Hello All - I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for stiff fingers. I play at an intermediate level and have been practicing anywhere from 1-3 hours a day lately. I typically warm up with scales and a couple of familar pieces. I'm currently working on a Kahlau piece that has a lot of runs. I'm noticing that I'm having a difficult time maintaining control when playing the runs due my fingers being somewhat stiff feeling. This does not seem to be nearly as much of a problem in the morning.

Any ideas if this could be due to technique, overplaying, or something else? Also, I'm looking for ideas/exercises that could improve this.

Thanks,
AK

You don't say how old you are, but I have stiffness in my fingers that I attribute to the beginnings of Arthritis. I find that the more I practice with proper technique avoiding tension, the better my hands feel. Streatching the fingers properly, and soaking them in warm water also helps. If the stiffness continues or becomes painful you might want to check with your Dr. Good luck with this, I know it can be very discouraging.

Thanks RayE. Your right, this is very frustrating. I guess I should say I'm in my early 40's and there is no pain or soreness associated with this. Soaking in warm water prior to practicing may help. I wonder what type of stretching exercises to do?

AK

There's these:

http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/guide/hand-exercises-rheumatoid-arthritis

Don't know if that helps.

<<I'm noticing that I'm having a difficult time maintaining control when playing the runs due my fingers being somewhat stiff feeling. This does not seem to be nearly as much of a problem in the morning. >>

I'm not medically qualified but if you are happy to receive internet advice...

I note that others have mentioned arthritis. In addition you should consider a range of RSI disorders, tendenitis and so forth, particularly if you are a heavy PC user in addition to piano. It may be the beginnings of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Is the stiffness in both hands? Is it in all you fingers or just 4th and pinkie for example? Do you get numbness in the stiff fingers? Do you get pains in your elbow?

Bottom line: if this is a new problem then consider seeing your physician/GP.

Just a quick update about this. I spoke to my piano teacher about this problem and she watched me play. She believes the stiffness is due to tension as I tend to want to force my fingers to do all the work without relaxing and allowing my arm and wrist to work for me. She said one sign of this is that the pinky finger sticks out/up while playing. Apparently this is a common problem with adults and something I will have to focus on to improve. I never knew "relaxing" could be so difficult - lol!

Thanks again for the comments.

AK

AlleyKatt,

Glad to hear that it is nothing too serious...

That's interesting, I have the pinkie on the LH sticking up too when playing chords that don't use it. What's the solution?

I guess the key is just to practice and focus on keeping your hands and fingers relaxed. My teacher showed me some exercies to help with this but I find I really have to concentrate to stay loose. And unfortunately all the concentrating and focusing makes me tense!!

AK

quoted for truth!

Maybe get yourself a copy of Edmund Jacobson's You Must Relax: Practical Methods for Reducing the Tensions of Modern Living . There are plenty going cheap at http://www.abebooks.com

I also have this problem with my pinkies, also my thumbs tend to go into a "thumbing a lift" position at times as well.

I'd be very intereste to hear a bit more about the exercises your teacher suggested...

You mean what can we do about this? Hmm...

Exactly. What I've tried doing is very gentle exercises where you hold down 5 keys at a time say C to G, then stretch and play each finger in turn, then raise the keys and play each finger in turn in a relaxed manner with a loose wrist, whilst leaving the others gently resting on the keys... I think these exercises were from Alan Fraser's DVD. But then I go practice my pieces and pinkies stick out... (the thumbs have improved though).

I think you'll find the problem is the doing in the first place.

<<the problem is the doing >>

Please explain?

If you plan to stop lifting your pinkies by doing something else then you're just transferring the problem. You don't stop doing something by doing something. Relaxing is a don't not a do.

<<If you plan to stop lifting your pinkies by doing something else then you're just transferring the problem.>>

How about getting someone to stand along side and whack me across the back of the hands with a wooden ruler or spoon or similar every time my hands start to get tense and pinkies stick out? Maybe I should try googling "Ms Piano Whiplash"? ;-)

Perhaps not...

Except for the 'whacking' bit, yes! ...out of the mouths of babes, eh?

<<Except for the 'whacking' bit, yes! ...out of the mouths of babes, eh? >>
Yep...

Also some interesting feedback, I did try googling for "Ms Piano Whiplash" but there are literally zero hits.... a definite business opportunity exists for some enterprising piano teacher...

You don't quite get it. The body subsumes extra tension - you'll never know you've got it. It takes someone to stand by you and point it out (on a weekly basis for a number of years would be helpful).

Here is a link to the finger stretching exercises I use:
http://www.stretchnow.com.au/exercises/hands.htm

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you, Haven't been on line in a while.

i would concentrate less on your fingers.

When you play, you want to position the hand so the finger can play the appropriate key with the least motion. you therefore want your hands, wrists and arms to be fluid.

take a look at this Valentina Letitsa video. She is very fluid (after probably a million years of playing). Sometimes watching someone do it right can be helpful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN9lLo93w1s

1) Take a very small section where you have problems tensing up, no more than measure to start with.

2) Practice the motions of each hand separately a few times, making careful note of your hand shape, and staying relaxed.

3) Now without playing, THINK the notes and motions of the section you will be playing. You must think both hands together, such as LH4 moves to E as RH1 moves to C, etc. It takes some practice at first, so start with just a few notes.

4) Now play that section HT. Since you have just mentally played it, you will be able to focus your attention on mimicking the relaxed motions you did in step 2, rather than tensing up as your brain tries to do more than it feels comfortable doing.

5) Rinse and repeat until the relaxed motion becomes second nature.

That works for me anyway. Good luck.

That's excellent advice. Too many don't practice enough in their head. There tensions just don't happen.

Check out magicians. This looks cool:
http://www.handhealth.com/

These are the best, designed over 100 years ago for pianists and violinists:
http://www.questx.com/tables/cowling.html For some reason he only does 13 though Cowling did a lot more.

Coolest:

[quote=spanishbuddha
That's interesting, I have the pinkie on the LH sticking up too when playing chords that don't use it. What's the solution? [/quote]

Had a play with this today and found a solution, but it's not easy, especially when speeding up to tempo. Rest the hand in a relaxed position with all fingers, especially the pinkie, touching the keys. Now play but keep the pinkie resting/relaxed on the key. I started by playing some chord arpeggios that don't need the pinkie, and as the hand tenses the pinkie wants to lift, but it gives you a goal to keep the hand relaxed as you play with the other fingers. If you need to move the hand to another position start from the rest/relaxed position again. Try it for 5 minutes a day perhaps as part of a practise routine. I'll try it for a week to see if it helps.

Joining in a little late on this one but thought I'd mention a few things I didn't see (unless I missed them in my skimming).

Two quick disclaimers though. First, many times these finger issues have not much to do with your fingers but more to do with your whole body, so I've included suggestions for both. Second, these suggestions are just generic really without seeing you play... but for all its worth.

THINGS AT THE PIANO

1. Similar to spanishbuddah's above suggestion but with a variation. Place your right hand on the keys in position so they touch but do not depress any keys. With your left hand, slowly depress the note under your right thumb. Your right thumb should gently and easily drop right into the note, without hanging there. Try this for all the other fingers. Even better, get someone to do it for you with your eyes closed - if your fingers are relaxed they'll drop right into the key no problem. This is almost more a test then a fix in its self. The options are endless with this - try it in different hand positions. Try playing an entire scale or passage by positioning with one hand but pressing the notes with the other hand, letting the positioned hand drop right onto the key.

2. Also, slight variation to above, you can put your hand in C position. Lightly hold down the key with your pinky and play some other notes slowly with your other fingers, keeping your pinky on the depressed note. You're giving your pinky something to do rather than just trying to tell it not to do anything.


THINGS NOT AT THE PIANO

1. Sit at your piano bench but away from the piano. Hold your hands out palms up just above your knees (but do not rest them on your knees). Notice that if you relax your fingers, your natural finger position is probably rounded. Keeping your palms up, slowly expand your fingers out straight noticing that this is activating the muscles on your forearm which are facing towards the floor. ALLOW your fingers to relax and come back in to their natural rounded position. This is basically a relaxation/awareness building activity. In others words, when your pinkys are sticking out you're actually activating muscle when you don't need to be.

2. Yoga or another similar activity that works on movement, flexibility and relaxation for the entire body. Most "finger" problems are whole body problem that stem from somewhere else. In particular if you don't do much large body movement outside of piano, anything along those lines would help.

3. In conjunction with this you can try simple breathing exercises, first away from the piano and then with. Dr. Andrew Weil has a great audiobook on breathing.

4. Check out the book "What Every Pianist Needs to Know About The Body". Especially the sections on "ulnar deviation" and muscle co-contraction.

Hope this helps!

Stroke of genius! Notice there is no 'doing' going on in the right hand.

Just an additional thought to throw into the mix: make sure you are warm enough so your fingers and hands don't seize up.

I have the same problem with the pinky sticking up at various times. I've been doing a few things that seems to help.

1. I play Hanon for at least ten minutes daily to improve my finger independence. After I get an exercise pattern into muscle memory, I like to play it with my eyes closed and just concentrate on my finger movements. Closing my eyes helps me to focus on my fingers. I mentally visualize my finger movements.

2. I practice finger yoga daily to improve my flexibility. Tendons can't relax if they're too short. Someone several months ago on PW referred me to this website which has been very helpfull http://fingeryoga.com/

3. Scales are notorious for making my pinky stick up. Therefore, they present a good opportunity to practice them while concentrating on leaving my pinky on the keys.