Student with no feeling in LH pinky finger

[m1469]

I have a student who does not have any (or very little) feeling in his left-hand pinky finger.  He had broken his arm a while back, had to get some kind of pin put in his arm and his pinky situation is a result of that accident.

He seems to have strength and control in his finger, but no feeling, I guess.  He gets sore at times as well.  He is VERY determined to play and is doing very well (he is just starting out), he is advancing quicker than any student I have ever had, so I know he has some things going for him. 

But, I wonder how much to push him with his finger ?  Maybe this is therapuetic for him, but sometimes I wonder if I should help him re-figure some fingerings and I wonder how this will affect him as he grows into more difficult repertoire. 

I am just not sure what to do or how to guide him exactly --maybe I should just treat it like a completely "normal" situation, or maybe there are some specific things I can do to help him (?)-- any thoughts and suggestions would be most welcome.


Thanks,
m1469

[jeremyjchilds]

If I were a doctor, then I would give you some really good advice

[abell88]

Does he have a physiotherapist? Could you consult with him/her?

[m1469]

Does he have a physiotherapist? Could you consult with him/her?

Yeah, maybe so.  I guess I will look into that. 

Thanks for the suggestion,
m1469

[gilad]

i know a young guy that has only stubs for fingers on one hand. he plays the guitar damned well, so give him a chance and only work around the pinky if it becomes a real problem for him.

[m1469]

i know a young guy that has only stubs for fingers on one hand. he plays the guitar damned well, so give him a chance and only work around the pinky if it becomes a real problem for him.

Yeah, okay.  That's the kind of thing I needed to hear.  I am definitely giving him a chance, he is very much proving his ability to do this and I would never have known he had this challenge if they had not told me.  I just don't want to push him beyond what is reasonable, but I will check with the people who know more and I guess we will just do as you say, only work around it if it becomes a real problem.

Thanks,
m1469

[whynot]

Hi m1469.  Good suggestions.  Additionally, I would talk a lot about possibilities of fingerings in general, help him to feel very free to accommodate fingerings to suit his hand, not the other way around (students often feel a real obligation to editorial fingerings, which can be a burden, as well as being bad fingerings for some people).  Even though the fragile finger is fine right now, he would probably benefit from the philosophy of respecting his own body and working from there.  Then, maybe have him re-finger some things (protecting the pinky) just for the practice, so he learns how to help himself in case he ever needs to.  I mean, it certainly seems like a possibility, so it might be reassuring for him to get confident in problem-solving early on.  Then he'll know that he will always be able to play, no matter what.   



 

[AvoidedCadence]

Tell him that Byron Janis had no feeling in his RH 5th finger (he put it through a glass window by accident) and played the Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto in concert at 14.  (Of course, he also studied with Adele Marcus and the Lhevinnes).  See if you can research anything about what Marcus did in terms of hand mechanics for Janis.

Then play a nice Janis recording.   Your student will have an idol for the rest of his life.

Seriously though, I think this calls for a careful physiological/kinetic study.  It might be harder (or at least less intuitive) how he should use his left hand, especially advances to harder repertoire.  While it is probably not a big problem right now, you may want to make sure (for example) that he is not unconsciously stretching, tensing or curling this finger in a stressful way in difficult technical work (I don't think this is a big problem for most people, but he will be more likely to be unaware of any bad habits he picks up.)

Also, I don't see any reason to "favour" this finger.  Lots of repertoire requires that finger (in chords/octaves) - better to learn to use it now.

Congratulations for teaching him.  Who knows, he might be noticed by a Horowitz some day!

[m1469]

Tell him that Byron Janis had no feeling in his RH 5th finger (he put it through a glass window by accident) and played the Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto in concert at 14.  (Of course, he also studied with Adele Marcus and the Lhevinnes).  See if you can research anything about what Marcus did in terms of hand mechanics for Janis.

Then play a nice Janis recording.   Your student will have an idol for the rest of his life.

Seriously though, I think this calls for a careful physiological/kinetic study.  It might be harder (or at least less intuitive) how he should use his left hand, especially advances to harder repertoire.  While it is probably not a big problem right now, you may want to make sure (for example) that he is not unconsciously stretching, tensing or curling this finger in a stressful way in difficult technical work (I don't think this is a big problem for most people, but he will be more likely to be unaware of any bad habits he picks up.)

Also, I don't see any reason to "favour" this finger.  Lots of repertoire requires that finger (in chords/octaves) - better to learn to use it now.

Congratulations for teaching him.  Who knows, he might be noticed by a Horowitz some day!

Okay, this is quite great information and a brilliant idea.  Thank you very much.


m1469