how do you know if you;re getting an injury?

[Tash]

this is out of interest and so i'm more aware of this wonderous area

i'm assuming in the end it'll hurt continuously, but can you tell prior to officially stuffing your hand up in some way that you're on the way to injuring yourself? i don't think i'm really heading in this direction, the only pain i get in my hand is in my pinky playing the 4th movement from beethoven's op.27 no1 with all the octave passages and practicing that a lot. but i stop when it's hurting. so is there any way to tell if you're getting RSI or something else? thanks heaps

[pianonut]

it's good that you stop when anything begins hurting.  and, you can experiment more every day with relaxation.  the first thing you want to relax is your spine.  if you sit too high or low, automatically you are either slumping down (hurts your neck) or your arms are not parallel (but pointed down to elbows) with keyboard.  then, how far away you sit, helps relaxation, too.  if you find something uncomfortable - try sitting closer or farther away to see if it helps.

after these things are considered, you probably want to practice everyday some Alexander technique.  i haven't taken classes, but from what i am learning - you just keep trying to relax different parts of your body while playing (whatever is tense).  my neck is often tense ( i didn't know it, until it was mentioned) if i have had a long day (little exercise) and thinking a lot about notes, etc.  SO, i am working on breathing in, relaxing before i play, and being mellow.

you are young, so the tension shouldn't really be much of a problem to get rid of.  bad habits are what kills people.  not trying so hard - finding a mental peace - keeps you 'fluid.'  you can practice longer and longer stretches and not feel strain at all.

[pianonut]

if you aren't taking lessons, at least take a couple from a verified teacher of the Alexander technique and find out how you should approach your practice.  they should show you 'how it feels' for every technique.  then you can practice at home.

[pianonut]

was just at the wcu library and looked in a medical journal.  the web site for the alexander technique was listed as www.alexandertechnique.net

hope you find it useful.  there are various doctors that are doing trial studies, but the ones i saw were for the spine, or for violinists that twist too much.  thankfully, we don't have to rest our chin on the piano.

[BoliverAllmon]

having arms parallel isn't right for everyone. i personally sit on the lower end. You have to find what works for you. No matter how many octaves you work in a day if you are working with slow practice and with complete relaxation it shouldn't start to hurt. (unless you are playing at FFF). if pain starts when you speed it up then you are tensing up.

boliver allmon III

[jono]

having arms parallel isn't right for everyone. i personally sit on the lower end. You have to find what works for you. No matter how many octaves you work in a day if you are working with slow practice and with complete relaxation it shouldn't start to hurt. (unless you are playing at FFF). if pain starts when you speed it up then you are tensing up.

I know many of you say so, but when playing octaves (or other easier stuff aswell) you get a bit tense (I do). And if i relax as much as you recommend it ends up with me playing sloppy and really bad. You have to use the muscles in order to press down the keys, but how exactly and i going to lear playing as relaxed as you advice me to? 
Have a blast /Jono

[richard w]

thankfully, we don't have to rest our chin on the piano.

Um.... I guess I should stop doing that then. 

i'm assuming in the end it'll hurt continuously, but can you tell prior to officially stuffing your hand up in some way that you're on the way to injuring yourself?

You mean could carpel tunnel syndrome (or something) just appear suddenly? I'm not really an absolute expert, but I'd say not. Just a few weeks ago (beginning of February) I did find myself with very alarming pains in my right arm and wrist, which were brought out by using a computer all day at work. But, I think piano playing was also implicated. I rested for a few days, and fortunately, the problem doesn't seem to have been as serious as I first thought. Did it come on suddenly? No. At the beginning of January I was moved to purchase What Every Pianist Needs To Know About The Body to make a start on improving my technique. I now realise that to play as much as I want to I must address not only my technique but the way I use my arms and body in all other regular activities. I too am hoping that Alexander technique will be the answer here.

But, my tip would be to pick up on any discomfort or pain you ever feel when playing, no matter how slight or tolerable, and try to work out what is causing it. For instance, earlier on today I noticed a slight discomfort in the right side of my left wrist whilst practising the first section of Chopin's Nocturne Op.55 No.1. I found that a bit odd, as the music is not fast or loud. But I then realised that to make the LH chords pianissimo I was tensing my hands in a misguided attempt to maximise control. Identifying this and simply taking a 'looser' approach has eliminated the discomfort and improved the sound I make. Two birds with one AK47!

Tash, let me know if you get to the bottom of your little finger pain. I suffer from this too, and I've not been able to find the perfect solution as yet. Making sure you don't 'bear down' on the key after playing is a good start. I also feel that using a computer mouse can be very bad for whichever finger holds the right-hand side (for right-handed persons) of it. Adjusting the pointer speed so that it is never necessary to pick the mouse up, followed by holding it with the lightest touch ever and not resting my arm or wrist on anything is the approach I'm trying. This in addition to using keyboard shortcuts as much as possible.

Hopefully that will be of some use.



Richard.

[Tash]

ok thanks all, this alexander technique sounds interesting i'll go have a look at that.
as for my pinky i'm assuming it's just cos i'm holding it in such a straining position for a longish period of time. i should try balancing that time more and it probably wouldn't be a problem.
but this is good, i like to be aware of what my body's doing so this is interesting. thanks all, any more random comments are welcome!

[BoliverAllmon]

yes you have to use muscles to press the keys (more like hold the fingers steady), but when you are in the middle of playing an octave the muscles don't need to be tense. they should be completely relaxed. One exercise i did for a while was this. Play some octaves at a real slow speed. After playing the first octave you bring your arm real high off the keyboard and make your fingers touch our thumb. almost like the beginning of a fist. Then press the next octave. Continue to do this until you get the feeling of relaxing, using your arms to pick up your hands, and your fingers only flex right before you hit the keys and relax as soon as you hit them. The exercise is kinda exaggerating the feel, but that is what is needed sometimes.

boliver allmon III