im fairly new to flute playing as in simple system flute as i have only gotten hold of one lately but i have been playing trad on classical flute for a while now without problems. I enjoy playing my new flute but i am finding more and more that after about an hour diddling around my left hand develops quite a pain on its back.
I am pretty much self taught on the flute but i have been playing the whistle for quite a while and originally the mother of all instruments the bagpipe. having played that instrument for a few years i found that rolls on the whistle came naturally with a cut on the b hole finger for b, a, g and f rolls. is this bad and could it be the cause of my sore hand? or could it be that i am not holding the flute properly?
I don't play the flute, but whenever we have these discussions, sore hands or muscles of any sort are usually from not relaxing enough physically... Shannon Heaton is always on her students about relaxing their hands and shoulders and necks and all the rest.
Boy can I relate. My problem is that I last only 10 minutes TOPS. I. My problem is twofold. I have big hands but skinny fingers and my fingers just barely cover the holes so I have to be exact. Second problem is that you have to hold a simple system flute much differently than a silver flute. The thumb on my left hand actually locks and the pain horrible but it goes away with a quick massage. was at a workshop recently where a young boy (around 12 or 13) was showing me his flutes. He had one custom made for a person with smaller hands. Just holding his flute, I could feel the difference and my hand was able to relax. I've experimented with putting the flute together differently with the holes of the first joint facing away a little bit more and the holes on the second joint facing more towards me. Also experiment with the thumb position on my left hand. It helps a little but not enough. I look forward to hearing what suggestions some of the others have. Thanks for the post.
if you play with straight fingers(not bent over the keys) and have been playing on a silver flute it could be just the slightly wider stretch thats putting strain on you fingers. i play silver flute and when i play simple system i also get pains over the tops of my hands. don't worry about it your stretch will increase but don't over do it, you dont want injure your self.
thanks guys for advice
i have rather large hands and fingers so no stretching really goes on and i am pretty sure i am as relaxed as they come because being tense is not what playing music is all about i figure
maybe my left hand is sneakily being tense just to annoy me though
ill keep trying different approaches anyway
oh yes and sorry about the misleading ed thing my name is actually tim : )
Tim,
I play whistle and I've noticed that if my posture is not straight that my neck muscles get tight Then my fingers start to get numb and tingly.So I stop, hang my arms down and shake them a bit, roll my head in a circle motion and then I rub my neck muscles until I feel them relax a bit. After that I feel much better!!!!....How's your posture???? (smile)
I don't play the flute but common sense tells me that if the player's posture isn't right, then s/he'll be storing up (possibly big) trouble for the future. I've seen trad flautists (good ones, too) play with their torso twisted through 45degrees and bent over so that the flute is also at about that angle to the floor. Quite apart from muscular-skeletal-tendon problems that doubtless lie in waiting, the player's breathing must be adversely affected by such a posture.
It isn't just non-pro trad players who can get problems from poor posture. Almost any professional classical symphony orchestra will have stories to tell about players who have suffered from all sorts of muscular and skeletal problems arising out of their playing, sometimes serious enough to bring an end to a professional career. They are often violinists and violists, but brass and woodwind aren't immune. Some pro orchestras even employ physiotherapists to look after their players.
As I've suggested above, good posture and good breathing are intimately linked. If breathing isn't right, no matter the instrument - flute or whistle (obviously), or fiddle (not quite so obvious) - then performance will suffer.
posture
i dont have a particular posture i tend to just sit about and literally hang as comfortably as feels and sit up maybe for power blasting of the flute or slouch for quietness or whatever
i never really think about it
anny what is carpel tunnel syndrome apologies for my ignorance
It's a condition caused by repetative movement, often experienced by people who type all day or people who play a lot of computer games. Now I'm thinking maybe I'm wrong, it's just repetative stress injuries. Anyway, that's what I'm thinking about. If you play pretty much straight for an hour, you're repeating a motion or series of motions continually, causing stress on a certain muscle. I think that no matter how relaxed you are, although I'd never recommend not relaxing, the action of playing requires muscles to move and therefore eventually tire just like any other kind of physical activity. I know a couple of pipers who eventually had to stop playing for a while because their hands siezed. Anyway, it's a serious condition and people who suffer from it in work environments have had to go on disability etc. If you just experiment with your hand, watch the muscles on top and you can see when you play with straight fingers, it works the muscle on the top of your hand. If you curve your fingers, you don't. To play a simple system flute, you play with straight fingers, therefore working that muscle. I'd say, take everyone's advice about posture and relaxing and practice in shorter bursts to avoid a repetative strain. My hand problem, is the stretch and a thumb joint that likes to lock and cause me grief. Makes my practice sessions short. I love the sound but, I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to really play the flute I have.
sore hand
sore hand
im fairly new to flute playing as in simple system flute as i have only gotten hold of one lately but i have been playing trad on classical flute for a while now without problems. I enjoy playing my new flute but i am finding more and more that after about an hour diddling around my left hand develops quite a pain on its back.
I am pretty much self taught on the flute but i have been playing the whistle for quite a while and originally the mother of all instruments the bagpipe. having played that instrument for a few years i found that rolls on the whistle came naturally with a cut on the b hole finger for b, a, g and f rolls. is this bad and could it be the cause of my sore hand? or could it be that i am not holding the flute properly?
# Posted on December 11th 2002 by timo
Re: sore hand
I don't play the flute, but whenever we have these discussions, sore hands or muscles of any sort are usually from not relaxing enough physically... Shannon Heaton is always on her students about relaxing their hands and shoulders and necks and all the rest.
Zina
# Posted on December 11th 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: sore hand
Ed,
Boy can I relate. My problem is that I last only 10 minutes TOPS. I. My problem is twofold. I have big hands but skinny fingers and my fingers just barely cover the holes so I have to be exact. Second problem is that you have to hold a simple system flute much differently than a silver flute. The thumb on my left hand actually locks and the pain horrible but it goes away with a quick massage. was at a workshop recently where a young boy (around 12 or 13) was showing me his flutes. He had one custom made for a person with smaller hands. Just holding his flute, I could feel the difference and my hand was able to relax. I've experimented with putting the flute together differently with the holes of the first joint facing away a little bit more and the holes on the second joint facing more towards me. Also experiment with the thumb position on my left hand. It helps a little but not enough. I look forward to hearing what suggestions some of the others have. Thanks for the post.
# Posted on December 11th 2002 by ANNY
Re: sore hand
if you play with straight fingers(not bent over the keys) and have been playing on a silver flute it could be just the slightly wider stretch thats putting strain on you fingers. i play silver flute and when i play simple system i also get pains over the tops of my hands. don't worry about it your stretch will increase but don't over do it, you dont want injure your self.
# Posted on December 11th 2002 by szifty
Re: sore hand
thanks guys for advice
i have rather large hands and fingers so no stretching really goes on and i am pretty sure i am as relaxed as they come because being tense is not what playing music is all about i figure
maybe my left hand is sneakily being tense just to annoy me though
ill keep trying different approaches anyway
oh yes and sorry about the misleading ed thing my name is actually tim : )
# Posted on December 12th 2002 by timo
Re: sore hand
Tim
Maybe it's the dreaded (carpel tunnel?) syndrome. Sorry about the spelling.
# Posted on December 12th 2002 by ANNY
Re: sore hand
Tim,
I play whistle and I've noticed that if my posture is not straight that my neck muscles get tight Then my fingers start to get numb and tingly.So I stop, hang my arms down and shake them a bit, roll my head in a circle motion and then I rub my neck muscles until I feel them relax a bit. After that I feel much better!!!!....How's your posture???? (smile)
# Posted on December 12th 2002 by whistlegirl in RI
Re: sore hand
I don't play the flute but common sense tells me that if the player's posture isn't right, then s/he'll be storing up (possibly big) trouble for the future. I've seen trad flautists (good ones, too) play with their torso twisted through 45degrees and bent over so that the flute is also at about that angle to the floor. Quite apart from muscular-skeletal-tendon problems that doubtless lie in waiting, the player's breathing must be adversely affected by such a posture.
It isn't just non-pro trad players who can get problems from poor posture. Almost any professional classical symphony orchestra will have stories to tell about players who have suffered from all sorts of muscular and skeletal problems arising out of their playing, sometimes serious enough to bring an end to a professional career. They are often violinists and violists, but brass and woodwind aren't immune. Some pro orchestras even employ physiotherapists to look after their players.
As I've suggested above, good posture and good breathing are intimately linked. If breathing isn't right, no matter the instrument - flute or whistle (obviously), or fiddle (not quite so obvious) - then performance will suffer.
trevor
# Posted on December 12th 2002 by lazyhound
Re: sore hand
posture
i dont have a particular posture i tend to just sit about and literally hang as comfortably as feels and sit up maybe for power blasting of the flute or slouch for quietness or whatever
i never really think about it
anny what is carpel tunnel syndrome apologies for my ignorance
# Posted on December 12th 2002 by timo
Re: sore hand
It's a condition caused by repetative movement, often experienced by people who type all day or people who play a lot of computer games. Now I'm thinking maybe I'm wrong, it's just repetative stress injuries. Anyway, that's what I'm thinking about. If you play pretty much straight for an hour, you're repeating a motion or series of motions continually, causing stress on a certain muscle. I think that no matter how relaxed you are, although I'd never recommend not relaxing, the action of playing requires muscles to move and therefore eventually tire just like any other kind of physical activity. I know a couple of pipers who eventually had to stop playing for a while because their hands siezed. Anyway, it's a serious condition and people who suffer from it in work environments have had to go on disability etc. If you just experiment with your hand, watch the muscles on top and you can see when you play with straight fingers, it works the muscle on the top of your hand. If you curve your fingers, you don't. To play a simple system flute, you play with straight fingers, therefore working that muscle. I'd say, take everyone's advice about posture and relaxing and practice in shorter bursts to avoid a repetative strain. My hand problem, is the stretch and a thumb joint that likes to lock and cause me grief. Makes my practice sessions short. I love the sound but, I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to really play the flute I have.
# Posted on December 13th 2002 by ANNY