 [667]Re:Re:hand pain (230 reads) |
2001-02-18 10:30:46 |
Trying to diagnose something like this via the Internet is always a dicey proposition at best, but two possibilities leap to mind: (And I'm going on the assumption that both of you use the Stevens grip - please correct me if I'm mistaken.) 1) You're holding the inside mallet too tightly. Ideally, one should only hold the mallets firmly enough to keep them in position; any pressure exerted beyond that point is wasted energy. For the most part, your hands should be relaxed enough so that someone could walk up to you as you're holding your mallets, and pull them out of your hand with minimal effort - at least, that has always been my reference point as a player and teacher. Bill, your reference to the thickness of the mallet shafts makes me think that this might be a possibility; thicker shafts could mean you don't have to squeeze your thumb and first finger as close together, meaning less stress and strain in that part of your hand. And/or: 2) You're trying to do things your hands aren't yet ready to do, i.e., playing while holding wide intervals of an octave or more. Really wide intervals in either hand of a four-mallet grip tend to lend themselves to tension, and if you're pushing the envelope of what you can do technically, you might be straining the muscles in your hands, causing the discomfort. Another thought: are you warming up at the start of your practice sessions, and *also* warming DOWN at the conclusion of the session? Warm ups are usually a given - just about everyone recognizes that you have to ease your muscles into this sort of strenuous activity. However, you've also got to "warm down," to let the muscles in your hand make the transition from greater to lesser activity. This lack of warming down might not manifest itself at first, but after weeks (months, years) of neglecting it, your hands might start showing symptoms. Again, these are guesses, shots in the dark; I don't know what level player either of you is, and I obviously haven't seen either of you play, so I could be way off. However, these suggestions are the first things I would look into, if a student of mine started showing these symptoms (or if I started showing these symptoms, actually). So, please don't take offense if at any of my comments; from your initial posts, I don't know if you're beginners, or 20-year veterans, so I'm trying not to make assumptions one way or the other. JW http://www.malletjazz.com Remote Host: |
 [664]hand pain <Scott> |
2001-02-17 06:41:10 |
 [666]Re:hand pain <Bill> |
2001-02-18 03:11:06 |
 [667]Re:Re:hand pain <James Walker> |
2001-02-18 10:30:46 |
| [668]Re:Re:Re:hand pain <Scott> |
2001-02-19 05:52:16 |
| [685]Re:Re:Re:Re:hand pain <Jennifer> |
2001-02-22 12:46:08 |