Shaking Fingers

It's not performance stress, it happens only on the left hand and it happens whether I am alone or performing in front of someone. I also don't think it's a neurological disorder (at least not a severe one) because I can control it if I slowly focus on it. I think the issue is that my left hand doesn't know how to maintain a proper arch structure, so when it starts to collaps, other fingers rise in the air, as well as the wrist, trying to keep the arch stable, but it is not - and this is why the fingers are shaking. It is very strange, that even though the left hand and the right hand look very similar in shape, they feel very different inside. The right hand knows how to keep a stable arch and "drop" the fingers into the key, while in the left hand things either feel too stiff or totally unstable. I think the thumb is the weakest link in my left hand so I started doing the thumb excercised from the DVD for the left hand now. I hope to see some improvement in a few months.

It's actually quite funny. I have the same problem at my right hand. I guess it depends on the individuals. I think the problem comes from the hand's inability to maintain the arch. The fingers are overloaded with the arm's weight and they start shaking....at least this is exactly what i feel. It's like trying to lift a weight at the gym and the weight is too heavy. So your hands try to force themselves to lift it up and they are really doing their best but fail to maintain it in the air. This is the best description of my problem. Surely mr. Fraser knows which "recipe" fits best for this problem. The video you linked represented a good start. My right shoulder became more relaxed. I will buy the DVD and hope for improvement. Maybe if this summer he will schedule a summerschool or some masterclasses in Novi Sad I will go there. I live in Timisoara, Romania. Just 1 or 2 hours away. I really like the way he teaches and introduces this "skeletality" concept. It helps you play more relaxed.

It's actually quite funny. I have the same problem at my right hand. I guess it depends on the individuals. I think the problem comes from the hand's inability to maintain the arch. The fingers are overloaded with the arm's weight and they start shaking....at least this is exactly what i feel. It's like trying to lift a weight at the gym and the weight is too heavy. So your hands try to force themselves to lift it up and they are really doing their best but fail to maintain it in the air. This is the best description of my problem. It does sound like a similar problem. I don't think it's a muscle strength problem, I think it is more an issue of balance and coordination. Surely mr. Fraser knows which "recipe" fits best for this problem. The video you linked represented a good start. My right shoulder became more relaxed. I will buy the DVD and hope for improvement. Maybe if this summer he will schedule a summerschool or some masterclasses in Novi Sad I will go there. I live in Timisoara, Romania. Just 1 or 2 hours away. I really like the way he teaches and introduces this "skeletality" concept. It helps you play more relaxed. I definitely recommend the DVD. It won't change your playing overnight, but after a few month of practise you will notive improvement. Even if I am not specifically practising Alan's excercised, I find that I am more aware to the arch and the skeletal feeling, and how it frees the muscles to do their job. I constantly notice improvement in my own playing (and then I watch the DVD again to notice how much more I need to improve:))

Zack, these are really great posts you've been giving us, and VERY topical! Oouf! If you're feeling pain in your upper arm doing the flat 5th finger pullup, STOP! AT ONCE! It's obviously not your way! Please rememberr, there are many roads to Rome, there is more than one way to skin a cat, and you have to develop your technique by FEELING what is right for you at any particular moment. This brings up an extremely important point: the material I offer is potent, but used wrongly it can lead to injury. That's the warning at the very beginning of the film; please take it to heart! In my second book there's a big section discussing the contradiction between flat-fingered technique and the classic arch shape of the fingers/hand. This book should be published within a couple of weeks (we are achingly close to being able to print it!), so I would suggest that you read those chapters when you can, they should provide some guidance. In the meantime, PLEASE back off the flat fingered stuff. Develop your curved-finger arch, and also PLEASE continue to investigate it by feeling and function not just by the external look of the shape. You've got to start sensing what internal processes are generating that arch, and it's a complex combination of many muscular actions. Try to discover how many different ways you can replace relaxation with activation in your hand in a way that does not create ANY stress, but actually relieves stress. It sounds paradoxical, and there's a lot more to say about it, but I can't put all that here... Take care of yourself! AFF

Thanks Alan, Looking forward to get both your new book and the 2nd edition of the craft. I did stop the flat finger practise (and the pain is gone ). I think I am pressing to hard into the keyboard when playing with flat fingers and the vigorus impact of the finger on the key is tranmitted through a rigid structure of bones which cause pain. I think I have not learned yet how to keep the arch functional and moveable while playing with a flat 5th, and the arm and shoulder stiffen in an effort to maintain everything stable. I tried practising the flat 5th finger stike as a "cobra strike" and I have no pain, but I can still not incorporate this action into legato playing. I will do as you suggest and back off flat finger practise for a while. Can you please clarify the concept of the arch being "as high as possible"? If the 3rd or 4th finger are playing a note and the arch stands up as high as it can, the 5th finger cannot reach its key. I would need to either lower my wrist or rotate it to help the pinky reach it's key. Is it a preferable way of playing fast scale runs compared to raising the arch to a height in which the pinky is still within reach of the keys? Zack

Try doing a fifth finger pullup but effortlessly, with a pull of 5 grams, letting your hand and arm move forward lightly, effortlessly. Notice the direction of movement. If you want the pain to go away, this direction must be more 'present' in your neuromuscular representation. It doesn't mean the movement has to happen, it means that your reflexes must retain a trace of it as a kind of amortization. See if you can figure it out anyway... Can you please clarify the concept of the arch being "as high as possible"? If the 3rd or 4th finger are playing a note and the arch stands up as high as it can, the 5th finger cannot reach its key. I would need to either lower my wrist or rotate it to help the pinky reach it's key. Is it a preferable way of playing fast scale runs compared to raising the arch to a height in which the pinky is still within reach of the keys? 1) As you said, if you lower the wrist, your arch is still as high as possible - in relation to your hand and arm that is. 2) But the deeper question is why I expressed myself thus. "Arch as high as possible" is a first approximation. It refers to an external look rather than an internal process or function. It helps a pianist get the hand activated in a most rudimentary way. It's only a start. Afterwards there's a long process of refinement and internalization as you discover the many internal intentions, movements, efforts, activations that help the arch be functional. Later on still, you learn to DROP the arch while maintaining its functionality, and even increase its moveability and flexibilty by doing so. Don't keep forcing yourself to keep an absolutely high arch if you are already ready to develop its functional sophistication. AFF

Try doing a fifth finger pullup but effortlessly, with a pull of 5 grams, letting your hand and arm move forward lightly, effortlessly. Notice the direction of movement. If you want the pain to go away, this direction must be more 'present' in your neuromuscular representation. It doesn't mean the movement has to happen, it means that your reflexes must retain a trace of it as a kind of amortization. See if you can figure it out anyway... I tried this a little bit - the pain is gone, but so is most of the sound. It doesn't sound so forte anymore. I think I will keep practising is slowly, even with p or mp dynamics and try forte only when the motion is more deeply imprinted in my reflexes. I think that a good forte usually requires speed rather than force, but to gain speed I need practise in slow motion most of the time. Thanks again! As always your answers are very informative and to the point. I really like it that you don't just explain your method but also the rationale behind it. Zack

That is to be expected, don't worry. Let go of your need for big sound for the moment - get a nice set of reflexes going instead. Believe me, in the end you will learn how to make a juicy . You've hit upon something important. I think many great methods don't get transmitted well from generation to generation exactly because the method alone is communicated instead of the rationale behind it. That's why I try so hard to do what you describe. I'm trying to create a relationship to knowledge that can successfully be passed on to future pianists without dilution or misrepresentation. Believe me, it's not easy! The exact use of words is very important. Thanks for the comment! AFF