I've got a sore thumb!

ochaye_mckay · May 16, 2007

My right thumb has started to ache. My strap seems to be set for the right height - the alto mpc sits just at mouth height, so I don't know if I'm holding the instrument incorrectly. or am just subconsiously gripping too hard due to my newness to the whole experience. It's not bad enough to put me off practising - just want to know if I'm doing anything wrong

Any words of wisdom? I'm hoping you all just tell me that it's just another muscle that will gradually develop over a period of time. Any other beginners experiencing the same pain?

Dave.

Pete Thomas · May 16, 2007

it's just another muscle that will gradually develop over a period of time.

richard_mac · May 16, 2007

I agree with Pete, it gets less and less sore the more you practice. Abit like building up the hardness of your finger tips when playing the guitar. You can buy a rubber cover to take some of the pressure off your thumb if that helps.

Richard.

therudest · May 16, 2007

hehe...thank someone you got Alto...not Tenor =DDDDDDDDD

Rogerb · May 16, 2007

I am a relative newbie of advanced years, with slightly arthritic thumb-joints, but haven't experienced this...... perhaps you are just practising too long at a time?

(and I'd guess my Hanson is at least as heavy as your 275 🙂 )

mfox · May 16, 2007

dead thumb eh, very common for begginers.. your left thumb need to be your fulcrum, so when you put a little pressure on your right the horn just lines up with your mouth, don't try and hold the horns weight in anyway..if your thumb rest is an adjustable one loosen off the screw and let the hook and thumb move to the most comfortable position.
otherwise its just a new musle as pete said.. be gratful your not a trumpet player now that dose hurt..

Bobby G · May 17, 2007

I never experienced dead-thumb either, but I'll go along with the popular opinion that it could just be a muscle that needs building up. Alternatively, it could be relieved by rotating the crook in the receiver - you may have the angle there slightly off, which could well put some strain on the right thumb. It's worth slackening it off, finding a comfortable, balanced position for the horn while disregarding the crook, then rotating the crook in the receiver until it lines up with your mouth.

Cheers, Bob

peter_fitton · May 17, 2007

When I first started playing alto my right thumb used to ache like crazy within minutes of me finishing playing - though never during playing. It also used to stiffen up so that I could barely move it. This would last for hours. It was so severe that I thought I would have to give up sax playing or risk doing myself severe & probably permanent injury.

Eventually I realised that the problem was that I was gripping the sax too hard and basically taking the weight of the whole thing on my right hand (even though the strap was adjusted right and the mouthpiece was at the right height for my mouth).

So I relaxed my grip and let the strap take all the weight. Not had even a slight problem with it since.

Peter

ochaye_mckay · May 17, 2007

Thanks to all, I'll have a look at all the suggestions (I think the thumb hook is adjustable) and see what happens.

I'd better be careful if I prod people in future, with my big strong thumb!! And I might be able to prise the lids of tupperware etc. easier - - the unexpected benefits of taking up sax!!!

Dave (the Thumb)

saxplayer67 · May 17, 2007

Sorry, I don't totally agree that it's 'just another muscle' to develop. My right thumb and part of the hand behind the thumb became incredibly sore just after starting to learn in 1995. It was so bad I could barely use my hand and it wasn't til then I was instructed to let the sling do the work and take all or as much of the weight off the right hand - that's just there to balance the sax.
if you push the sax AWAY from your body with the right thumb only and the sling is propely adjusted, then it's more of a balance thing than actually 'holding' the instrument.

As a result of my problem twelve years ago, if I don't play for say a fortnight whilst on holiday, my thumb feels stiff and when I flex it it goes 'CRACK!'.

However, the right thumb does come into play more if playing straight soprano without a sling. Something else just sprung to mind. In the film 'Dreamscape' with Dennis Quaid, his character plays alto sax and whenever you see him doing so (playing diegetically, the main theme heard as non-diegetic music in the score), he does it without a sling! So does his nemesis in the film, when he picks it up. Weird, huh?

ochaye_mckay · May 17, 2007

Thanks '67, I think my symptom is a composite result of several of the factors mentioned in this thread. I'm going to work through them all - and keep you posted.

Hey! and I now know what "diegetic" means!!! This sax stuff is making me a more rounded person!!! lol!!

Dave.

sharon · May 17, 2007

Oh I've got that, although after 3 and a bit months it's starting to wear off. It's not so much the thumb as the big muscle/tendon at the base. I usually only notice it when lifting a pint of beer so as I usually drink wine it dosn't offend to much except when I'm in the pub 😉

Sharon

nick_cook · May 17, 2007

Mine's a pint too, Sharon!!! 🙂

sharon · May 17, 2007

Nick, I've just read your thread about your SA-5. I think Champagne will be in order don't you 🙂

Sharon

nick_cook · May 18, 2007

Champagne, beer, wine, port...

I'm not fussy!!! 😛

ochaye_mckay · May 18, 2007

I've decided that my sore thumb is definitely (I think) a result of gripping too tightly. Everytime I start to really concentrate on what I'm doing I discover that I'm really gripping tight. I loosen off, then carry on - only to discover a few seconds later that I'm gripping again.

I pause for a moment for you all to get the "Aberdonian keeping a tight grip of his assets" jokes out of your systems. (Aberdeen man found dead in pay-as-you-leave bus ... etc.)

I used to have the same problem many years ago when I was learning guitar - it was only when I developed the requisite callouses on the finger-tips and got good and comfortable with the instrument that I found I was gradually easing-off my grip!!

I've only had the sax 3 weeks so by about August I should be cured - or I'll have a crumpled-up sax on my (now very strong) hands!!!

Thanks for your time and suggestions.

Dave

Bobby G · May 18, 2007

Dave, I know this may sound silly, but your thumb could be caused partly by a too-hard reed. The sax and mouthpiece are fairly standard for a beginner, but a Vandoren 2.5 reed, roughly equivalent to a Rico 3, could be too hard a blow at this stage, and may be causing you to tense up in all sorts of odd ways. Most new starters seem to start on a reed strength of no more than 2, some even on a 1.5, so maybe changing your reed strength will make you relax more generally when you are playing.

Cheers, Bob

ochaye_mckay · May 19, 2007

Hi Bob,
I understand what your getting at - and I'll give it a go with a weaker reed. Thanks.

Dave.

Linky Lee · May 19, 2007

Yeah a Vandoren 2.5 is very hard for a beginner.

Do you guys have lungs as strong as your hands too?

I've been playing just over two years and a Vandoren 2.5 is a nice strength for me. when I first started a rico 2 (Vandoren 1.5) was about the equivalent effort to blow.

I think Bob's bang on the nail there.