my pinky pains :(

[hodi]

i'm doing mendelssohn fantasy in f# minor 3rd movement and schumann grillen and there are lots of fast octaves there (especially in the mendelssohn fantasy)
and in the last 2 days the pinky of my left hand pains when i try to play those octaves and i can't play like that
what to do?

[ramseytheii]

i'm doing mendelssohn fantasy in f# minor 3rd movement and schumann grillen and there are lots of fast octaves there (especially in the mendelssohn fantasy)
and in the last 2 days the pinky of my left hand pains when i try to play those octaves and i can't play like that
what to do?

Just one small piece of advice, when the left hand plays octaves on black keys, use 1-4-5 as the fingering, instead of just 1-5.  It gives support to your pinky.  It doesn't work as well on white keys but you can try it for some octaves that seem especially uncomfortable.  I always use 1-4-5 on black keys, and swear by it.

Walter Ramsey

[danyal]

I agree with the octave fingering. Also, take it easy!! Dont over exert yourself! Take breaks every hour or so of your practise. Even if its just to make some coffee or water the plants etc

If over-exertion is not the case here, then I think my only other solution would be that you are too tense when you play. Try relaxing your hand when playing the octaves, but dont lose control. Your hand must be very light, even in fff passages. You'll find that after getting used to this movement, the notes will become easier, and you will put your hand under a lot less strain.

I hope this helps.

All the best,

Danyal

[arensky]

Could it have something to do with this?  https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,13892.0.html


I'll bet your having to do something in training or at the computer that's hurting your hand; don't know what it could be, though; be careful at the piano right now, because I'm sure your drill seargents don't want to hear about your having to be careful because of your piano playing!

[hodi]

Could it have something to do with this?  https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,13892.0.html

I'll bet your having to do something in training or at the computer that's hurting your hand; don't know what it could be, though; be careful at the piano right now, because I'm sure your drill seargents don't want to hear about your having to be careful because of your piano playing!

nah, i mostly do nothing the army
i play minesweeper at the computers there
believe me, the pain started right after i played lots of octaves in grillen and mendelssohn
also, i'm dismissed from doing jobs that require a lot of efforts for the hands (i got it because i broke my hand 2 years ago)

anyway, today my pinky is way better, i barely played the last 2 days.
i think i will wait another day just to make sure it's fine.

[gilad]

 they got you playing minesweeper? my thats a dangerous unit

[hodi]

they got you playing minesweeper? my thats a dangerous unit

i mostly hear classical music in my mp3 there.. we are the classical unit XD

[rohansahai]

try playing the lower notes with both the 4th and 5th finger (togehter on the same note) ..it will give support to the pinky and will make the octaves sound more 'solid' !

[hodi]

i stopped playing completely for 2 weeks, today i started again and my pinky STILL PAINS

i dunno what to do ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
anything like that happened to anyone?!

[cadenz]

i do get pains in my pinkies from time to time as well. it feels like an ache, a strange ache that i don't really experience anywhere else in my body so it makes me a bit curious when it happens. it has almost the feeling of a stress fracture but i'm fairly sure its nothing like that.  for me all i do when it starts happening is try to take it easy with that specific hand, perhaps by playing passages which don't use the pinkie so much. perhaps by practicing the octaves very slowly and thinking about different aspects of your playing when it happens. if i was you i'd only practice such demanding passages for short periods. no more than 15 minutes a day for instance, then you can continue practicing different parts of the piece or other pieces without a fatigued pinkie to get in the way.

[gilad]

hmmm, something must be causing this, maybe see a doctor,get an xray, maybe it's a  tendon. i'm not a doctor so i have no idea. my dad is though and would have said the above to me. it's been a while, i'd get it seen to if it persists. it's probably nothing major though, but sounds very annoying .

[whynot]

I've had aches in pinkies over the years, but they've always gone away when I rested for a while, especially if I allowed it to curve (the curve you get from letting your arm hang down--not curling).  It used to happen when playing a lot of octaves.  The natural curve is what really helped me, so I concluded that I had been staying in extension too long in those pieces.  If you have been resting and are still in pain, I concur that you show it to someone, and see if you can make enough fuss to get a hand specialist, because family doctors will often tell you to ice and rest things, but they don't necessarily know what's wrong with it.  I injured a tendon recently (not from playing, but then I couldn't play), and my doctor told me to just give it rest.  Then I saw a hand surgeon who said it wasn't damaged, just temporary, and sent me to physical therapist-- where I learned that simply resting it would allow any scar tissue from the injury to get thick and stiff, and shorten the tendon a bit.  I stretch it in a special way and massage it every day to keep it long and flexible.  So you might want to get it checked out.     

I have small hands and my hand is pretty much fully extended at the octave.  In order to keep them supple in playing lots of octaves, I don't "hold" my hand open when playing a succession of octaves.  I let the hand spring back to its natural-hanging-curve position.  Well, that's my starting point.  I start practicing the octaves slowly and let the hand spring back all the way into curve.  When I get faster, I don't have time to spring back as far, and at tempo my fingers don't actually move out of position--or just barely--but I still allow the tiny moment of release after each octave in the same way.  I think this "spring" might be something that people with big hands don't have to worry about as much, since they are not at full extension when playing octaves.  But I am.  I'm not stretching or reaching, but it is the limit, so I built these ongoing releases into my technique.  I don't get the aching pinkies anymore, even with a lot of octave work, so this has really helped me.  Keep us posted!!  Best of luck.