Weak ring finger

[breqwas]

Ring finger (is this the right word for 3rd finger of left hand?), which is used for most of cuts and for these terrible rolls on A, is the weakest and least active of my fingers. Only pinkies are worse.

Is there any sort of gymnastics for whistlers' fingers, to make them (and particularly that one) faster and stronger?

[Bothrops]

That's common in every person, I think.
Both of my ring fingers are the weakest.
For that reason I prefer to cut with "the finger above the note".
Regardin to, for example, A rolls, it's just matter of practice. When I first started to practice rolls I couldn't play a good A or E roll, now, despite they're far from being perfect, I can execute them quite well.

You could practice the boredom of doing rolls in each note of the scales, or even better, practice tunes where there're some A/E rolls.

Cheers,
Martin

[jemtheflute]

"Strength" really shouldn't come into it! What you need is relaxed control. For taps and cuts (and so rolls) the amount of movement only needs to be very small, so the tendon linkage between 3rd and 4th fingers should not be too major a handicap, especially as the little fingers are not used in playing the whistle (though the R one may be used as a balancer/locator). (There was a recent thread discussing this very point somewhere.) Anyway, if you concentrate on having your hands relaxed, not tense, and practice the particular movements you are having difficulty with, as well as rolls etc. up and down scales, cut with different fingers, etc..........you ought to be able to get them. Think of cuts as "hops" and taps as, well, taps - where the only tension is the very brief exercise of a muscle/tendon to make the finger move, with it returning almost as if on a spring to its previous position, be that in the air or on the tube. If you can't do it, you are probably "holding" the tube too tight or generally tensing your hands. Your motor control can probably do the voluntary movement if you fix any unwanted pre-tension.

3rd finger (not counting thumb) is indeed "ring finger" in English. [Sequence = thumb, forefinger (or index finger), middle finger, ring finger, little finger (or pinkie if you're American or maybe Scots).]

[Aanvil]

Probably not an issue but it is for me so I just thought to mention it.

I found wearing rings ( I do on both hands 3rd & pinky ) got in the way... and I didn't realize they were until I took them off while playing.

[Bloomfield]

Is there any sort of gymnastics for whistlers' fingers, to make them (and particularly that one) faster and stronger?

Robert Schumann, the German Romantic composer, originally aspired to a career as concert pianist. In order to strengthen his ring finger, he devised a contraption that extended over the back of his hand and connected with a rubber to his ring finger, so that he could exercise and strengthen the finger. The resultant injury was so severe that he could not play at all for months and had to give up all hopes of a career as a pianist. (He went on to become first a music critic and then a famous composer; and he married one of the greatest concert pianists of the day.)

Anyway, I'd be very careful. Slow it down and practice every day a little bit.

[Jon-M]

And then he went crazy. So don't mess with your fingers.

[Buffpiper]

This thread kinda relates the the one I started about the 'A' cut. A few days ago, I noticed the patina over the various holes of my low D whistle and concluded that, since the A finger had the dullest patina, and the other fingers had a shinier patina (i.e. index fingers on both hands) that meant that I used the ring finger the least. Because I would like to think that I can "paint" with all of the brushes on my musical palate equally well, I concluded that meant I was not using my A brush enough.

Since then, I have tried to be more conscious of using my ring finger more by tapping it on the steering wheel as I wait at the stoplight, etc. I haven't noticed a change in patina on my whistle but only time will tell.

Buffpiper

[irish69]

A nice excercise you can do is to put your hand flat on a table and practice lifting only one finger at a time. You'll notice that when you try to lift your middle finger the ring finger will try to go up with it. After a bit of practice this goes away though.

[Ceili_whistle_man]

Buffpiper wrote;

since the A finger had the dullest patina

and finished with;

that meant that I used the ring finger the least

Please explain mate, 'A' finger = middle finger. G = Ring finger left hand. Ah.....wait a minute, do you mean the A finger hole had the dullest patina, or the G hole?
When I play whistle and flute my fingers dance all over the place. It has been commented on by other players that I could play faster if I had more of an economy of movement. Well, I never had any problem with speed until I tried what was suggested and it just stuffed me up completely. So now I play with the same abandon as I always did.
I think the secret Breqwas, which is no secret really, is to relax those fingers and hands as much as possible. Someone once refered to the whistle as a little bird in your hand, hold it too tight and you will choke it, hold it too loose and it will fly away. Find the perfect balance I say.
A good finger exercise is this; start with an open palm (palm facing you) and all fingers flat and straight. Now try to make your index finger and ring finger, that is L1 and L3, meet with the tip of your thumb over the centre of your palm. Keep your other two fingers as straight as possible and back out of the way. Now do the same thing with your other two fingers, that is L2 and L4, get them to meet with the tip of your thumb also. Just keep alternating between each set of two fingers and thumb and you will soon be able to do it at speed. Try doing it on your right hand also. The point of the exercise is to prevent those other fingers that are not trying to touch the thumb from moving.
Another little exercise is to put the four fingers of each hand flat on the edge of a table or a flat surface so that your thumbs are just touching the table edge. Lift each finger up then down one at a time from L1 to L4 then back again. Then try lifting L/R1 and L/R3 at the same time then swap to L/R2 and L/R4 together, and try it with both hands at once.
A bit tricky at first, I should know, I did the same execises myself a long time ago and believe me it does pay off in the end.

[Deathtrap]

Playing guitar for 3-4 years grant me enough strength on my left hand ring finger to play the whistle, but not the right hand

I once learn a finger exercise like this from a bassist like this:

name your fingers accordingly: index=1, middle=2, ring=3, pinky=4

Touch your thumb with 1 and 3, then switch to 2 and 4, rinse and repeat.

for the 1&3, it is like doing an OK sign, but in addition to the index touching the thumb, add your ring finger too.

try that as fast as you can, I think you can build up better finger response with it.

1-3 2-4 1-3 1-4 1-3 2-4 1-3 2-4 1-3 2-4 1-3 2-4.....

Hope its not too hard to understand my English!


PS: LOL@Buffpiper's pic