I have been playing whistle for 6 years or so,in the last month I have developed a bad habit or something.
I all of a sudden I feel like my fingers just won’t work (mainly my right or bottom hand on the whistle) all of a sudden my fingers don’t want to land properly on the holes which in return gives me a bad sound(obviously), my right hand seems to feel weak. Do you think it is a growing stage, to much or to little playing, has anyone out there ever had an expierience like this?
It is very frustrating.
I’m not a doctor yet, but mabey some rest will help. Sometimes my fingers get to feeling weak and “sloppy” and resting a day or two helps.
Hi, Tom,
How much do you practice or play a day? And how regularly do you play, every day, twice a week, etc? I don’t play very regularly, and tend to forget the fingerings to tunes, or I forget which tunes I know. It’s frustrating, but usually a good review of the tune (reading music or listening) brings me back after a little bit of practicing.
Off the whistle topic, if it’s a sudden change, depending on your age and physical condition, it might be a medical concern.
Good luck! I hope it’s just a little dry spell. 
Linda S.
madfifer9
Hello Tom –
Does this only happen when you’re playing the whistle, or do you
notice it at other times? If it’s something constant, or if there
is numbness or tingling along with the weakness, you might
want to consider seeing a doctor.
Hope this is helpful.
mcfeely, I’m in love with that avatar.
Thanks –
It’s a nice drawing of Albus Dumbledore, from the Harry Potter series.
I like it because the artist seems to have done his best to draw the
likeness according to J.K. Rowling’s description.
– Dan M.
Is that 6 years none stop? 
No wonder your hand’s going a little numb.
Sorry couldn’t resist. Could it be a circulation problem? Maybe muscle fatigue? Try a grip exerciser from the sport section of any department or discount store. Get a comfortable strength and do reps on that. Maybe some strengthening will deter muscle fatigue.
Cheers,
Aaron
i’ve been practicing 2 hours a day and all of a sudden i can’t play anymore. this is only going on for two days, but i don’t worry about it yet.
when i pick it up again, i might play better then ever before, it might feel like i’ve been practicing these off days aswell! this never happened to me before, and it surely gets my spirits down. but life can’t be a bed of roses all the time. i hope this won’t take long.
I have this problem sometimes. It’s usually when it’s a little chilly and my hands are cold. Of course, there are just days when nothing works.
i’m ok again after 3 days, i practiced almost entirely on the low D, but now i switch to low G and high D aswell
This happens sometimes to us all.
Also, flute players have another fun periodic occurance, called “losing the blow.” There are days when even the best flutists pick up their instrument, start to play, and find that the exact same approach that usually gives them such a ringing, warm tone is instead producing something that sounds a bit like a mouse passing gas.
You can usually “practice through it” and after a few hours (!) be back on solid ground…or you can just lay it down a day or two, come back, and also be back on solid ground.
–James
It could be other things, such as gripping the steering wheel too long or hard in the same position. I once lost the strength in my pinky when I was riding my ten speed all the time. The constant pressure from leaning over and holding myself up for long periods must have cut off the circulation. My mouse will also make my hand feel fatigued, so I take my hand off regularly. Some people hold onto a mouse for days on end. Since we play our instruments a lot, which is akin to other forms of daily exercise, we must allow time for our muscles to recover.
Hope this helps.
JP
I’ve posted my $.02 on this before on the flute board, and I hope it will be of some help here: the best thing that works for me is to stretch my hands, especially my left one, as if I’m trying to make it imitate the shape of a starfish, and attempting to get the fingers to stretch upward from the back of the hand on their own. This should be done gently and firmly, and I find that it feels very good. Other stretches just don’t seem to work as well for me when it comes to keeping my hands and fingers limber and happy.
i stretch my whole body, and this works on my hands aswell. they do this in every sport, even swimming. but you’ll need a very, very good teacher for that if you have back problems. you can actually stretch too far.
Quote @ JohnPalmer
I once lost the strength in my pinky when I was riding my ten speed all the time. The constant pressure from leaning over and holding myself up for long periods must have cut off the circulation. My mouse will also make my hand feel fatigued, so I take my hand off regularly. Some people hold onto a mouse for days on end. Since we play our instruments a lot, which is akin to other forms of daily exercise, we must allow time for our muscles to recover.
So, muscles can not recover, too? If they don’t that means you can never play whistle again? How do you know when you’re overdoing it (mouse, bike, etc)?