Playing with Arthritis

[zoey1143]

Hello!   I am a 64-years old and have been learning to play the piano for the past five years (I consider myself to be a beginner-intermediate).  I quit my computer engineering job 10 years ago before my carpel tunnel got really bad.   However, I cannot practice piano as much as I would like due to arthritis and/or tendinitis my hands (especially my thumbs and pinkies with a pain level between 2-4).   I have problems with tension, but I have really been working on recognizing tension and releasing tension, this seems to help.  I've been reading up on efficient fingering/hand/wrist movements and try to practice them when I do practice (about 2-3 week (between 30-40 minutes), more when my hands feel good).  My goal is to be a solid intermediate since the music I love to play is within this range.  I am interested in any suggestions/exercises you may have on playing piano with this condition. Thank you!

[ranjit]

I think you should invest in a good teacher who knows how to teach technique if you haven't already. It may be slightly difficult to find such a teacher.

If you're a perfectly healthy beginner with naturally fairly good coordination and habits, I don't think it's that bad to self-teach. However in your case I wouldn't advise it. Much of correct piano playing isn't intuitive and takes time to develop and understand. And it may not be worth running the risk of injury.

[martinn]

+1 for an appropriate teacher. Playing should be anything but pain.