This is such a catharsis that I am crying. Ugly crying. I've been away from my horn for over a decade, and I'm trying so desperately to get back even a piece of what I lost when my hand started hurting so bad I had to seek emergency care. I had to stop playing during my sophomore year of a flute degree. And then I saw you straighten out that pinky and push with that, and I know for a fact that's what I do, and I'm trying to fix it. You showed what a profound effect it makes. I just wanna play my flute again. I'm 32. I was once very good. I miss it so badly.
Oh my goodness! I am so sorry that you injured your hand in the past. I can identify. I ended my undergrad wearing braces on both wrists from carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis (both triggered from gripping my flute too tightly and not having a body friendly approach to playing). I completely turned my playing around and you can too! Feel free to email me at tersanc@bgsu.edu with any questions!
This is a great demo. I have issues with right hand alignment due to osteoarthritis, so will need to do some experimenting. Thank you for such a clear demonstration!
Hi! I really loved this video! What’s your take on the right thumb? Some people put their thumb more behind the flute to push it forward and some are adamant about keeping it under the flute. Thanks in advance!
I see that you did not get a reply from Terri Sanchez, so I will offer a thought. Flute players and teachers are taught mainly by example, and their technique is often based on "this is what I do" or "this works for me, so you should do it too." They sometimes become very partisan and rigid, without engaging in any great depth of discussion about physical principles (e.g. acoustics, anatomy, mechanics, etc.), which is not very enlightening for students trying to solve their own problems. The question of right hand position is one such topic, as you suggest. From an anatomical standpoint we need to understand the prehensile nature of the human thumb - i.e. it's evolution to be able to touch the tips of the other fingers. This has influenced its orientation to the other fingers. In its relaxed position (say, like resting on the keys of the piano, or held in the air with the thumb underneath the index finger, rather like the flute position of many of us), the thumb is at a right-angle to the other fingers (look at the orientation of the nails or the pads of the fingers compared to the thumb to see what this means.) The commonest problem with right hand position is, as Terri Sanchez points out, limitation of reach and flexibility of the right hand pinkie. The commonest cause of this is adopting thumb position which rotates the hand away from the foot joint. I find that it is often helpful to get a student to start thinking and exploring about their solution to the hand position problem by prioritising getting the middle finger to be at a right angle to the axis of the flute. This usually gives the necessary reach to the pinkie. How they organise the thumb comes after this. Basically, there is the choice of how one is going to control the weight and rolling tendency of the flute: thumb underneath - easier for holding the flute up against gravity, but necessitating some use of the pinkie to control rolling, and a major contributor to the "stiff pinkie" problem) or (a bit) more at the back pushing forward [ e.g. Quantz, Rockstro, Gilbert, Galway, etc, etc.] - better for controlling the rolling tendency without using the pinkie at all, but requiring more skill and understanding of the friction forces needed, and careful attention to optimising supporting more of the flute weight with left hand first finger) Whichever one's choice, the thumb orientation, as above, has to be factored in. One can always simplify the problem by adding in something like the Thumbport, which is a neat idea if it will fit one's particular flute, but, as with all simple solutions to complex problems, it can add its own problems to be solved, such as pressure on the right side of the thumb. Now, once we have got all that sorted out, we can start thinking about the thumb of the left hand, and how we are going to free it from all supporting and balancing duties..........
Hi Whenever I switch my pinky from my Eflat key to the keys in the right my pinky and 3rd finger go flat. This is happening all the time for the past 2 years and nothing has been helping. Anything to prevent this?
Thank you! I’ve been having so much trouble getting the low notes below D and this is definitely something I’m going to switch to!
This is such a catharsis that I am crying. Ugly crying.
I've been away from my horn for over a decade, and I'm trying so desperately to get back even a piece of what I lost when my hand started hurting so bad I had to seek emergency care. I had to stop playing during my sophomore year of a flute degree. And then I saw you straighten out that pinky and push with that, and I know for a fact that's what I do, and I'm trying to fix it. You showed what a profound effect it makes.
I just wanna play my flute again. I'm 32. I was once very good. I miss it so badly.
Oh my goodness! I am so sorry that you injured your hand in the past. I can identify. I ended my undergrad wearing braces on both wrists from carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis (both triggered from gripping my flute too tightly and not having a body friendly approach to playing). I completely turned my playing around and you can too! Feel free to email me at tersanc@bgsu.edu with any questions!
My pinkie has been straight on the flute for 2 years
A Godsend! Thank you.
This is a great demo. I have issues with right hand alignment due to osteoarthritis, so will need to do some experimenting. Thank you for such a clear demonstration!
Great video! I've been working on this for myself, and love how well you have demonstrated this.
This is fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing.
hi terri!! this was very helpful to me, thank you
Yea my pinky locks up am gonna work on this, thanks
Hi! I really loved this video! What’s your take on the right thumb? Some people put their thumb more behind the flute to push it forward and some are adamant about keeping it under the flute. Thanks in advance!
I see that you did not get a reply from Terri Sanchez, so I will offer a thought. Flute players and teachers are taught mainly by example, and their technique is often based on "this is what I do" or "this works for me, so you should do it too." They sometimes become very partisan and rigid, without engaging in any great depth of discussion about physical principles (e.g. acoustics, anatomy, mechanics, etc.), which is not very enlightening for students trying to solve their own problems. The question of right hand position is one such topic, as you suggest. From an anatomical standpoint we need to understand the prehensile nature of the human thumb - i.e. it's evolution to be able to touch the tips of the other fingers. This has influenced its orientation to the other fingers. In its relaxed position (say, like resting on the keys of the piano, or held in the air with the thumb underneath the index finger, rather like the flute position of many of us), the thumb is at a right-angle to the other fingers (look at the orientation of the nails or the pads of the fingers compared to the thumb to see what this means.) The commonest problem with right hand position is, as Terri Sanchez points out, limitation of reach and flexibility of the right hand pinkie. The commonest cause of this is adopting thumb position which rotates the hand away from the foot joint. I find that it is often helpful to get a student to start thinking and exploring about their solution to the hand position problem by prioritising getting the middle finger to be at a right angle to the axis of the flute. This usually gives the necessary reach to the pinkie. How they organise the thumb comes after this. Basically, there is the choice of how one is going to control the weight and rolling tendency of the flute: thumb underneath - easier for holding the flute up against gravity, but necessitating some use of the pinkie to control rolling, and a major contributor to the "stiff pinkie" problem) or (a bit) more at the back pushing forward [ e.g. Quantz, Rockstro, Gilbert, Galway, etc, etc.] - better for controlling the rolling tendency without using the pinkie at all, but requiring more skill and understanding of the friction forces needed, and careful attention to optimising supporting more of the flute weight with left hand first finger) Whichever one's choice, the thumb orientation, as above, has to be factored in. One can always simplify the problem by adding in something like the Thumbport, which is a neat idea if it will fit one's particular flute, but, as with all simple solutions to complex problems, it can add its own problems to be solved, such as pressure on the right side of the thumb. Now, once we have got all that sorted out, we can start thinking about the thumb of the left hand, and how we are going to free it from all supporting and balancing duties..........
Hi
Whenever I switch my pinky from my Eflat key to the keys in the right my pinky and 3rd finger go flat. This is happening all the time for the past 2 years and nothing has been helping. Anything to prevent this?
You are setting people up for failure.