Pinky issues, among other things

[hastur]

So, for the past couple days I've been doing Hanon exercises and a few issues have come to my attention. Among them, that my control over my little fingers (5th finger) is quite poor. I struggle to keep notes played by it even with those of the rest of my fingers. They always seem to linger a little too long or become staccato.

Any ideas what might be causing this? My best guess so far is that I lack the muscle strength to control it evenly. Any ideas how I could solve the problem?

Another issue is that I find my left hand wrist badly sore and it doesn't seem to get much better even after two days of taking it easy with exercises.

Thank you for your time,
hastur

[lelle]

Did your wrist become sore after you started doing the Hanon exercises? In thast case you are probably doing some bad movements and should stop immediately with the exercise and carefully examine where the discomfort is located and what might be causing tension so that you can avoid it in the future.

I don't think it's an issue of "strength" with your pinkie, just a lack of cordination Just keep practising it as relaxed as possible and it will come. I've been taught that lifting your fingers or hitting the keys hard to gain "strength" will just lead to injury and problems with tension when you start to play faster.

[nyiregyhazi]

Try this:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=42557.0

Also, you're probably stabbing too much with the arm- rather than feeling a proper connection to the key from the finger itself. This is almost always the cause of notes being held for too long.

[hastur]

The wrists became sore the morning after I started with the Hanons, so my guess is that they are just not used to the more intense exercise they have been getting.. but could be something else, too.

As for why I believe it to be strength, well, without muscles it becomes difficult to control movement properly.. no?

[hastur]

Try this:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=42557.0

Also, you're probably stabbing too much with the arm- rather than feeling a proper connection to the key from the finger itself. This is almost always the cause of notes being held for too long.

Ah, yes, perhaps I *am* using the arm weight a bit too much with the pinky.. I'll try be more conscious about it as well as read through that exercise you linked and get back here.

[nyiregyhazi]

The wrists became sore the morning after I started with the Hanons, so my guess is that they are just not used to the more intense exercise they have been getting.. but could be something else, too.

As for why I believe it to be strength, well, without muscles it becomes difficult to control movement properly.. no?

Consider what happens if you lean against a wall and try to move it with all your might. Does doing that for a long time build strength and sensitivity to movement? Or does it simply screw a person up? The problem is that when most people think about strength, they do the equivalent of just that. That your wrists are getting tired suggests very strongly that you are falling into that trap. The wrist should be loose- not straining into anything.

[nystul]

Physical strength has little to do with, as proven by all the cute little girls on YouTube who play better than me even though they can't reach the pedals yet.  We don't have great coordination in our fifth fingers partly because of anatomy and partly because we just don't use them for fine, independent movements all that often in daily life.

I think if you stubbornly focus on speed with Hanon, it is a recipe for disaster.  You can only improve the speed if you are able to maintain the quality of the technique.  If you improve the speed by making everything tense and rigid, you lose control and risk injury.

[yarnold]

I'm no expert, but it does sound like a co-ordination problem. My left pinky is stiff and arthritic, and I'm unable to bend it, but it doesnt hurt, and I have no problems with it when playing. Good luck...............

[jimbo320]

Hey Hastur,
How you doing? The thing you're experiencing is what most everybody does. We developed lazy fingers from lack of use. Our first three fingers (Thumb being 1) are the most agile because those are used the most. Break the habit by using your 4th and 5th fingers more (eg. pushing buttons, opening doors, ect.). You'll be amazed of your improvement.....