I’ve been playing the flute for a little over a week now. I have a Tipple D 3-piece flute with offset holes. Following the guidance in Grey Larsen’s book, I’ve found a way to hold it that seems fairly comfortable and stable. However, I’m beginning to get some pain in my right hand.
It’s a bit of a stretch for my right ring finger to reach the D hole, and I have been feeling some pain near the bases of my right middle and ring fingers - not especially when I’m playing, but occasionally throughout the day.
Second, my pinkies seem to be shorter than optimal, and my right pinky has to be straight in order to reach the flute. To help, I’ve rotated the headjoint inward and the footjoint outward so I can get it closer to the top of the flute, but it still tends to lock straight at the middle knuckle, which becomes uncomfortable.
Is it normal to have pain when starting out? Is there a remedy for the flattened pinky?
Hi Ben, and welcome. Starting out on a new instrument usually requires an adjustment period, some muscle soreness and fatigue are normal, but much pain is not.
You will have to find what works for you-and with a cylindrical flute such as the Tipple, the stretch can be pretty long on a D flute. When I started out I also had a Tipple, and I found what worked for me was to go with the “pipers grip” on the bottom, which means playing with your fingers flattened (as opposed to arched as in the standard grip), and the holes are covered by whichever part of the finger that covers the hole comfortably, when your hand is in its best position for you. Which may mean you angle your hand somewhat to be most comfortable.
I still use that same grip, along with the standard grip on top, which gave me the most stability.
One other important point, is to hold the flute with as little tension in your hands and fingers as possible-and so not using more force than necessary to hold it-and this will allow your fingers to move more easily too. Just keep saying to yourself-RELAX-and it will be easier on your hands, and it will also help your embouchure too-don’t strain to blow either. Some tension is necessary in the lips, but less than you might think.
This might help your pinkies too, if you aren’t holding the flute with more force than you need. And remember-have fun! The rest will come in time. I hope this helps a little anyway.
Yes, there is occasionally pain initially.
Hands aren’t used to stretching like that.
With time and, if necessary, some rest
and probably a bit of stretching you should
be OK.
As to the pinky, if it were me I would wind
tape around the flute until it was so thick
my pinky was comfortable.
If pain persists, you might consider a flute
with a less demanding reach.
The main thing is to try to relax - use a mirror to check particularly the state of your right thumb - is it braced hard against the flute and ‘reverse curved’? Or is it nice and relaxed with a natural bend?
Hello Ben,
I agree with all of the comments above, and I’m a veteran of two bouts of repetitive stress injuries in my hands from many years of multi-instrument playing. They are, thankfully, in abeyance these days. I have two ideas to offer:
First, since the Tipple has offset holes, you might want to try using fingers 1,2 and 4 (pinky) to cover the right hand holes. Many players use this approach on longer flutes with offset holes - I do on a Tipple in B that I own. You might think that this could be confusing or cause trouble learning fingering patterns, but actually it is simple. Just move 3 and 4 as a pair (and think of them that way) and the adjustment to and from this to regular 1,2,3 fingering becomes almost automatic. If you try this approach, be sure to remember the advice above about tension in your thumb.
The other piece of advice I have is to gently shake out your loose hands before you start playing and periodically as you practice. Just drop them to your side and shake them as if they were wet and you were shaking the water off. The key word is GENTLY. You will find that this completely relaxes your hands and also reminds you what relaxed hands feel like.
Good luck - just don’t force anything and stay relaxed. You’ll feel fine and play better, too.
I’ve been experiencing the same thing recently, as I’m trying a new flute. The difference in hole spacing is minuscule, but my hand is not happy.
Guess I don’t have any sage advice, just empathy. It’s hard to know when discomfort or pain is significant, and when it’s just a matter of getting used to the kind of stretching you’re needing. Perseverance is certainly a virtue, but pay attention to whether you’re pressing on to the detriment of your hand’s health.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we each had a personal hand specialist to advise us?
I had problems with sore hands and wrists initially. I was bracing the flute against my little finger (UK speak for pinky) and if I moved it on to the top of the flute and didn’t stretch it so much, the pain eased.
The other thing I noticed was that I was tense, so was holding the flute much too tightly. So I concentrated on relaxing my grip generally and that also helped. I tried piper grip and it didn’t work for me. I had trouble covering the holes so I reverted to the curved finger grip and made sure my fingers and wrist were in a relaxed position and not unduly bent or under strain.
If the discomfort persisted, I would stop playing for a while and come back later. I had problems with RSI a few years back, as I was using the computer a lot, so I tend to be careful. I found initially that I needed to stop after about 10 - 15 minutes, but that I could gradually extend that as I got used to the grip and position of the flute.
I also had problems with aches in my wrists when I started concertina, so I used to only play that for short periods initially. As my hands and arms got used to the playing position, the aches went. The same is happening with the flute. If I get aches now, it is usually because I am holding the flute too tightly.
While it’s never a good idea in general to ignore or try to play through any kind of repetitive strainpain, when starting out is the major exception to this principle.
You are, without a doubt, clutching your flute FAR too tightly. It probably feels as though it’s going to hurl itself out of your grasp at any moment, if you but slacken your grip by the smallest amount.
In a very short while, if you keep on playing/practising briefly but regularly, your hands will know to the fraction of an ounce exactly how much (or how little) effort is required to keep a flute stuck to your lip, and at what times.
Once that occurs, the present pain will go away and never return.
Thanks for all the tips and encouragement. I guess I’ll try sticking pretty much with my current hold and focus on relaxing my hands. After playing a while, I do notice that my hands have tensed up more than when I started. It even seems like I can even get a bit of a curve in my pinky if I relax enough, so hopefully I can figure out how to maintain that.
I am having very similar problems. I am playing my 6-key J.Gallagher Blackwood since about 2 months and first I put all the weight on my thumbs, which resulted in “thumb-pain” for a week and then, when I lifted off the weight of my thumbs all other fingers were in pain, because my grip was much too tight. I also did overpractice with this grip. I tried to practice 2 hours a day- I think at the beginning smaller practice periods are better, which I hate!! I would love to practice for hours and hours, especially all the cool stuff my teacher showed me… Now I have to wait until the pain is gone. I guess I have to learn patience and to be more relaxed.
Welcome Mona!
You may have joined the wrong board-- we just talk about practicing here. If you take more time to read and post and spend less time practicing, you’ll find your hands feel much better.
Must be human nature to overdo anything new and exciting. Hope it goes better for you!
I will definitely stick to this advice for now. I should not only be more patient and relaxed but also more grateful: I can at least talk about practicing with you guys! That is actually a great thing, because I have already learned so much from this forum and every day I can’t wait reading more…A big THANKS to everybody!
That is actually a great thing, because I have already learned so much from this forum and every day I can’t wait reading more…A big THANKS to everybody!