There are some days when my fingers feel worse and heavy and stiffer, like lead, and I bungle notes and chords I normally would have easily hit. But I've never had them feel better...What kinds of warm-up are you doing now? Seems like it's helping a lot.
Just simple slow finger exercises like 5-3-4-2 up and down the keyboard on different parts of the keys (with less or more curved fingers). Not long, even a few minutes seems to make a difference. Since most exercises and all the pieces I play involve the thumb and mine don't work as it should and causes me uncomfort, I left out the thumb and immediately noticed that I am able to do the exercise in a more relaxed and way... For my back, neck and shoulders I got a device that helps me strech them, probably nothing I do with my fingers would help if my shoulders were as stiff as they have been.
You're probably gaining some flexibility in part from the exercises and just a different approach to the keyboard. The more you play and as time goes on, you will find your fingers capable of strong but also flexible movements. At least compared to back at the beginning.
I can't say mine every felt rubbery but in the past they managed to get into positions that would simply be impossible in the early stages of my piano experience. These days I'm after a different experience from back then, I kind of take what I can get from it but am gaining.
I also I noticed that I can suddenly play forte without the tone getting harsh... I guess for me things just don't get better gradually, but suddenly just improve a lot without no obvious reason...I just had my morning practice and I had this strange (good) feeling again, but this time without doing any exercises. About a week ago I started taking some new supplements recommended by my doctor because my muscle and joint problems were getting quite bad...Now I wonder if they are actually helping...I am a bit sceptic about pills...but this morning my knee and my neck also doesn't bother me as it usually does
It could be the supplement outin. I take glucosamine in liquid form, my wife is buying it online. I have a stiff neck from a car accident years ago and it helps noticeably. We have a cat with advanced arthritis, the doc suggested the same thing for her in paste form. We see a big difference in her when she take it, more flexible. Just a dab on her leg that she has to lick off.And outing, if you have a general problem with joint inflammation or arthritis really really look at your diet. My have has very chronic arthritis, at one point in her life she was all but crippled with it, wore a neck brace had to sleep sitting up in a chair. Young woman at the time in later 30's. She bought a book put out by an oriental doctor. He was wheel chair bound at one point in his life and changed all that with diet changes. Starting with tossing out all he had gotten accustomed to eating and going back to just rice and fish.In time that got him out of the wheel chair, then he introduced things back into his diet, each thing that bothered him he took back out of the diet. So she followed a similar routine. what we found out :She now doesn't eat anything citric, no black pepper, no whole dairy but a piece of cheese here and there, we use supplemental milks, soy or almond for instance. Most fruits are off her list, but melon is ok and blueberries are ok. She has to limit pork intake. For years now she has followed this and no longer wears a neck brace for her arthritis. But she first started with cutting everything out and reintroducing things one at a time. She can eat all the fish and rice she wants of course. May not apply to you, just saying.
The muscle stiffness I suffer all the time. I have been on relaxants but they make me tired and won't have a very long lasting effect, so I avoid them. So the doctor asked me to try if I get any help from a strong magnesium supplement and more vitamin D (which we never get enough around here). So that's what I've been using for a week now.
Is the muscle tightness a tension issue or physically chronic do you know ? Just curious is all, you don't have to answer. I am tense or tight myself ( chew on the inside of my mouth a lot, have mild anxiety, shoulder muscles pretty tight unless I think of it and relax them, though learning to relax some as I get older. Funny, sitting at the piano is one place I can back off on that a bit and relax. Fly fishing is another, especially in waders in a river. Canoeing another, all back to nature kind of things. In prayer is another, though depending on the reason it may work the other way sometimes ! The neurologist says it's habit, I think he's crazy.
Any tips on relaxation in general? Or how to permanently hold that state of feather-light arms and fingers?Best regards,Carl
Sometimes my hands and fingers feel strange when I play. It's not a negative thing, quite the opposite. My fingers feel like rubber (not soft like rubber bands, but flexible and still firm), they move very easily and my hands feel lighter. At the same time the keys feel different, they feel like they move almost on their own and the keybeds feel like they are also flexible...Don't really have words for it, but it's a weird feeling for me and it not only makes playing feel wonderfully easy, but it sounds nice too.
Yes, exactly that thing has started happening to me. I was very tense, and I went with my teacher and tried to remake my technique from the ground up, with a lot of simple relaxation exercises. Now I get that feeling often. I think the most important thing about it is that once you know that that's the way things should feel you can (consciously or unconsciously) aim at that feeling all the time you are practicing. You start to get a positive feedback loop or "virtuous circle" or whatever you'd like to call it. Even though I still get tense, now I can recognize it immediately and aim to get back that relaxed and supple feeling. You should be very pleased.
I'm very pleased right now, especially since today playing felt like this again. My mother was visiting and when she heard me practice she asked me what I have done to the piano because it sings so beautifully (compared to before) But I wouldn't be a proper Finn if I didn't think that it will probably be just a temporary thing and soon I'll be back to normal But it really isn't just piano, I notice the difference even when typing...
welcome to the new experience how ever long that is for !
Thanks!I have to be a little sceptic about what my mother says though, because the next thing she said was that my playing sounded better than the pianist at a concert last night But that could be explained by the fact that they played Schnittke...
Suggestion, enjoy your new found feeling in your hands etc. but do watch for side effects of the med over the next several weeks. Don't stress over it, just keep your mind open to other types of changes than you are having now. I wish you all the luck in the world with this, it is wonderful !
I will I had quite extensive blood tests this week and I am glad to say that the results were very good in general (sugars were excellent and cholesterol was fine) and they did not find any signs of muscle inflammation or thyroid problems. They did take a few more tests (for rheumatic disorders), so we'll see if they find anything. But I feel so much better now than what I have been for the last few months.
I totally agree with you on that. its weird how it works. I feel like some days its very frustrating because you will play so good and then all the sudden your just not filling it anymore. plus if your hands are cold or your muscles are cold. I started taking lessons from pianopilot.com and in there they have ways to help avoid this stuff of what to do before you sit down to play. you have to pay if you want a membership but for me its worth it cause I can learn on my own. ( I don't work for them I kinda sound like it though lol) anyways piano for me is one thing I have to be in the mood for. I usually start every session with a series of warm up songs and exercises to help put my body and mind into the right mood. Also I have good results washing my hands with warm water before I play.
It is the "very light" feeling isn't it? It's maybe because you've done piano exercises for more than one hour, so your fingers are getting more flexible and warm, and it feels easier to play it.