Sore Thumb

Uilleann Pipes
1

I’m a novice (playing just under a year) and I am working on my first tune that has a cran in it.

My right thumb is sore as hell from practicing the cran, and a trip to my doctor confirmed inflammation of the joint connecting my thumb to my hand.

My doctor has told me not to play for a week while I take an anti-inflammatory.

Has this ever happened to anyone else? Any suggestions? Im trying not to grip the chanter too tight, but it seems like its mind over rmatter.

2
  1. Follow the Doctors instructions. If you don’t allow the injury to heal completely you will perpetuate the condition.
  2. Get help with the reed setting. Lowering the bridle or closing the reed elevation slightly so it needs less pressure to play. You might need more scraping to make the reed play easier. If you’re not close to a pipemaker/reed guru, mail the chanter out for work. You won’t be playing, it’s the best time to send it out.
  3. Soak your hand in hot water before loosening exercises and after, soak it in icewater when you are done.
3

Dan,

I had the same problem. As a beginner, the tendancy is to overgrip the chanter. To get rid of the problem, I did the following:

a) Position yourself so you can have a gentle grip on the chanter. a

b) Do scales to warm up, focusing on holding the chanter as lightly as possible.

c) Play with your right thumb actually off the chanter. This feels really awkward at first, but is possible with practice (it was a recommendation of someone on this discussion forum). You will have to pull that thumb off the chanter later to hit the second octave Cnat key.

d) Take asparin, it works.

e) Have an experienced piper try the chanter. I can’t play my old chanter because it is simply too hard to blow the reed. You may need to sand down the reed (as suggested above) or get a new one.

f) Practice your cran with the chanter down. A cran is just four pips on various notes (for me G-F-A—A). If you can’t pip them with the bottom of the chanter blocked, you will not have a clean cran.

Good luck! Be as stubborn as a donkey and you will get there.

Cheers,

Novice Piper

4

There are two solutions to gripping the chanter too tight that have worked for me.

The first one is two play with the right thumb removed from the back of the chanter. It is a little weird at first, but you’ll get used to it.

The second method is to imagine your right thumb is holding an egg to the chanter. A purely psychological approach.

I’ve been playing for about 3 years now, so I’m no expert, but these meathods have worked for me and a few other (highland) pipers in my area.

Hope this helps.

Luke

5

It could also be the overall position that you are holding the chanter. Many in the beginning hold the bottom hand at 90 degrees to the chanter, when a bit of angle (fingers upward) is often helpful.

You should be even to play all but Bottom D without using the bottom thumb on the back of chanter.

Those anti-inflammatories, can those be distributed over the Internet for Message List Users?

6

I call this “the nintendo syndrome” :smiley:

Whenever i had a new game on any of the gameconsoles i owned, my thumb would be numb for days from overpushing the direction pad.
After a while you know the moves etc and you float over the directionpad like it’s a nice lady that needs warming up.. :wink:

In other words.., it’s normal to “freeze up” when you are doing something you are not used to but oh so badly want to do right..

Just keep at it and loosen your grip.
At least now you KNOW what you are doing “wrong” :slight_smile: