Stupid post about my finger spread

E = Fb · Post by **E = Fb** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 5:22 pm

I've always considered my hands and fingers to be average size. I used to put them up against other people's hands to measure. But recently I watched a gal with much smaller hands than mine as she played the flute. She did it with great ease compared to me. Upon further investigation we found that her hands and fingers were indeed smaller, but her fingers spead apart more than mine. A lot more. When we compared with our hands spead out, she had a substantial advantage. At home I found my wife's little hands had a 1/2" advantage over mine when spread out.
This explains why the low whistle and the flute were such a struggle for me, despite enormous proficiency (a-hem!) on the soprano whistle.
Some of you who are suffering from Low D envy may take find the same thing.

Just call me Straighfinger.

chas · Post by **chas** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 7:28 pm

Y'know, these things can be changed with a little, or sometimes more than a little effort. I played lap/Appalachian dulcimer for years, and I have a much bigger finger spread than I had when I began. If you really want to do it, you can make it happen.

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 3:20 am

You can make this evolve quite fast with stretching. What works for sports improves dexterity, too. After all, there's a part of athletics in any acoustic instrument...

Phil Hardy--yes, the one--taught me a stretching exercise which did marvels with me. I try and practice it while relaxing, just before playing.
It made me feel comfortable playing low D and C with piper-grip, and now allows me sometimes to attempt and play the same finger-tipped.

Press your fingertips against each other with the fingers outstretched.
Now, press your thumbs and indexes against your chest so they form an almost straight line; at the same time, try and press all the fingers together so they get in full contact left-to-right (is this clear?), and try and bring the pinkies as far down as they can go, fanning out the fingers.
When doing this, the palms of your hands will not touch each other, just the finger joints--if they do, then you don't need to stretch and could play Rachmaninoff's weirdest piano chords...

As any stretching exercise, it should be done gradually, repeatedly and maintaining the final stretched stance for a while.

Apply steady pressure, not brutality (don't end up like Maurice Schumann who crippled his fingers with crazy weightlifting exercises...)

Also, remember to never ever "crack" your fingerjoints, if you're prone to this bad habit...

In doubt see a physiotherapist to work it out.
Any one of these on-board?

GaryKelly · Post by **GaryKelly** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 3:55 am

The first low D I bought was a Shaw. When it arrived I thought "holy cr*p, how'm I going to cover those holes??" I got used to it after a couple of weeks but didn't enjoy its breath requirements, so bought an Alba Low D.

When the Alba low D arrived I thought "hoy cr*p, how'm I going to cover those holes??" I got used to it after a couple of weeks. After playing the Alba for a while, the Shaw Low D now feels like a Clarke's Original soprano!

Zoob, my dear chap, the stretching exercise you've kindly shared with us was clear as a bell right up to the point where you said "Now, press your thumbs and indexes against your chest so they form an almost straight line;" After that, it became clear as mud... I am now amusing my colleagues by apparently 'praying' to my computer...one wag just made a wise-crack about bust-improvement techniques..

claudine · Post by **claudine** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 5:00 am

Zubivka wrote: (don't end up like Maurice Schumann who crippled his fingers with crazy weightlifting exercises...)

I think the finger-crippled pianist was Robert Schumann, Zoobie-darling.

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 7:55 am

claudine wrote:
Zubivka wrote: (don't end up like Maurice Schumann who crippled his fingers with crazy weightlifting exercises...)
I think the finger-crippled pianist was Robert Schumann, Zoobie-darling.

Of course you're right Claudie-poo! I did mean the same one, i.e. Clara's hubbie, and not Maurice S. the French politician of the 50's.

Why in earth did I type "Maurice"? Probably because we nick a local figure named Robert as "Maurice", like we would razz a Simone as "Monique".

Anyway, I'm always lost with these Froonch christian names associated with Germanic surnames

No wonder Robert went cuckooo, and cuckold, too...

amar · Post by **amar** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 8:08 am

Zubivka wrote:
claudine wrote:
Zubivka wrote: (don't end up like Maurice Schumann who crippled his fingers with crazy weightlifting exercises...)
I think the finger-crippled pianist was Robert Schumann, Zoobie-darling.
Of course you're right Claudie-poo! I did mean the same one, i.e. Clara's hubbie, and not Maurice S. the French politician of the 50's.

Why in earth did I type "Maurice"? Probably because we nick a local figure named Robert as "Maurice", like we would razz a Simone as "Monique".

Anyway, I'm always lost with these Froonch christian names associated with Germanic surnames No wonder Robert went cuckooo, and cuckold, too...

because you're a froonchie, they all think of maurice chevalier.

GaryKelly · Post by **GaryKelly** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 8:16 am

Ah yes. "Sank Evans, for leedle girls..." Can I really be that old?

Zubivka · Post by **Zubivka** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 8:23 am

GaryKelly wrote:Zoob, my dear chap, the stretching exercise you've kindly shared with us was clear as a bell right up to the point where you said "Now, press your thumbs and indexes against your chest so they form an almost straight line;" After that, it became clear as mud... I am now amusing my colleagues by apparently 'praying' to my computer...one wag just made a wise-crack about bust-improvement techniques..

Well tis hard to describe such an awkward stance by words, esp. if you notice--haven't you? :rool --that I'm not exactly fluent in English, to put it mildly.

Now if you do look like "praying to your computer" AND splitting your Bristols apart, AND keep the fingers of each hand fanned out, outstretched as far as possible from each other, then I didn't do such a bad job. I should not exactly hurt, but pull hard, like any stretching exercise.

PS: tried oestrogens ?

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 9:07 am

Zubivka wrote: I'm not exactly fluent in English, to put it mildly.

By whose definition of fluency? Not fluent means every post takes you 20 minutes to compose with a french/english dictionary in hand. Not the impression I get.

fiddling_tenor · Post by **fiddling_tenor** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 9:11 am

Finger spread...hmmmmm

Do you use regular or low-fat mayonnaise to make that?