Odd thumb/wrist issue

[pies]

a

[ted]

Excluding the possibility of some medical issue I think it might just indicate a need for change. Perhaps vary your touch, be more consciously aware of your movements, of control and relaxation. Whatever you do, do not simply try to push on in the same way. Your body is telling you that something about your approach needs changing and it could be any one of dozens of things. Perhaps you could take a one-off lesson from a really experienced player or teacher. Some of these people are pretty good at spotting things.

If you haven't played for months I would be surprised if you could achieve such a delicate movement as rapid double note playing, at least for a few days. Could it be that you are expecting too much of yourself ?

[ramseytheii]

Remember that piano playing is not just down and up, it is in and out.  In order to accomodate the shortness of the thumb, and the unusual angle, you have to play across the keyboard as one would walk over a particularly hilly terrain.  It sounds like your thumb is getting stiff because it isn't being aided by the mechanism of the body.  Think of the keyboard as a three dimensional plane, rather than a horizontal surface.

Walter Ramsey

[slobone]

Yeah, when you're "rusty" your fingers don't move as well as you want them to. Turn down the metronome until you get to a speed where you can play every note, then gradually speed up again.

But don't play at all if you're experiencing pain. Go on to a different piece or quit for the day.

I sometimes "work through" numbness, but I have a feeling I probably shouldn't.

[pies]

a

[ramseytheii]

Remember that the movement in playing double notes especially isn't just in the hand.  The whole arm mechanism needs to contribute.  If you just try and mold the hand, without allowing the elbow to breathe, you will end up playing two-dimensionally, and not achieve your goals.  Think of the keyboard as a three-dimensional plane, with hills and valleys, and double notes comes much easier.

Walter Ramsey