I’ve been playing my flute for about a week, now, and the knuckle at the base of my left index finger is sore. Pain suggests I’m doing something improperly. Any suggestions?
I’m using the “standard” grip with my left hand.
You might try looking at yourself in a mirror while playing. See if you’re lifting that finger higher than the others. Also, if you’ve literally been playing only a week than it could be your finger just isn’t used to the repetitive motion.
The worst possible explanation would be something like carpal tunnel.
Jeff
I shouldn’t start panicking about CTS at this early juncture, particularly since it’s just your left index finger. The base of that joint is where the weight of the flute is taken, and where any pressure is applied to press the instrument into the chin.
After only a week, you’re probably just feeling achey pains because your hand is unused to being held in that position.
Don’t overdo it, practice for 10 minutes at a time, no more. Then shake out the hands and do something else for a while before another 10-minute session on the flute. Be patient and do not attempt mammoth practice sessions at this early stage.
It takes a while for your all your bits to become accustomed to a new activity, but if you overdo it, then the trouble will begin in earnest, as I know to my own cost.
Given the place you’re feeling the pain, I wouldn’t worry too much about carpal tunnel syndrome. If you start getting tingling feelings in your finger tips and aching wrists. . . then you can worry about that. And even then, there are things you can do to alleviate any problems in the future (shaking your hands out and stretches, and, in the worst case, cortizone injections (I’ve had really bad periods of CTS and have never had to go this far)).
Probably, these are just the aches and pains that come from making parts of your body do things they aren’t used to doing. Practice for shorter periods, but more often (three or four times a day) and your hands will have a chance to better adjust to their new position. Also, though there are some pretty strange postures that can be taken when playing the flute, especially in a crwoded session, try to keep your flute horizontal when you’re playing. If the pain continues for more than a month, then you can start worry about other things.
In other words. . . what Gary said.
Mark
All of the above, and also you might remember that the
name of the game, and for me, anyway, the hardest
thing about it, is to relax.
Hold the flute over a bed or sofa. (sit on the bed.) See if you can rest the
flute a tiny bit higher on that finger instead of right at the base. Squeeze
the flute tight for a second and then relax as far as you can, without
dropping it. Then put it down and shake out your hands. Hope this helps
a bit!
Lesl
What everybody else says. And … it might also be helpful to make sure you’re not pushing the flute too hard against your lip with that hand – or pushing too hard against your left hand with your RIGHT hand. A red mark on your left hand in that spot while playing could signify such a pressure issue … which is an easy habit to fall into, especially when you’re working hard at getting a good sound.
Been there, done that. 
Anyway, just try to “float” the flute as lightly and evenly as possible between your three points of contact … lip, left index knuckle, and right thumb – altho’ personally if under duress (i.e., playing fast or hard or for a long time or all of the above) I try to let the right thumb take more pressure than the other two points.
It’s amazing how much heavy lifting it takes to be light – good luck!
Yeah, I see the red mark, I’ll try to relax a little more. And it’s hard to ONLY play 10 minutes when the thing sounds so cool (you know, in those occasional moments), but I’ll do my best.
I hadn’t thought of doing any flexing/shaking kind of warmups, so I’ll start doing that, too.
Thanks, everbody!
put simply: you’re squeezing the flute
not too hard…you shouldn’t squeeze it at all!
i like to tell my students: don’t try to kill it; it’s already dead.
Yeah. I’ve noticed myself trying to mate my left index finger and thumb by going through the flute.
Yesterday and today were much better. Everything plops into place easier when I hold it easier, too; I’m covering the holes better, or at least it feels like I am.
Thanks for the feedback.
The longstanding problem I’ve had with my elbow has eased since I got into the habit of leaving my left thumb off the flute entirely… it’s not really needed. Without the left thumb on the underside of the flute, it’s impossible to crush the flute with the left hand.
A good measure (for me) of ‘death grip’ is finding dimples on my fingers from the tone-holes. They hardly ever show up on the right hand, but sometimes on the left. It was noticing that which led me to experiment with releasing the left thumb, and thence a considerable improvement in my elbow.