I'm in Pain!

dalin · 05-31-2005, 10:14 PM

Hey all. I've been on summer break for the past couple weeks and thought it was a good opportunity to finally start in seriously with the piano.

Practice so far just consists of 30 minutes with the ever popular Hanon exercises, and 30 minutes or so of familiar progressions (blues, 2-5-1) in various keys..chords with the left hand, and single notes with the right (mostly scales till I'm more comfortable, though once I see the pattern I can start to go out a bit). I'll start working the reverse too. Anything you guys would add, leave out, change, etc?

Thing is, I start getting nasty pains in my forearms near the wrists, after a frighteningly short timespan. Also, I can't get comfortable fingering chords with the left..I get aches in the back of my hand.

The first most certainly has to do with some problem in my technique. Anyone have this problem when they started out?

The second, could it be that I'm choosing bad fingerings? bad voicings? Or more technique problems?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mateo150 · 06-01-2005, 01:26 AM

hard to tell without actually seeing you. I've never quite had a problem like that.

I'm guessing, but do you play with your wrist locked? If you are then your pushing into the keyboard with your arm and not letting gravity + the mass of your hand/arm play. Try to just let your arm fall onto the keys, don't use any muscles, walk like a monkey and swing your arms, thats how dead they should be before they strike the keys.

Make an imaginary line from your wrist to your elbow, maintain this line while you play. This forces all your motion to come from up/down wrist movement (just an exercise). This isn't good for all cases, but a loose up and down wrist along with a dead arm while playing should keep those aches to a minimum. Also, combine the relaxed motions of these 2 exercises into a "pogo arm".

Or you could pay for one lesson and the teacher will probably be able to spot everything technically wrong.

nottasmartman · 06-01-2005, 04:15 PM

I had the same problem on the LH. It came from tension in the shoulders and neck for me. Once I relaxed during practice and increased my rest times to 5 minutes per each 15-20 minutes practicing it went away. Now I can practice for about 90 minute chunks without the pain.

dalin · 06-02-2005, 04:07 PM

I think you both had it. I was pushing into the keyboard, and I was a bit tense as well. I just tried to loosen up general, and like you said Mateo, loosen up the wirst and the pain is much less. Although when I'm playing something more difficult or uptempo, it starts to creep back in. I just have to keep doing it. Thanks guys.

05-31-2005, 10:14 PM	#1
dalin Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Atlanta Posts: 38	I'm in Pain! Hey all. I've been on summer break for the past couple weeks and thought it was a good opportunity to finally start in seriously with the piano. Practice so far just consists of 30 minutes with the ever popular Hanon exercises, and 30 minutes or so of familiar progressions (blues, 2-5-1) in various keys..chords with the left hand, and single notes with the right (mostly scales till I'm more comfortable, though once I see the pattern I can start to go out a bit). I'll start working the reverse too. Anything you guys would add, leave out, change, etc? Thing is, I start getting nasty pains in my forearms near the wrists, after a frighteningly short timespan. Also, I can't get comfortable fingering chords with the left..I get aches in the back of my hand. The first most certainly has to do with some problem in my technique. Anyone have this problem when they started out? The second, could it be that I'm choosing bad fingerings? bad voicings? Or more technique problems? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

06-01-2005, 01:26 AM	#2
Mateo150 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: On Saturn Posts: 813	hard to tell without actually seeing you. I've never quite had a problem like that. I'm guessing, but do you play with your wrist locked? If you are then your pushing into the keyboard with your arm and not letting gravity + the mass of your hand/arm play. Try to just let your arm fall onto the keys, don't use any muscles, walk like a monkey and swing your arms, thats how dead they should be before they strike the keys. Make an imaginary line from your wrist to your elbow, maintain this line while you play. This forces all your motion to come from up/down wrist movement (just an exercise). This isn't good for all cases, but a loose up and down wrist along with a dead arm while playing should keep those aches to a minimum. Also, combine the relaxed motions of these 2 exercises into a "pogo arm". Or you could pay for one lesson and the teacher will probably be able to spot everything technically wrong. __________________ They call them fingers, but I never see them fing.

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06-01-2005, 04:15 PM	#3
nottasmartman Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 3	I had the same problem on the LH. It came from tension in the shoulders and neck for me. Once I relaxed during practice and increased my rest times to 5 minutes per each 15-20 minutes practicing it went away. Now I can practice for about 90 minute chunks without the pain.

06-02-2005, 04:07 PM	#4
dalin Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Atlanta Posts: 38	I think you both had it. I was pushing into the keyboard, and I was a bit tense as well. I just tried to loosen up general, and like you said Mateo, loosen up the wirst and the pain is much less. Although when I'm playing something more difficult or uptempo, it starts to creep back in. I just have to keep doing it. Thanks guys.