Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Sprained my thumb, how to practice without playing piano?

I sprained my thumb while playing European Handball last thursday, and since then, i have not practiced piano at all, and I miss it very, very, much. However, i still want to practice. How would you do this?

1. Study your scores away from the piano, imagining you are playing them, while learning some of the details you may overlook while actually playing or re-learning some you may have forgotten.

2. Practice your pieces in your mind. Can you imagine them accurately without looking at the scores?

3. Can you start your "mind-playing" of your pieces at different spots in each piece?

4. Mentally, take any measure in any piece you are working on; can you accurately name all the notes and their note-values?

5. Practice any and all passages that need work and that you normally play with your "good" hand at the piano.

6. If you're serious about piano playing, stop playing European handball.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery and return to the piano with both hands.

Regards,

Thanks for the advice.

BTW, the European handball was a compulsory sport that had to be played for PE sport that day.

Bruce pretty much hit it on the head. Don't use the thumb until it's healed, and when you step back to the keys, take it slow, just like you would with any other sports injury. Better to go slow than risk further injury and longer delay in returning to what you love.

Both thumbs? You can still practice with your other hand and at least do technical studies in the non affected hand.

Every once in a while I'll irritate a tendon between my third and fourth finger on my right hand (that came years ago after spending several days on intense arpeggio studies). When that reappears I'll take it easy for that hand and spend more time doing technical studies for my left hand ... or just take it easy and play less demanding music.

It's only my right thumb. Thanks for the advice.

There are many pieces and etudes for the left hand alone that you could explore. Try this listing from IMSLP.

Or play your left hand parts and imagine or sing the sounds from the right hand parts. This should be easier than trying to do all the mental practice away from the piano.

Oh yeahhhhhhh. that'd be good.