Dr. Brian May of Queen says how much he practices guitar depends on whether or not he's getting ready to perform.
It will surprise few that May, who boasts more degrees and accolades than a small college faculty, is a busy man and has to be deliberate about how he manages his time. He tells RadioX's Elis James that "in a normal day" he doesn't play a lot.
"There is an awful lot to do in my day," May says. "But generally I'll pick up the guitar at some point. Now at this point, when I'm preparing to be in rehearsals, I pick it up everyday as a religion because I have to harden up the fingers again."
May continued saying the Queen + Adam Lambert shows routinely run over two hours, which can be punishing on the finger tips of a guitarist. He says he'll play guitar at least an hour a day just to make sure the calluses on his fingers are tough enough for a tour.
"To me it's not about practice, it's about physically being able to handle that amount of playing every night...The few square millimeters of skin on those fingers determines everything. If they go then everything goes."
When asked if he thinks he ever peaked as a guitar player, May wasted little time in responding with a laugh, "It's yet to come."
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