Help for hand soreness
Hello! I'm new to this forum, so I might post in the wrong section. Pardon me if that's the case. I'm not sure what level of pianoplaying I am since I've had a break for almost 2years after a very rough period.
Short story is that I spent almost a year at the hospital. So I'm getting back there playing. Now to the difficulties I'm having. When I'm playing classical music like Chopin(nocturnes) and Bach I have no trouble at all. But when ever I play popular music from like a leadsheet I get soreness in my thumbs and wrists. So obviously I'm changing something when playing that popular music.
It involves alternating octaves in the left hand and chords + melody in the right hand. Taking breaks doesn't fix it since I seem to do the same again when playing. I'm trying to give as much relevant information as possible. So any tips on where to start here on tonebase? I do this for work hence it's important to do it sustatinably! Thanks for reading!
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Hi Kuro,
Without actually watching you play, this is very difficult to diagnose. However, I have two theories:
1. When you play popular music, are you sitting down playing on an acoustic piano or are you standing up playing on a keyboard? If standing, posture can definitely be a problem and you may need to evaluate your arm/wrist height and relation to the keyboard.
2. You may be over-playing (exerting too much force and/or staying in the key or “holding” too long). This happens a lot to keyboard players especially if playing on non-weighted keys, or having the sound amplified thru external amps/monitors but not using headphones/earbuds. If you’re playing on an acoustic piano, you may be “key-bedding”. This means you are pushing beyond the required weight/force necessary to depress the key (typically only around 50 grams is needed). When playing pop, some people have a tendency to sacrifice nuance for volume/power. However, there’s no need to play harder in pop. Alternating octaves, big chords, etc. can all be played without pain if you work on instantaneous release of pressure and tension, building in “relax points” (moments when you can consciously release tension in your hands, wrists, and arms at certain points in the music). Check out Penelope Roskell’s material on this site for more tips!
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Timothy Hi Timothy! I'm sitting down and depending on the venue I'm playing either upright accoustic or cheaper digital pianos. Your second theory seems to describe it very well. Maybe the faster tempo of the pop/rock songs sacrifices the relaxations I've practiced in the harder repertoar. The point about "relax points" in alternating octaves especially resonated with me! I will check out Roskells videos! Thanks so much for your input! I know it was hard given the limited information!
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