Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Need help regaining finger strength after injuries.

Hi. I am new to the forum...well, I've been lurking, for about a week, but have been too timid to say anything. You all seem to be such accomplished pianists. I don't want to waste anyone's time. I'll try to make this as short as possible.

I am 37 years old. I started piano lessons, at the age of 5 and kept with them, all the way through high school. I did tons of accompanying and some competitions. Anyway, I am recently recovering from many years of domestic violence, during which time, I could not play and sustained injuries to most of my fingers.

So, now here I am, with the piano I first played as a child, a stack of music and free from abuse and I want to start playing, again.

I pulled out and have been working on a couple of Scarlatti pieces that I learned, for competition, in high school...probably child's play for most of you. But, I have to start somewhere. I can get through them without a lot of pain, though it's obvious that I need to get my strength back.

Finally, here are my questions:

I wondered if there were any others who had broken or otherwise injured their fingers and if so, what kind of exercises you may have used, to get the strength back, if it's even possible. I am left handed, by the way...so, will be spending extra time with my right hand.

Also, since I have not played in quite some time and because of my previous circumstances, I am kind of out of touch. I love Scarlatti madly and wondered if anyone had any suggestions, for other composers I might also like. I've picked up various bits of Mozart, from the free sheet music sites and like those quite well, too. My teacher had a very specific direction in mind for me, I'm afraid and I feel that limited me. But, I am hoping that I can move forward from where I left off and would like to keep challenging myself, if it's not too late.

Thank you, in advance,
kasey

I had all kinds of 'hand' problems from which I thought there was no recovery. I haven't had broken bones (I don't think), but I want to reassure you that our bodies are amazing in their ability repair themselves. Be sure that you never doubt that you'll be able to play again at the level you desire. Keep playing, but be sure to adjust your practice so that you don't try to do too much too soon. The key is confidence, patience and perseverence.

... adding to what w_scott says :

Don't try to play through pain. If you have pain while you're playing, either play something else or stop altogether.

Don't feel it's necessary to "move forward from where [you] left off." You may have to go back a bit. Work on excercises, scale and pieces that are comfortable for you in every way, and then work forward from that.

For repertoire, you could try some Sonatinas by the likes of
- Clementi: Op 36, No 4; Op 36, No 3; Op 36, No 6;
- Kuhlau: Op 20, No 2; Op 55, No 3; Op 60, no 2; Op 88, No 1; Op 88, No 3;
- Dussek: Op 20, No 1
- and some of the Divertimenti of Haydn: Hob. XVI:3; Hob.XVI:1; Hob.XVI:27 and Hob. XVI:28,

for example.

Don't try to rush things; enjoy the return to the piano.

Regards,

There are two things you should keep in mind:
1. You should play with a correct technique. If you are not sure about it, search for professional help.
2. You should improve the strength and flexibility of your hands not only with piano playing but also with physiotherapeutic exercises. One one them: Press the fingertips of your hands carefully together and enforce the pressure gradually. Keep it for a while and relax.
Both is very important for pianists with injuries. Don't compare yourself with other (healthy) guys and rebuild your abilities step by step.

----------

http://www.pianistenschule.de

sorry to hear your story and finger injuries. i think you might want to take it easy at first as you just started again. i actually think Scarlatti's pieces are good for training fingers, because with the right fingering, Scarlatti's music can fit fingers well which would avoid some awkward finger positions and help you gradually rediscover your previous pianistic ability. just a thought...

3 Things:

Scales
Arpeggios
Hanon

Slowly, surely, and everyday!

Good luck with the rehab!

scales - paying attention to staying relaxed

My teacher had a brace on her wrist for a while before I met her and she was telling me to get back into playing she would just play 5 finger patterns at first and close her eyes and try to feel what she was doing as far as good technique and relaxed playing.

She's helping me with tendonitis issues and having me do scales, starting with the B scale actually, I did a couple Clementi Sonatinas and some simple tuneful pieces out of a technique book but starting small and gradually building from there. I kept taking a couple day breaks when my hands starting bothering me and that's when she suggested to try just playing 5 finger patterns on days I had problems rather than taking a total break those days. She said if I really wanted to do a lot of various 5 finger patterns, try Schaum's Finger Power books but I have just been making up my own patterns.

Her advice on technique combined with my asking myself if I'm staying relaxed while I'm playing is making a big difference, it's been about 3 months.

I would really suggest finding a teacher really knowledgable on sound technique. I tried to go it alone practicing without a teacher for years and now with a teacher realize there was a lot of stuff on technique I learned way back when small I had just forgotten.

hello kasey,

I'm new too. And Scarlatti isn't nothing to me, so they say stuff like that!

Since you want to work a lot on your right hand, I would suggest:

- Bach Partitas/Inventions
- Clementi Sonata - Op. 47, No.2
- Mendelssohn - Songs Without Words "Agitation"

And I'm sorry to hear about your injuries, but I'm really happy that you're playing again. For me, piano heals all pain. BUT if you're in pain while playing, I don't think you should push it--you don't want to make injuries worse.

I'll get back to you on some other pieces you can play, alright? Good luck to you.

Kind of repeating what others already said above. Bach Inventions, Preludes and Fugues are great for re-starters. Don't rush, you need to rebuild a good foundation. Try to spend at least 10 minutes a day on exercises (trills, scales, arpegios, Hanon), but no more than 30 minutes/day. And take it easy on your hands/fingers. Enjoy the piano; don't torture yourself. Once you have all the technics back in your hands, picking up music from where you left off won't be any problem.

Thank you so much for the suggestions! As for playing too much...I'm trying to gradually increasing my practice time and days when I'm stiff, just doing exercises. I do try to play a little every day, though. I didn't realize how much I missed it, until I got back into a semi-regular routine. But, I know that I have to take my time.

Thank you, again. I appreciate the help.

kasey