tight forarms

[CraigT]

I have a recurring tightness in my forarm that is aggravated by playing. I just looked it up and it seems similar to "golfers elbow". It might just be tendonitis. Just curious if anyone else gets recurring problems from playing a keyboard as opposed to a piano. I have been practicing 2-3 hours a night for the last week on a S90ES. I notice that when playing fast or hard the keys bottom out pretty hard. It is my impression that a piano bottoms out in a way that is more forgiving/less abrubt. Any thoughts?

[lerber3]

I've had a bout of tendonitis from getting zoned jamming over a fast, repetitive left hand motif (on an RD-700). Give it a rest and don't play the same thing/style for too long.

[Byrdman]

You need to go on the Mick Jagger tune up course. Flabby arms in 30 days or your money back.

 

Do Golfer's get elbow? I thought golfer's got lower back pain and tennis players got elbow.

 

I think you are playing with too much tension in your arms. Its true though that some keyboards really botoom out hard - I have bruised fingers on some though not enough to stop me playing - just enough to make me think "ow".

 

Try playing slow and very relaxed and gradually speed up until you start to feel any tension at all in your arms. Then stop relax and start slow again. Try to delay the onset of tension (it can be done even though it sounds like not trying to think of a polar bear) eventually you will get up to speed with no tension.

 

The problem is that one tends to equate fast with tense. The result is that as you speed up you don't move from playing with long levers (the arms) to short levers (fingers and wrists). In fact you go the other way, so that when tension sets in you get slower. You have to conciously work past this.

 

When you get there you will be able to feel the waves coming up your arm as your wrist moves in the opposite direction to your fingers. Its trying to keep the wrist in one place that causes the trouble.

[hebdizzle]

yeah, if youre playing 2-3 hours a night you will definately feel some soreness, especially if your forearms aren't used to working that hard. Also, assuming you weigh around 175 lbs you're burning about 650 calories in those 3 hours No wonder you're feeling the burn

 

aaron

[Dave Horne]

If it's your top forearm muscle that is giving you problems, you are playing the piano incorrectly. I had the same problem many years ago and studied with a concert pianist to learn how to play with the least amount of effort.

 

I could go on and on here, but all what I would say is in the thread ... Correct Piano Technique