Bending Third Finger Knuckle?

[Suzie Q]

I have a hard time keeping my knuckle on the third finger bent when playing, in order to have correct hand position. For example, when playing ascending triads, it starts out bent, but when I switch positions, it straightens out.

One thing I have attributed to this is that this finger must be “double jointed.” My teacher recommended I only bend the second knuckle on this finger when I play, rather than the two, so its a straight shape, rather than a rounded one. However, I tried doing this and my finger remained bent, but the first knuckle was bent almost backwards when I tried to keep it straight, because of the force from the string when I placed. This was quite uncomfortable, so I can’t keep practicing like this.

Do you have any tips on keeping the fingers bent correctly when playing?

[Suzie Q]

Thank you! Those tips seem like they may help me. I’ll go try them out.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

This is specific to your hand position and strength. Only a teacher can help you fix it. Your description isn’t clear. Your fingers should be rounded when playing, generally speaking. It is a strength issue. If you poke it from underneath with a chopstick or knitting needle, the joint will quickly get used to playing in the right position. It is possible that you are not in the right position and it is making it worse. You can do exercises to increase your grip strength. You may have your fingertip too high on the string relative to your other fingers and that is forcing the knuckle to misbehave. If you are learning anything like Salzedo technique, re-read the Method and study the photos closely.

[Author]

Posts