practising cold-handed

[jz_rach2]

i've been practising in the school's lower basement practice rooms for many hours everyday for the past 3 weeks since my unversity life started. It's always really cold down there and i've been practising cold-handed a lot. everytime i would start practising with my hands icy cold and after 3-4 hours my hands would still be cold. i've been experiencing some soreness in my arms which i had never experienced before prior to coming to the faculty of music.
does anyone know whether or not it's good to be practising cold-handed? i heard from a friend that it actually helps to improve the technique but it also can result in injuries very easily.

thanks!!! 

[pianowolfi]

I would not recommend practising with cold hands at all! Wear additional pullovers and jackets, even some fingerless gloves may help.

[leucippus]

If there's a electrical outlet near the piano you might want to think about getting one of those small heater fans.  They are pretty efficient anymore.  I run mine all the time and it hasn't even affected my electric bill at all as far as I can tell.

I just bought two more tonight as a matter of fact.  I got them at Walmart for $9.88 each.  Can't beat that. They actually throw quite a bit of heat.  You'd have to set it on something so that it's blowing right across the keyboard to keep your hands warm.

Like I say, it hardly uses any electric at all.  I think mine is 1500 watts on high, but usually running it on low is enough.  That's probably more like 500 watts.  They are very small and lightweight.  Might want to give it a try.

[debussy symbolism]

Greetings.

I hate it when my hands get cold during practice. Very annoying.

[persona]

If it's cold, I always heat my hands before starting... I wonder how Mozart would deal with this in the Austrian winter.

[hyrst]

Hi
Since you are said you are getting pain you did not have before, I woudl sugest that the cold is adversely affecting you - especialllky if that is the only thing (environment) that has really changed in your practice routine.  Whatever is happening, pain tells you something is not right.  Sports people never get invovled in full-scale physical activity wihtout proper warm up because of risk to ligaments and muscles - I don't think the sensitive hands are any different. 

Try wearing extra layers of clothing.  Being cold is likely to cause tension in other muscles (like your shoulders) that will cause more problems.  It's better to start with toom any layers and take them off.

Playing with cold hands in only good for your work if you are performing wihtout warm up - it is specific to pieces and situation demands - at least this is my understanding.  Anyway, pain means something is wrong!

Annah

[Motrax]

It may sound silly, but I usually do a stretching routine followed by push-ups before I sit down at the piano. This gets my blood circulating, and push-ups do wonders for warming up my hands on cold days.

Practicing scales at whatever tempo is comfortable (when my hands are very cold, I start quite slowly) is also helpful for me. Others might disagree, but when I've done all 24, my fingers are usually quite ready to tackle anything.

Octave etudes (such as Moszkowski's Op. 72 No. 9, or anything else with just octaves) are good warm-up pieces for your fingers, as you don't actually need to use cold fingers to play.

If there's a hot water tap nearby, run hot water over your hands and your forearms. Immedaitely and FULLY dry your hands and arms afterwards, and you'll be quite warm. This doesn't always work, as hot water isn't always avaiable.

Wearing massive amounts of clothing always helps, too.

[starpianist]

I always get cold-handed before piano competitions. It rarely happens when I practice, mostly because of the environment I'm surounded by. I find it useful to wash my hands with warm water before I practice, if I can find any. I also find it useful to drink warm liquids before I play. I hope this will be useful. 

[donjuan]

i've been practising in the school's lower basement practice rooms for many hours everyday for the past 3 weeks since my unversity life started. It's always really cold down there and i've been practising cold-handed a lot. everytime i would start practising with my hands icy cold and after 3-4 hours my hands would still be cold. i've been experiencing some soreness in my arms which i had never experienced before prior to coming to the faculty of music.
does anyone know whether or not it's good to be practising cold-handed? i heard from a friend that it actually helps to improve the technique but it also can result in injuries very easily.

thanks!!! 

Wear long sleeves when you practice, if you arent already.

If you are, then see a doctor to get your iron levels checked out -make sure you arent anemic.

and if your iron's fine, then it simply might be too cold in the basement to practice comfortably.

so then you ask if it's dangerous.  I practice with cold hands often, and I dont notice any pain.  maybe the pain in your arms is from practicing too long (3-4 hours, since the beginning of term) without being used to it.  When I came back to the piano after 2.5 weeks, my fingers and wrists got exhausted very quickly, and I couldnt practice very long.  But after about a week it got better.

[Bob]

I think your body will adjust to whatever conditions you practice in.  Adjust as much as it can.

I don't think cold is ideal.  Cold causes the muscles to tense up.  You can strain muscles.  If nothing else, it's more difficult to concentrate.

Every year when the weather gets colder it takes awhile for my body to adjust to the cold.  It really sucks.  But after awhile I realize it's not so much of a problem -- because my body has finally adjusted over time.

[solitudewithin]

Practising cold is one thing, that can help your performance skills, see Chang's book for that. Now practising in a cold enviroment is not recommended at all in my opinion. But here what i recommend, try to where gloves that the fingers have been cut off, in a way that your fingers will be free to move. Dont try to practice anything technical or difficult and try to have warm clothes on you so that you can maintain you temperature. Now find a decent place to practise , cause i cant imagine anyone practising under these conditions.

[liszt-essence]

Reminds me of something I saw a long time ago on national geographic,

In a special test chamber that was far below zero and freezing cold a guy was asked to perform tests that required very precise finger movement and dextirity (no piano involved)

After 2 minutes he could hardly move his fingers at all..

The same test was then performed 30 minutes later, but then he wore a special eletrical vest that warmed up his heart and chest.. They filmed his hands with an infra-red camera and even after 5 minutes his hands had kept their normal body temperature!

I though that was absolutely amazing.

Not that that will really help you, unless you can get your hands on one of those things and accept that you will sweat like a dog

[phdezra]

I recall reading that Gould (ok, ok, he was a bit nutty this way ) would very often wear gloves and cut out the fingers for piano practice. (He also once sued Steinway because one of their representatives shook Gould's hand too firmly!))