5th finger droop and skeletality/knuckle collapse

and how is your "bell hand" movement doing? AFF

it's coming. actually, it's a fairly similar activity to that which I had described where I occasionally get the almighty cracking, although the bell hand helps to loosen it more gently. there's some kind of strange link between the thumb and the restriction on the other side, that makes it hard to get a sense of length and freedom down the 5th finger side of the hand. Even in sideways thumb stands, it's hard to avoid that subtle fifth finger knuckle droop and the pinched feeling/click. nothing I can physically do with my left even emulates it, but it's very hard to ease past that restricted point with my right without a grind. however getting the thumb right under the hand and touching the key slip in a lot of practise is contributing to freedom, at least. . do you know of any good detailed written descriptions or videos or audio of the exercise, by the way? I did one bell hand exercise on open atm but it didn't really go into the detail of the bell hand itself. it was more about blending it in with other movements.

NOW you are getting somewhere! YES, the 5th finger problem is really a THUMB problem!!! I don't think you're going to get very far with a purely direct approach... The two ATMs for you are Alexander Yanai 124 and 125. I will see if I can find them on my comp and send them to you... but you might find them at one of those ATM sites... ALL BEST! AFF

NOW you are getting somewhere! YES, the 5th finger problem is really a THUMB problem!!! I don't think you're going to get very far with a purely direct approach... The two ATMs for you are Alexander Yanai 124 and 125. I will see if I can find them on my comp and send them to you... but you might find them at one of those ATM sites... ALL BEST! AFF Cheers, I'll check for those on the wikisite, to see if they're written down. I think I'm getting a lot from both ends at the moment. I find it VERY useful to bring the thumb around towards the fifth and tap the wood under the keys. This gets the length in the arm at both sides and the structure in the fifth, if the wrist was wonky. I'm also finding it good to start with the thumb faintly touching below the keys and really slap down at 5th finger notes - especially ones that follow a leap. Actually, I just realised too - pointing the thumb down and touching beneath is one of the keys to the tapping I'm doing with 5 on the video. Increasingly I'm starting to wonder if the long term answer might not necessarily be to achieve the arch by direct consideration, but simply by thinking that the thumb role is always be intending to go at least a little down. I think sometimes the position starts open but the thumb is faintly going up and despite the arch it fails. Equally if the thumb is aiming down the arch can be flattened and work. Simply aiming the thumb down seems to trigger the preliminary interaction between fingers and keys, rather than the the empty state that I get too often. Oh and from the other end I need to watch my fifth even when the thumb plays. I think forgiving the inversion there, where it seems insignificant, encourages it to become so ingrained that it's hard to avoid it when it definitely matters.

That depends, , on what your approach is. I'll try to explain what I mean. I have not gone through either Alexander or Feldenkrais practice, but I would like to share how I solved problems with collapsing structures from my experience with martial arts and Zen. If I use "you", I will not imply YOU as a person, but just anyone. Neither does this post imply that Andrew should not work on the thumb problem you mentioned. It's funny, but nature will almost always make you vulnerable with escape mechanisms you do not (yet) have conscious control over. Collapse is such a mechanism. Fighting collapse or trying to prevent it may work to a certain extent, but as a rule, you will start experiencing problems in other areas of the body. What you need to do is face your fears: DELIBERATELY collapse that bridge/arch (keep the top knuckle of that pinky down) and overcome resistance with the rest of the finger, very slowly and very carefully, first light resistance like a piano key, then heavier with something like a clothespin, the light version of Gripmaster, etc. without engaging the arm and without tightening the wrist. (This is, of course, didactic stuff, and not some new way of playing the piano). There are many benefits to this approach. First of all, you develop "power" in an area that you have never used consciously before. Second, by taking control over and in that collapsed position, your body will decide that collapse is no longer a viable way out of correct movement/hand usage. The result will be: no more collapse. Paul

Remember I said "purely," as in 'not a purely direct approach.' But of course the direct approach will be a part of the picture... AFF