i play a 19 fret tenor banjo (22/3 inch scale i think), ive hurt my left hand due to the stretching in a couple of things ive been learning recently. quite sore between my index and middle finger, ah diddums. so ive stopped playing for a couple of days
it doesnt sit very well on the tenor, the 1st tune has some big stretches on my banjo.
i would play in a different position and capo up for the key, but then that throws out the fingering on the other tunes- i cant find a position to play it that suits all 3 tunes.
i wonder if any banjo/om players out there have a solution, ie a position to play this set which avoids the big stretches?
I used to get sore hands from stretching to reach the B (and sometimes C). When I played a lot, I would get basically a bruise on the ball of my left hand (the base knuckle of my index finger), from pivoting on that spot.
But over the course of time, I have learned to relax my left hand, and learned to move my hand slightly if I need to. I will switch out of first position on very rare occasions, but that's not what I'm talking about. I am talking about floating my hand a bit, so I am not stretching to reach the higher notes.
It gets a little difficult on tunes that are bouncing around between the F, G, and B, but if you can relax your hand, and just allow it to move a bit, it gets easier. Relaxation, and comfort with the neck of your instrument is key.
I have a banjo playing friend who has much smaller hands than I do, and he will float his hand around to hit pretty much every note, and that gave me the inspiration.
do you have a strap on your banjo? sometimes without a strap I find I don't have the freedom of movement necessary to slide my hand a bit to grab the high B's or even C's that are in some tunes. Don
This may or may not be your issue... but, I frequetly get left hand cramps playing banjo and zouk (but interestingly never on guitar). While taking A. Carberry's class this summer, she urged me to move my thumb out from behind the neck to placing the neck of the banjo on the crook of the thumb and palm. I grew up a double bass player so planting the meat of my thumb on the center of the neck was perfectly natural to me. While I haven't (yet at least) gone as far as to move the banjo all the way into the "v" on the hand, I have moved my thumb subtantially to the top part of the neck. My new thumb position, while still fairly uncomfortable as I adjust, not only decreases the cramping, it sets the left hand at more of an angle to the strings and makes that high B a bit less of a stretch.
You might try and monkey a bit with your left hand position and see if that helps. Good luck and enjoy!
ive played guitar and other strings for many years, and had aches and fatigue pain (certainly on the OM, yikes) , but never had an issue quite like this.
i can only assume its by stretching, the 19fret banjo is quite long for my diddy hands.
on certain tunes ive been trying to keep my hand spanned a bit, so my fingers can hover and cover a range (for instance the 2st to 6th frets).
if i dont do this, i cant keep the sped up.
no doubt relaxation will help;
maybe i should remember that the recordings i'm learning from are not played on the 19 fret banjo.
one is on the button accordian, the other on violin, both of which have pixy reaches compared to the humongous tenor.
the girls at martinfield hurt my hand
the girls at martinfield hurt my hand
i play a 19 fret tenor banjo (22/3 inch scale i think), ive hurt my left hand due to the stretching in a couple of things ive been learning recently. quite sore between my index and middle finger, ah diddums. so ive stopped playing for a couple of days
ive been having a crack at this sharon shannon set
track 13
http://www.thesession.org/recordings/display/1004
comprised of
the girls at martinfield
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/4942
+
jeans reel
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/255
+
the oak tree
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/212
it doesnt sit very well on the tenor, the 1st tune has some big stretches on my banjo.
i would play in a different position and capo up for the key, but then that throws out the fingering on the other tunes- i cant find a position to play it that suits all 3 tunes.
i wonder if any banjo/om players out there have a solution, ie a position to play this set which avoids the big stretches?
also this trian tune seems to stretch me a bit
the leading role.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/7096
which is played after
thats right too.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1703
i thought i was training my hand to stretch further, but ive probably overdone it.
is it possible to increase your stretch, or am i damaging my hand?
ow
# Posted on August 26th 2008 by knucklehead
Re: the girls at martinfield hurt my hand
I used to get sore hands from stretching to reach the B (and sometimes C). When I played a lot, I would get basically a bruise on the ball of my left hand (the base knuckle of my index finger), from pivoting on that spot.
But over the course of time, I have learned to relax my left hand, and learned to move my hand slightly if I need to. I will switch out of first position on very rare occasions, but that's not what I'm talking about. I am talking about floating my hand a bit, so I am not stretching to reach the higher notes.
It gets a little difficult on tunes that are bouncing around between the F, G, and B, but if you can relax your hand, and just allow it to move a bit, it gets easier. Relaxation, and comfort with the neck of your instrument is key.
I have a banjo playing friend who has much smaller hands than I do, and he will float his hand around to hit pretty much every note, and that gave me the inspiration.
Good luck!
# Posted on August 26th 2008 by Reverend
Re: the girls at martinfield hurt my hand
do you have a strap on your banjo? sometimes without a strap I find I don't have the freedom of movement necessary to slide my hand a bit to grab the high B's or even C's that are in some tunes. Don
# Posted on August 27th 2008 by Dont
Re: the girls at martinfield hurt my hand
This may or may not be your issue... but, I frequetly get left hand cramps playing banjo and zouk (but interestingly never on guitar). While taking A. Carberry's class this summer, she urged me to move my thumb out from behind the neck to placing the neck of the banjo on the crook of the thumb and palm. I grew up a double bass player so planting the meat of my thumb on the center of the neck was perfectly natural to me. While I haven't (yet at least) gone as far as to move the banjo all the way into the "v" on the hand, I have moved my thumb subtantially to the top part of the neck. My new thumb position, while still fairly uncomfortable as I adjust, not only decreases the cramping, it sets the left hand at more of an angle to the strings and makes that high B a bit less of a stretch.
You might try and monkey a bit with your left hand position and see if that helps. Good luck and enjoy!
(btw, love that s shannon set!)
# Posted on August 27th 2008 by daddae
Re: the girls at martinfield hurt my hand
thanks for your all the input.
ive played guitar and other strings for many years, and had aches and fatigue pain (certainly on the OM, yikes) , but never had an issue quite like this.
i can only assume its by stretching, the 19fret banjo is quite long for my diddy hands.
on certain tunes ive been trying to keep my hand spanned a bit, so my fingers can hover and cover a range (for instance the 2st to 6th frets).
if i dont do this, i cant keep the sped up.
no doubt relaxation will help;
maybe i should remember that the recordings i'm learning from are not played on the 19 fret banjo.
one is on the button accordian, the other on violin, both of which have pixy reaches compared to the humongous tenor.
never mind, pass the ibuprofen darling....
# Posted on August 27th 2008 by knucklehead