After I play for a couple of hours or so, I discover that I have a numb right-hand little finger, right a the tip. I think this is because the middle of my finger goes through the finger ring thingy (dunno what it's called) and cuts off the supply? It does take a few hours to come back though...

Anyone else experienced things like this?

What instrument are you playing?

In any event it sounds as though you are pushing your little finger too far through the ring.
Your'e only supposed to support the instrument, not attack it!!!!

I get number little fingers (and sometime other fingers) when I play the flute. I know exactly the feeling, but don't know why it happens.

Flugelhorn.

Here's a picture of my playing position....

[edit - sorry I put the picture didn't work but now it has just come up]

It didnt work...then I changed it and it did!

Maybe you need to support more of the weight of the trumpet where it rests between your right thumb and first finger................................?

ITS NOT A TRUMPET but i'll let you off just this once

It is kind of supporting it there, but you can't see it from that picture... and with my left hand around the...valve casings (I think that's what they're called)....

Hi again
nice photo of your flugel horn!!

It looks to me as though you ARE pushing too much of your little finger through.
You should be supporting your instrument with your left hand.

You may also be pulling the instrument towards your mouth (and lips).ie using too much pressure.

I was always told by my former horn teacher and I now tell my pupils.....RELAX!!!

BTW are you having lessons with a brass teacher?
The fact that you are unsure of the names of parts of your instrument leads me to think you possibly aren't.

Oops sorry!

No, I'm not, I'm self taught! OK, so more support with the left hand, and relax.

Thankyou people!

This was discussed on the horn list recently. One of the suggestions was to put some plastic tubing over the finger ring (easy if it's a hook, as it often is on horns). I agree with mrmusic that you are probably using too much pressure: it's a long haul to find the lip control to get the high register by lateral tension rather than pressure, but well worth the effort, because of the extra stamina you get from it. To make the left hand do its fair share of the work, you could practise with the little finger out of the ring. You only need a ring if you are in a cavalry band.

Oddball,

Nice picture - how did you get the camera up your nose like that?

Although I'm not really a flugelhorn player I've just had a quick go on a borrowed one to get a feeling for the finger ring. It seems to be a pretty similar experience to that of a cornet and trumpet.

You might like to try resting your little finger on top of the finger ring instead. It could well be that you then find this quite comfortable and has a bit of a liberating effect on your right hand, perhaps even helping the movement of your 3rd valve finger as an added bonus.

Regards,

Mark.

OK, cool, I will try that now....

I used to get exactly the same when I first switched to playing the soprano cornet, and the end of my little finger seemed to be permenantly numb but it's stopped now. , although the skin where my finger touches the ring has gone all hard and rough - not very nice really!