I had my first lesson with a qualified teacher yesterday. I emphasize the "qualified" because I've had some overuse issues for a long while now, and I wanted to be sure whomever I signed on with could be trusted. He's got an excellent reputation to go along with his PH.D. in performance, and I feel lucky to have gotten him.

Except for one small adjustment... raising the bench a half an inch...he couldn't find anything in my playing that would cause injury. He mentioned several times that I played without discernible tension.

This pretty well confirms my sense that my problems are related to my years of beating golf balls.

The good news is that for the most part I've seen improvement in my hands. The pains I was experiencing in the backs of both hands are gone. What's left is some residual stiffness along the outer edge of right hand, between wrist and pinky, and stiffness in both thumbs...

After a month of pretty intensive practicing I'm noticing an increase in the thumb stiffness and plan to take a week off.

My question is, what do you guys think about practicing very lightly, just brushing the tops of the keys? A week is a long time for me, and this would be a good way to keep things fresh. I've done this in the past with no seeming ill-effects, but thought I'd run it by you good folks...

Many thanks,
CG

I don't know about keytop brushing, but have you thought about visiting a dr. just to get a more qualified opinion?

Have you considered consulting Dustin Sanders?

Gosh, Bruce, why didn't I think of this? Silly me.

Damn that made me laugh.

Even if the teacher didn't see anything wrong with your technique that might be the cause of your injury, you should see a doctor who deals with that kind of injury to see what the diagnosis is, for recommendations about practicing or not, and hopefully for a permanent solution.

If you've noticed an increase in the symptoms that's not a good sign for any medical problem. OTOH, if I read your post correctly, you first experienced an improvement and then things got worse?

How did the lesson go? I was hoping to see a long post after your first lesson because it took a long time for you decide to go this route. Hope the lesson was terrific!

Stores, I'm an aging athlete (runner, golfer, biker, swimmer, weight lifter (in my younger days), and all round sports and workout hound. I've had more overuse injuries than I can count over the decades. It's been my experience that doctors are really not all that helpful unless something's broken, or torn, or perhaps in flames.

Other than that, the usual drill is an MRI, a course of anti-inflammatories, ice, and possibly physical therapy. For chronic issues like my hands, there's really nothing they can do. I'm pretty encouraged with the improvement, but I still have some problems if I play for a couple hours a day for many days in a row.

It occurred to me that I've never heard anyone mentioning this as a way to practice, kind of anyway, without much accompanying wear and tear. It made me wonder if I'd been making some sort of stupid assumption. It sure wouldn't be the first time.

Edit: PL, much better over-all. Flare-up are minor in comparison to what I used to have..

Other than practicing on the tops of the keys(do you mean barely depressiong them), I would consider:

1. Shorter individual sessions and shorter amount of total daily practice
2. Playing softly all the time
3. Avoding partciularly stressful passages, whatever that is for you

You must be the non complaining type. I don't remember you ever bringing this up at PW.

"You must be the non-complaining type."

Hah! I think my wife might disagree :-)

I've learned not to bring it up much because it always brings an attack of the hardliners who insist that if there's any pain you are, ipso facto, causing it by faulty technique..

I always had the gut feeling it was more a question of my age, in combination with decades of ferocious golf ball beating and intemperate tennis ball whacking. It was nice to get some professional confirmation from my teacher. I've worked diligently this last year to get rid of the tension in my play. This is not to say I can't improve in this area because of course I can.

Those added suggestions are good ones, and I do try to implement them. I rarely play loudly, and if I can't reach something comfortably I don't try. Just not worth it.

Besides, Carnegie Hall ain't calling any time soon...

Glad to hear of the lessons. You were dreading playing in front of him the last we heard. How'd that go?

As for on top of the keys. I have done that a few times while listening to a recording/you tube of the piece. It has helped my rhythm for a few places and makes me more away of something that might be written on the score, and even listening closer to the pianist's interpretation. (that doesn't mean I will follow it, but do enjoy exploring). For example a few years ago I captured about 20 interpretations of the well known Brahms 118 2 and listened closely while sitting at the piano, touching the keys in some instances.