OK, a bit complex, but here goes:

My right wrist position, I think, is fine: Most of the time, at least, my middle finger is in line with the midline of my forearm and both are parallel to the keys. My left wrist, sometimes at least, is not - the fingers still line up with the keys but the wrist is angled so that a point somewhere between my thumb & forefinger is in line with the midline of my forearm. I think this may be a technical fault as it leads to discomfort/strain on the little-finger side of the left wrist joint after about 2 1/2 hours of playing. However, a lot of what I'm playing has the hands close together in the treble clef range and I can't really imagine any other way: If I were to have the left wrist lined up the same as the right wrist either the fingers would be at an angle to the keys (which seems wrong) or my left elbow would be somewhere inside my abdomen (which is impossible and even the attempt to get close would put strain on the shoulders!)

Is this really a technical error and if so what should/can I do about it? Should I aim to correct it now or get grade 8 in June/July out of the way first?

I will be asking my teacher about this when I next see her, but in the meantime all help gratefully received!

If you are getting pain after several hours practice it may well be because your are holding the LH at an unnatural angle. But you don't play with a fixed alignmetn of arm/wrist/fingers anyway - with either hand - or at least you should not be doing, and I doubt that you really are.

I can usually spot the precise cause of any practice pains by noticing exactly what I was playing when I felt the first twinges. It is usually some particular movement that is being done awkwardly - and revealed as stupidly so when it receives the full power of conscious attention.

The relationship of arm to fingers, via the wrist is constantly changing. The basic technique when playing sequences of single notes is to align the forearm with the active digit, so there is constant slight lateral movement of the arm as the fingers do their work. This applies both when you are using primarily finger action, and when you are adding arm weight. (If you are not already making these alignments you can use Hanon No. 1, hands separate, slowly, to develop it - so Hanon does have its uses).

Playing two notes simultanaeously the forearm aligns with the mid-pont between the active fingers.

As for the passages with both hands playing in the treble clef, you can reduce the strain a lot by sitting further back. The geometry is surprising. A very slight diference in sitting position can make a disporoprtionately big difference in hand/arm relationship. Leaning slightly to the right can also help bring the hands into more effective positions.

It should go without saying that you should vary your practice, and not spend too long doing one thing over and over - especially if it is K309 bars 61-66, 103-109 etc.

If the pain has some other cause I expect your teacher will diagnose it pretty quickly.

Cheers
Tom

Thankyou for replying Tom: I had hoped you would!

I had wondered about that (ignoring the old joke about playing quieter by sitting further away!) and I will try it.


This morning was the Bach P&F for about an hour each followed by about 1/2 an hour of the Mozart (Gershwin, scales and fun are for this evening!). I think the problem started in the Bach but I know what you mean about the Mozart. I assume you mean the fast semiquaver passage in the left hand on p 3 of K309. However, in my edition the bars you mention are mostly fairly innocuous: Odd that different editions should have different bars - how much else is different I wonder? Next time you're here bring your edition and we can compare!

(BTW - 116)