thumb rest

[allansto]

Hi All ....
Happy new year.
I would just like to share a little pain relief.
I had been using my tenor for about 2 years or more and was getting a lot of thumb pain in my RH rest thumb.
A fellow musician suggested I simply take the rest off .
So I did and Im not going back.
Sure I transferred some weight over to my neck strap but I don't mind at all as my thumb is now pain free.
Regards
Allansto

 

[gtriever]

Interesting. I would have tried adjusting the neckstrap just a hair first, to take some pressure off the thumb.

 

[Colin the Bear]

The thumb rest is a place to rest your thumb. An anchor or reference point. There should be little or no weight on it. Exeption being when doing a Bill Haley show off solo. Let the sax hang on the strap and adjust the crook and mouthpiece so you can blow a C# with no hands. Play it there. Having said that, the thumb rest on some instruments is in the wrong place for some hands. If it works for you without, no problem.

 

[Chris]

+1 to ^^^^^^ Colins answer..

Happy New Year🙂

Chris..

 

[allansto]

Oh don't worry.......... I tried many positions of the rest and neckstrap before I took it off ......but it aint never goin back on again

 

[jbtsax]

If you don't mind my asking, where do you place your thumb?

 

[Chris]

Curious as to how you know just where all the right hand keys are with no fixed thumb position for reference.

 

[Colin the Bear]

They're in the same place

 

[Saxdiva]

I'm intrigued too. I had awful thumb pain when I started playing until I realised I was taking weight on my thumb, which is not supposed to be the case I was told. When I stopped the pain stopped.

The fact that you say taking it off has transferred some weight to the neck strap suggests that you were taking weight on yours too. Otherwise the weight on the neck would be unchanged.

If your thumb is in the right position, it shouldn't matter if the thumb rest is there or not from a comfort perspective. It serves just as a consistent place to keep your position. If you use it to push forward, rather than up, it helps keep the mouthpiece at the right angle.

 

[taiwanpaul]

Have been doing the same on my soprano for a long time now. I also will never go back!! Can now put my thumb where it feels best and can play all side keys with no problems. Have to use a sling, but no problems with that.

 

[allansto]

heres the way I see it
Everyones hands are different and most saxes have some adjustment in the thumb rest.
but I was never happy with where my thumb rest sat or allowed adjustment to.
This idea may not be for everyone,
all Im saying is..... if you get thumb pain and cant seem to overcome the problem any other way then try taking the thumb rest off....It works for me.
I find the keys no problem .
In fact possibly easier as im not restricted with where my hand can go or my stubby little fingers can reach.
My thumb sits against the pad where the thumbrest bolts to.
Allansto