Turning a possible career-ending injury into an educational experience
Anton Nel suffered a devastating injury in early 2023, leaving the pinky of his right hand unusable to play the piano. Through a journey of perserverance, hardwork, and intelligent steps, Anton was able to resume his concertizing and return to the stage, within a matter of months. Join us today to hear his remarkable story and lessons learned from his experience!
Follow this event link to tune in!
https://app.tonebase.co/piano/live/player/anton-nel-recovering-from-injury
We are going to be using this thread to gather suggestions and questions!
- What questions do you have on this topic?
- Any particular area you would like me to focus on?
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Great topic! I have a couple of questions here:
1. From your experience, what would be the contributor of the injuries? Would it be less efficient motion, overwhelming overload or the combination of both?
2. Would you consider the injury to be a permanent damage to the hand, or it can somehow be reversed?
I happened to injury my right pinky twice from piano playing (first time is an Liszt etude, and second time is from a Bach Fugue), and have to rest for at leave one month each time. And I found each time it's the right pinky. It could be because of tension, or my right pinky is not keeping up with the stamina here, so I have to be extra cautious in the future.
I also noticed after practicing 5 hours per day for a week straight (that was before a competition), there is pain starting on my right pinky. No matter what I practice, even if it's a Mozart sonata, I can't practice too long. However, 5 hours per day seems to be normal for professional pianists?
Looking forward to see you shed on lights on this topic!
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Thank you to Mr. Nel for this inspiring lesson and for sharing the deeply personal aspects - including x-rays and photos! Thank you, Dominic! And thank you to all who asked insightful questions!
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And it is wonderful that Mr. Nel healed so beautifully!
