Bad technique

[thing2emma]

So... I'm working on my Grade 10 and the bad technique I learned as a kid is haunting me...
My right hand pinky completely flattens out, sometimes even flops inwards, instead of nicely curving. As a result, I can't play fast things correctly.
Is it too late to fix this? If not, how do I manage? I can't believe a teacher never called me out on this as a beginning student...

[percy88]

I also have this problem, though I am much more low graded than you, and another day I was wondering how to solve this, and couldn't come with something really great for the problem.

And sometimes, even when not playing really fast, it can be quite annoying.

[iratior]

It sounds to me as though having the finger curve the "wrong" way is not any teacher's fault, it's just that one didn't get the breaks when nature handed out fingers.   Some of my fingers are double-jointed;  I can remember telling one of my music professors that, and all I got was a sympathetic silence.  But fingerings and wrist, elbow, arm and shoulder movements can do a lot to make up for the disadvantages.  By and large, I've rejected Czerny-based fingerings because they don't work for me.  I love using the thumb on a black key!  I find that fingers 1, 3, and 5 are stronger and more nimble than 2 and 4, and this has led me to finger things in such a way as to use the odd-numbered fingers on odd-numbered beats of note passages.  As a result, my fingerings are based primarily on rhythm.  But that makes it easier to transpose, because the fingering for the different key is likely to be not so different from that of the original one.  It also helps me play pieces so that their rhythm comes across very strongly, perhaps more strongly than composers would have wanted, but over the years, many people have seemed to like that.

[p2u_]

Is it too late to fix this? If not, how do I manage? I can't believe a teacher never called me out on this as a beginning student...

It's not too late to fix this, but the problem is - can you combine this with your Grade-10 project?
The best course of action would be (in this order):
* Get help from your teacher (may have noticed it, but as long as you don't complain, may have chosen to leave it alone)
* Get help from a physiotherapist (if it's a good one, he will certainly give you something to work with and solve this)

If these options are out, then this advice won't hurt you:
https://www.key-notes.com/collapsing-5th-finger-joint.html

An Internet forum with mostly anonymous users who haven't proven their status of expertise is usually NOT the right place to solve this kind of problems quickly and above all safely. It would be irresponsible on my part to give you any specific advice without having seen how you actually move at the piano. It sounds like you're generally pushing too hard into the keybed, but there is no way for me to know for sure. Do not despair, though: this CAN be solved, but it's better to work on a table desk first, not at the piano.
1) This is NOT solved with Czerny, Hanon, etc.
2) This is NOT solved by compensating with stronger muscles from higher up.

The solution consists of
1) finding a path of movement for the finger in which it does not collapse.
2) systematically applying just a slight pressure on the joint, but so that the finger does not collapse.

It may take much, much longer than you expected though. That's as far as I can go. Sorry.

Paul

[danhuyle]

At least you know what technical difficulty you're having trouble with. It's not too late to fix things if you allow yourself to fix this pinky issue. Give it time to adjust.

Play some beginner pieces and monitor your 5th finger. Then play scales, arpeggios, etc. My right thumb used to tuck under my hand.

[sphince]

You can try Isidor Philipp exercises for finger independence(2 books)
the basic layout is you're given a set of 4 or 5 finger chords(majors,minors,fifths,diminuitas and so on)and then a finger pattern that's common for both hands and you have to chromatically transpose the pattern on a set of 2 octaves(you have to do it by yourself to avoid playing mechanically)
However what makes the difference is that in every pattern 1 or 2 notes in every hand are held constant throught the pattern.They start off pretty easy but get EXTREMELY tough so here's a couple of friendly suggestions if you start these exercises.
1) play every pattern VERY slowly and with the maximum amount of focus to every finger
2) I would suggest to play 5-10 patterns at every sit and after some time you can raise it to 10-15
3) Always exercise with a relaxed wrist because these exercises if played with a stressed out wrist are more likely to give you tenoditis than playing La Campanella on a church organ( this is a disclaimer )
.for extra pinky action you can focus more on patterns with the 3rd or 4th finger held constant
Cheers!

[jmanpno]

This is not an uncommon problem, but rather one I've had to fix at times myself in the hands of my students.  Once the student learns how to play the fifth finger with the support of the arm and with natural hand position the problem resolves itself quite nicely.  Don't let all of this "double-jointed this and messed up nature that" baloney discourage you!  That makes little (or no) difference!  Cheers!

[thing2emma]

Thanks everyone!
I started playing five tone patterns and four note chords very slowly, paying attention to my finger, and then moved on to Burgmuller's studies, since they have a variety a technical challenges for lower graded pianists, and for my weak finger.
I did my grade 10 exam today and it didn't bother me at all.
The most ironic part about it is it is my right pinky. My left pinky has been sprained a good six-seven times since I started piano, and yet it's strong and playing technically and fluently, while my right one has problems. ;P