ring finger out of control

[kalospiano]

I've been playing for a few years now and I've never noticed any particular issue with my ring finger, although of course it has always been more problematic than the first three fingers.

Now, I don't know if this is a problem that has actually come up a few months ago or if I have always had it and simply only noticed it a few months ago, but it seems more and more difficult to control my ring finger.

It very oftens presses the keys either too late or too early compared to what I intend to play and, even worse, it often kinda just "lays there" like a dead weight: it accidentally touches or presses keys involuntarily and I feel like I'm kind of "stumbling" on it when I'm playing with the other fingers, like if it were an obstacle on the keyboard.

I went to see a teacher who's quite expensive and very highly regarded in my town, and she said that, although I'm clearly quite tense when I play, my hand and body position seem correct. She had me working on some pieces emphasazing the hands movement in order to have better control over the dynamics, but unfortunately this didn't have much effect on the issues I'm experiencing with my ring finger.

I don't know know what else to do. Don't know if there are music teachers who are sort of specialized on fingers technique and, even if there were, I'd have no idea how to find them and distinguish them from other teachers. At the same time I feel like there's no actual health issue requiring the intervention of a doctor.

Did anybody here possibly ever encounter the same problems with the ring finger and how did you go in order to solve them? Any exercises or tips that might help? Thanks in advance.

[quantum]

Try to intentionally reproduce the symptoms.  Strive for focus and awareness of what your body is doing, not just your fingers.  Following that, reproduce passages of music that do not typically cause the symptoms, again being aware of what your body is doing.  Compare the two results.  Is there anything you are doing differently when the  symptoms occur.  Be observant of things that may not be immediately obvious. 

Unfortunately, there are too many musicians that just don't like to talk about this stuff.  They like to put on the image that their technique is flawless.  I think that results in a culture where technical faults are hidden, rather than brought into the open where they can be dealt with. 

In sports, fine tuning the body and its movements tends to have a more open form of discussion.  I think performing musicians share similar needs as do athletes. 

As for music teachers, when you are meeting with them ask specific technique related questions and see how they answer.  Evaluate if that is an approach you are interested in pursuing.

[ted]

Do everything that quantum suggests and whatever you do refrain from trying to force control. About twelve years ago I had a misbehaving finger which quite suddenly exploded into terrible lack of motor control of other fingers and the hand. I assume it was a focal dystonia, because the symptoms were so obviously and strikingly like those I read about on the internet, although I didn't bother with a diagnosis. It took me four years of acutely difficult, determined work to get rid of it by myself and I wouldn't wish the struggle on anybody. In retrospect it happened because of my own stupidity, trying to bullock my way through it against what my body was telling me. Don't let that happen to you, rather use quiet, comfortable movements and careful analysis to gradually correct it.

[keypeg]

I agree with what both Quantum and Ted wrote, and I had a version of what Ted described quite some years ago when I studied violin.

The teacher you consulted

.... she had me working on some pieces emphasizing the hands movement in order to have better control over the dynamics, but unfortunately this didn't have much effect on the issues I'm experiencing with my ring finger.

First I noticed pieces emphasizing hand movements.  Second, that the goal was the outcome (dynamics).   We see this with some teachers, where pieces do the teaching - if you play these pieces, you'll get the desired skill by playing them.  Often they seem to be traditional teachers, with a reputation (have good, advanced students, good interpretation of music).  Pieces can have a particular thing: dynamics, or chords, or pedal, but you must also know how to do these things (physically), and working on a piece won't necessarily cause physical playing changes to happen.  Meanwhile, if you already play advanced music and sound good, a teacher without the eye for it, may not see things and be fooled.  (My violin teacher said once, when I could do vibrato on one finger, only that finger, only briefly "When I close my eyes, I could be jealous."  I'm a singer so I had the sound in my ear - but not the physical overall motion.  "closed eyes" can be a metaphor).

You also used the word "finger(s)" a lot.  The body works together, and in a sense it's not the fingers that play the piano.

The next thing, I don't want you to go to this detail, or try to "fix" it, or work with it in any way because what Ted said here:

and whatever you do refrain from trying to force control.

this is correct.

I found two of your videos here.  He play well, fluidly, and in both, your knuckles are sort of flat - I can duplicate it because it's one of the things I used to do, and it makes my fingers tense and the wrists get tight too, but lotsa control in the fingers.  DO NO try to "fix this" by trying to do things with your knuckles, because of what I just wrote.  Do what Quantum and Ted say - experiment, explore, get to know how your body works together.  A thing felt in one part of the body may be connected to another part of the body.

There may also be a teacher or two out there who specialize in this aspect of it.  Piano is a "sport" as was said.  There are also things like Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais, which work on body awareness, natural movement, and sometimes work directly with musicians.  There can be an Alice in the Looking Glass, where you walk away from the house in order to get into the house.

For my own thing, I just spent over a month every day practising a Feldenkrais pattern of "stand up/sit down" from a chair with arms over my head, then folded, then dangling - chair in middle of room - then one foot in front as if with a pedal.  It seems preposterous as "piano practice".  But it got stuff to coordinate differently, and it did something for piano. The way I lean forward (first part of "stand up"), where I put my weight, the way I arched my back or created a dowager's hump (two 'failed strategies') affected what happened in my feet, hips, and back muscles.

Thing is, if you are musical, you will aim for the kind of sound you want to produce, and may do less effective things with the body to produce them.  It takes a special kind of teacher to not be fooled by the sound.  Or think that aiming for the sound will fix the body. (sometimes it might)

Another thing personally: I looked "classical" - like a picture book - for some of what I did for both instruments.  I consulted a violin teacher who sighed, "I wish my students' left hand looked like yours." since I had the desired rotation, and then some - but "looking good" isn't where it's at!  (My piano hand also looked "classical" btw.)

It CAN be an interesting road of discovery, and it can be far reaching beyond piano. One weird thing about ease and comfort: whatever we do is our norm.  When you first play with more ease, because you're doing something differently, you go "Oh.  That's what ease felt like?  I thought what I've been doing was natural - but in comparison to this new thing, man it was tense."  (personal anecdote)

I'm still working my way out of my own doodoo, so I am no authority whatsoever on this.

[kalospiano]

Try to intentionally reproduce the symptoms.  Strive for focus and awareness of what your body is doing, not just your fingers.  Following that, reproduce passages of music that do not typically cause the symptoms, again being aware of what your body is doing.  Compare the two results.  Is there anything you are doing differently when the  symptoms occur.  Be observant of things that may not be immediately obvious. 

I'll try to do that. Sometimes problematic passages just come easier somehow, out of nowhere. The following day they're back to square 1. I try to keep my body as relaxed as possible and yet I feel great tension in my arm and ring finger as I'm trying to keep it away from unwanted keys or from blocking the other fingers.

Do everything that quantum suggests and whatever you do refrain from trying to force control.

aaaand so I guess I should stop playing as soon as I feel the tension that I just described above.

First I noticed pieces emphasizing hand movements.  Second, that the goal was the outcome (dynamics).   We see this with some teachers, where pieces do the teaching - if you play these pieces, you'll get the desired skill by playing them.  Often they seem to be traditional teachers, with a reputation (have good, advanced students, good interpretation of music).  Pieces can have a particular thing: dynamics, or chords, or pedal, but you must also know how to do these things (physically), and working on a piece won't necessarily cause physical playing changes to happen. 

sorry, I must have expressed myself badly. What I meant is that my teacher assigned me pieces with a lot of dynamic variation and she instructed me to emphasize the hand movement in such a way as to control the dynamics more easily. The thing is, this practice worked for what it was meant (controlling the dynamics) but didn't really help with my ring finger specifically.



Thank you all for your advice. I guess I'll keep on practicing slowly trying to recognize what I do differently between easy passages and problematic passages and hopefully that will help in the long run.