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Miguel de Maria -> RE: The gift of pain (Feb. 29 2012 4:29:55)
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Todd,
I just came here and found this post of yours, because a friend who had wanted to take lessons with you told me you had hurt your hand. My reply to him was, "He was probably overdoing the picado, right?" :(
Back when I was accumulating my impressive post-count here, I was practicing picado anywhere from 2-4 hours a day. Actually, what I was doing was playing the lines from Panaderos Flamencos over and over again with a metronome, always trying to go higher and higher. I used a lot of ibuprofen during this time. My wife had bought one of those giant ibuprofen bottles from Costco and was shocked one time to find it empty!
I managed to get a nasty case of tendinitis in the m finger. Because I was already getting a lot of gigs, this became a serious problem. My solution was to refinger all my pieces to avoid m nearly completely and use a, instead. Did you know you can play Recuerdos del Alhambra without your middle finger? The middle joint of that finger was visibly enlarged and it always hurt. At the time, we were getting our house ready to sell, and every bit of handiwork I did exacerbated the problem. Although I was able to play my music without the middle finger, that joint never really got better, as its sympathetic movement did not allow it to properly rest.
You are already scared, I am sure, but let me tell you about a local rumbero here, who is my age. He was known for playing very hard, and I may have related the story on the foro about his borrowing my Vicente Carrillo and managing to break a string in only one song, right before I was supposed to go on for a little concert! In any case, years later, he has had 7 surgeries on his right hand due to tendinitis and related problems. He had trigger finger and the fingers would get stuck sometimes while playing, too.
As for me, my tendinitis went away after I stopped practicing picado. I have been studying classical the last several years, and it has been easier on my hands. Part of it has been a significant de-emphasis on trying to acquire virtuosic technique. It's hard to do that in flamenco, when nearly every cut has someone ripping out brilliant, scintillating picado runs, which acts as a siren-song to many of us guitarists. Classical guitarists get plenty of hand injuries too, though--I know two local gigging CGers who have had major, permanent damage--tremolo might be the main culprit!
Todd, it sounds like have been scared straight and are taking the necessary precautions to stop damaging yourself and getting healed. If you put the same dedication and energy into getting at the root of the problem and solving it, I have no doubt you will solve it. I wish you the best and--can you believe that someone, a very good guitarist himself, told me he thought you were the best guitarist in the world? Our little Todd! :) Get well soon!!!
PS: A brand new Shelton-Farretta guitar showed up on my doorstep a couple of weeks ago. I have to admit my hands are a little sore... I better be careful!
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