Thumb passing on rapid runs/arpeggios

[ericlc]

Hello all. I'm new to these boards but I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Eric and I am originally from New York City. I'll be starting my senior year at Stanford in a couple of weeks, where I'm double-majoring in Economics and Music. I've played piano since the age of five and I attended the Juilliard Pre-College from seventh grade through twelfth grade. I came across this forum almost by chance a couple of days ago, and browsing through a number of postings, I am very impressed by the depth and commitment demonstrated by the fellow members here. Hopefully I can become a solid contributor to these boards in due time. I have a question that hopefully some of you may be able to answer, or at least give me some possible advice on things.

A year and a half ago, I got tendinitis in my right hand, most likely due to a combination of things including weightlifting, tennis, bad posture, etc. in addition to piano -- I was working on Liszt's b minor sonata and Chopin's 2nd Piano Concerto at the time, as well as a couple smaller works by Bach and Scriabin. I went to physial therapy and the Miller Institute in New York, and while I've recovered from the injury, I believe my technique has changed a bit.

Specifically, I find it considerably tougher nowadays to play very rapid chromatic scales and arpeggios. Some of this may be due to the fact that I spent almost nine months working on Bach and Mozart alone, trying to develop a technique similar to Glenn Gould's with much more deliberate and active finger attacks. Now that I've gone back to looking at some works like those of Chopin and Liszt, I find it harder to play these chromatic scales and arpeggios sometimes -- in particular, my touch feels a lot heavier when sometimes a run is just supposed to be a run -- virtuosic, brilliant, and all.

ON A MORE CRITICAL NOTE, I also feel that some of this has to do with my thumb being more tense than it used to be while trying to pass it around other fingers during the scales and arpeggios. Sometimes, at a very fast tempo, it tends to "lock" in a slightly upwards position before the thumb pass -- it's almost as if I'm rotating my right wrist faster than the fingers will move, and that's what causes the right thumb to "fly up" as opposed to "pass under." I'm sure it's because there's some type of tension building up in the process, but I'm not exactly sure how to correct it. My left hand has the same technique with slight thumb passing during the crosses and experiences no pain or tension whatsoever.

Mind you, this isn't a problem for me except in very fast passages (such as in Liszt's Rhapsodie Espagnole or Totentanz), but it almost seems like I'm hitting a "speed wall" that didn't used to be there because my thumb will involuntarily "fly up" or "lock" in an upwards position as I try to step up my tempo.

Has anyone experienced similar symptoms, or seen this problem with other people? Any suggestions as to how to correct it? I would appreciate any advice or insights that you can possibly provide. Thanks so much!