Saxophone-related hand problems
H. Keeho Kang
>Hi. I recently began playing my alto sax, after not playing for ~5
>years. After about a month of practicing an hour every day, my right
>thumb joint (where the thumb joins the rest of my hand) is absolutely
>killing me. It feels as though it can't take the weight of the
>saxophone. Any suggestions on how to avoid this? Maybe I'm placing my
>thumb on the thumbrest incorrectly? Thanks
>
Perhaps you are using your thumb to support or lift the saxophone
so that the mouthpiece is in a comfortable position. This is a job
that should be done by the strap; the only kind of work the right
thumb should do (if any) is pushing the lower part of the horn out
and away from the body to attain a natural position.
There is a tendency to use the right thumb as vertical support be-
cause the lower thumb rest on the saxophone curves over the right
thumb, but that's not really what it's there for.
Keeho
>Audrey Wright
>--
> Audrey B. Wright, Reference Librarian
> Princeton University
greg
the right hand position. If the palm of your right hand seems to
be facing your body the thumbnail may want to face upward. Think
of turning the palm towards the floor slightly, enough so that the
thumbnail points to your body. This will change the curvature of the
fingers somewhat but it seems to lead to a more relaxed hand position.
Control the horn with your shoulder instead of your forearm.
Hope this helps.
Sean Smith u
Mike Maida
Try 2 things: Slide your thumb under the thumbrest to the left as much as you can
to minimize the lever arm length. Also, see if you can adjust your neckstrap to
take more of the weight of the horn. The thumb should push more OUT, for balance,
rather than UP. A good excercise for this to to practice scales as you swing up
and down with the horn. Your back, head and arms should move together as a unit so
the embouchure can remain constant. Sonny Rollins tends to play like this.