Is It Wrong To........

[RiverHamble]

Hi.

 

I find that when I play, I have started to rest the heels of my palms against the edge of my concertina.Is this wrong, should I be holding my hands parallel to the fretboards?

 

Could this be partly why my hands cramp up after about an hour or is that just normal.

[Pete Dunk]

I seem to remember that you play an English, I've just tried to rest my palm heels on the ends of my concertina and it's nigh on impossible as well as extremely uncomfortable! Now I'm wondering if you are putting your thumbs right through the thumbstraps which is considered to be incorrect by the vast majority of players.

 

The tips of the thumbs should be just visible beyond the straps, which shouldn't be too tight. I suppose the palms would be roughly parallel with the ends as a starting position but the hands as well as the fingers move around when playing. It might help if watch the English Concertina for Beginners series of videos on Youtube. After watching the first one click on 'More from this user' to watch the whole series.

 

Your hands probably ache after an hour of playing because you are practicing for too long! Play for 15-20 mins maximum and then take a break of at least ten minutes. As a beginner you need to build up the muscles used for playing slowly and steadily or you'll end up with some form of RSI.

 

Hope this helps. Pete.

[JimLucas]

I find that when I play, I have started to rest the heels of my palms against the edge of my concertina. Is this wrong,...

I seem to remember that you play an English,...

On English, but also anglo and duets, it's something I do occasionally, but I would not do it constantly. (There are many things I do occasionally. I believe in flexibility and variation as ways to both improve competence and avoid fatigue, cramping, and injury.)

 

...should I be holding my hands parallel to the fretboards?

 

Could this be partly why my hands cramp up after about an hour or is that just normal.

Since your hands must be somewhat arched, "parallel" has no meaning. What is important is that your hand should be as relaxed as possible. If your hands are cramping, then they're not relaxed.

 

With the heels of your hands against the end face of the concertina, you're likely doing more "bracing" than "resting". Meanwhile, you're restricting the flexibility of the hand in general (more so on English than on anglo or duet), which almost certainly adds to the overall stress.

 

I pretty much agree with what tallship said. For much more on the topic of how to hold the concertina, and whys and wherefores, use the Search facility here. A lot has been written in the past, and there have even been some heated disagreements. Read them all, and judge for yourself.

[Ken_Coles]

I think I know what RiverHamble is referring to. It was letting my wrists arch instead of keeping them fairly straight that got me into serious RSI when I got my first traditionally-built (i.e., small) concertina. I lost nearly a whole year of playing while I recovered. Only a small proportion of the population is prone to this, but if you are one it is worth trying other playing positions. My story is here but your mileage may vary, as they say.

 

Ken

[RiverHamble]

Thanks for the posts, I am bracing more than resting my hands and I think that this is because I have mainly been playing the lower note in the C scale rather than chasing up the board for the higher notes.

As I learn more scales and therefore tunes in theory my hands would be higher up the board.

 

My thumbs are only just in the straps but I am working on the relaxing of my hands more.

 

I do like the foam rests idea but would that work on an english where there is more movement of the hands?

[Ken_Coles]

If you are paying attention to what you are doing, you are on the right track. My experience applies to anglo, not English of course, but watching your wrist position is clearly worth doing when you are starting out. Have fun,

 

Ken