Aches

[DaveW]

Do any other beginners suffer from an ache at the base of the right thumb or am I holding the tenor incorrectly or just being a whimp?

Dave

 

[fecklesseric]

I get it occasionally and almost always it's an indication that I'm too tense. Relaxing and slowing things down a bit normally sorts it.

Don't know if that's your problem though.

 

[justin_chune]

Adjust your neck strap accurately. The strap takes all of the weight and your thumbs are used only to balance the sax. The correct adjustment allows the mouthpiece to enter your mouth without pushing your head back, or you having to lean forward to reach it. You need to be comfortable. My advice is that you check the sling height before every practice.

 

[mfox]

i've been playing 25 years and i'm quite a big stong fellow. and my thumb can still ache after after a long session.. especially if i play sitting..

 

[peter_fitton]

I had exactly the same thing when I first started playing. In fact it was so bad that my thumb would ache for around 24 hours and I could barely move it.

Almost certainly you're using your thumb to support the weight of the sax instead of letting the strap take the weight. Your thumb is probably pushing upwards and raising the height of the sax, but probably only be a milimetre or so and so you don't realise you are doing it.

Just try to make sure you have no upward pressure at all coming from your thumb.

Cheers

Peter

 

[nick_cook]

[color😛urple]There have been quite a few posts on this subject - I think it's something we all suffer from at some time!!!!

>.<
[/color]

 

[Pete Thomas]

Nick Cook wrote:
[color😛urple]There have been quite a few posts on this subject - I think it's something we all suffer from at some time!!!!
[/color]

Yes, but in your avatar, it looks like you aren't using a strap.

 

[nick_cook]

[color😛urple]Ah - yes. But in the avatar I'm glued to the sax!!
🙂
[/color]

 

[Rogerb]

Yeah, how DO you play with only 3 fingers on your LH ? 🙂

 

[nick_cook]

[color😛urple]With great difficulty!!!! (It's hard enough with 4!!!)

🙂
[/color]

 

[sharon]

I think most new players get this, I certainly did for the first maybe couple of months. Hurt particularly when I lifted a pint glass (but curiously not when I played sax). As everyone above has said, it is from supporting the weight of the sax with your thumb, even a little will put strain on the tendons. It will go the more you play as you will adjust the sax to just the right height automatically after a while.

Sharon

 

[jonf]

sharon wrote:
Hurt particularly when I lifted a pint glass Sharon

My God, what a disaster
:cry:

 

[Linky Lee]

Ahhh, It's another one of those moving moments when you realise just what you take for granted.

 

[Bobby G]

I came back from the jam night a week or two ago, and noticed a nasty ache in my right wrist, going towards my fingers, which lasted for about two or three days; turns out that, over the course of the evening, my sling had very gradually lengthened so I must have been taking progressively more weight on my right thumb.

So, I'll second the advice to check your sling length at the start of a session, and also at regular intervals during the session. or get a sling that doesn't slacken itself like my Neotech did; I'm ok with the bit of bounce you get from a Neotech, but the lengthening at the adjustment point was unexpected, and also something I feel shouldn't really be happening. Maybe it's time to invest in a tougher sling?

Cheers, Bob

 

[sharon]

JonF wrote:

sharon wrote:
Hurt particularly when I lifted a pint glass Sharon

My God, what a disaster
:cry:

No worries I used me left hand 😉

 

[DaveW]

Thanks for the comments/suggestions.

I have adjusted my sling but only slightly.

After analysing more I don't think I'm supporting the sax on that thumb. I think the ache is caused by pushing the base of the sax away from my body or more likely by the grip when closing the right hand pads.

There may also be some tension there as I'm trying to get used to D, E , & F above middle C.

I also use a mouse a lot at work so that may be a contributing factor.

I will take comfort in Sharon's comment that it will go away the more I play, although I use that word in its widest possible sense 🙂