matter of minutes. Anyway try the rice in large sweatband. Good luck 🤞

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Pre covid lock down, the UK brass band I play in organised small ensembles to go out in the streets throughout December to do Christmas Carolling.

Tips for performing outdoors:

  • Thermal underwear
  • Multiple thin layers
  • Good gloves (consider warning two or three pairs of thin gloves). You don't need exposed fingertips to perform on a brass instrument, and that's fine because your hands get cold faster in fingerless gloves
  • Pocket-sized charcoal burner. Camping shops well sell you a metal tin lined with glass fibre into which you put a glowing charcoal stick. This burns for at least an hour, so if you keep it in your pocket you can warm your hands on it.
  • Thick-soled shoes. Don't lose your heat through your feet.
  • Woolly hat and scarf, properly tied.
  • Don't stand in wet grass.
  • Raising your hands above waist-height to perform means they get colder faster than if they were down by your sides. Give yourself some recovery time so your hands never get really cold. One advantage of street carolling over performing in a fixed spot is that you have to walk from one spot to another, and that can keep you warmer than standing in one place for a long time.
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Keep a lot of hand warmers around!

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I'm just random person who also came looking for help with playing in the cold. Thought i'd need special strings or and oil to stop it from de-tuning.

But have a possible outcome for the cold fingers thing... maybe. dunno if it has been tried, but there's some gloves that amazingly keep my hands quite warm, considering how thin they are. and because they're so thin, they are actually pretty good at play the guitar with.

just a little average, not so professional guitarists questions/answer/thing... okay goodday...

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I play outside gigs often in 40 degree temps and it is a challenge The best thing I do is take a few extra breaks and use hand warmers inside winter gloves in between sets Normally I would play 45 minute set I cut them to 30 minutes

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Beyond the great practical tips already presented, I have always found it easier to play outside in winter after a couple of shots of hard liquor. Nothing like alcohol to dilate those capillaries!

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