Thumb strain.

Uilleann Pipes
1

Getting back into the chaos, and I am noticing that both of my thumbs seem to feel mildly strained.


I have tried relaxing my hands more while playing, but the soreness still lingers I found.

Somethings to note: I have the (probably bad) habit of playing/practicing a bunch in one sitting without breaks, I’m sure this would not help things.

My reed feels a bit “stiffer”, even though I haven’t played in a while and can’t really judge, I find the reed requires a fair bit of pressure, the top corner of the reed has a very small nick on it, still plays fine, but I just wonder if it might affect ease of playing. I bring this up as I suspect me squeezing the bag harder is putting strain on my hands, but I don’t know.


Closing the reed helps somewhat, intonation issues and an autocrann/gurgle are prone to happening, though that’s also probably the dry air from the new air conditioner.


Would you suggest I take more frequent breaks and perhaps try closing the reed with the bridle a bit more? (I suppose I could open a window to let in some more humid, chanter friendly air. Just very hot outdoors.)


Thanks :slight_smile:

2

I get some sort of tendon strain in both thumbs, thought I seem to get tendon issues from any sort of repetitive activity (insert jokes at will…).

Take breaks, massage them, be conscious of “death-grip”. Not sure about pressure, seem to find pressure concentrates further up the arm.

And drink lots of water, seems to help with everything.

3

I have played some, I adjusted the bag so that it is at an “upward” angle, and thus the chanter is closer to my body.


This, along with taking more breaks has helped immensely :slight_smile:, easier to squeeze too, I guess it’s because my arm has covers more bag area.