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Tendinitis comes from inflammation and playing while very tense. I have seen tense players in many schools of technique. It has a lot to do with both personality and genetic susceptibility, and underlying health problems. Muscle weakness can be a factor in a student applying the wrong kind of pressure. There is no rigid 5th finger in any technique I know of. Doctors rarely understand the processes of playing, in my experience.
I would say the student needs a break, to let the tendon sheaths calm down with rest, stretching, and medication, then she needs to build her upper body strength with careful exercise, then resume playing in a calm fashion, with good posture and a sense of relaxation. She should also have thorough examinations to exclude conditions such as fibromyalgia.
I tell my students to relax their fingers as they leave the strings, to release the pressure as they play. Tendinitis is also something that flares up from time to time, but is not a permanent condition. If your student really wants to know what condition she is in, she should have an ultrasound radiologist examine her soft tissue to pinpoint the trouble spots.
My fingertips are so smashed that the bone has ground down to just a nub above the knuckle, hence I have a very fleshy tone!
But seriously, I think you grossly misinterpret harp technique. I see no technical difference between genders, only how it is used. It seems like more women have longer and thinner fingers that may lead to greater facility, or those are the ones who more visible. Small hands aren’t particularly helpful in playing the harp. Big hands with big fingers lead to plush tone, which I have observed in men and women.
My hands are the same size as Miss Lawrence’s were, but her fingers were longer and her palm smaller, my palm is bigger, but fingers not as long. We had the same reach at the time.
The technique that is most conducive to developing tendinitis is the one that allows playing with a lot of tension, with I think excessive wrist motion, rigid posture and restricted movement, clenching fingers not being used while playing with the others, and over-practicing. That kind of technique occurs in any schooling.
I do think men, or harpists with “man-sized” hands have the strongest tone, usually, unless one smaller strives for it. Marilyn Costello had bigger hands than mine, as I remember, and Zighera and Salzedo both had big, big hands.
As for the best technique for a female, Miss Lawrence used to say, “you have to be able to play like a man”, a still-legitimate comment as in ensembles you must be able to blend and balance with strong players, male or female. A strictly “feminine” approach to interpretation does not serve the music well. Nor strictly “masculine” either. One must have both. Perhaps the age of tyrant conductors is past, but it could return, and you need to be tough to endure them.
I will say that too much flesh on the string both inhibits facility and produces a tone I would call dull, less colorful and clear with less definition, in my opinion. But that is like putting the string in the middle of one’s finger.
What a horrible idea, Carl. Let’s not get people thinking it should be so! It might be simpler to videotape one’s lessons, then you can study them, and have whatever protection is needed.
I think it depends on the age of the student, and the extent of the parent’s involvement. If there are behavior or communication problems, they may help by being there.
If the student is dependent on the parent for help, that becomes a problem. If the parent is over-involved, it becomes a problem. A teen should be able to take a lesson alone, and use the teacher’s notes and their own to practice from. They need privacy, or I certainly did for practicing. Teaching how to practice in the lesson is the main thing. I have thought about asking students to record their practice for me to listen to. I think it would work. I know that when I was at Tanglewood, and Miss Lawrence would come down and check on us, we all practiced perfectly!!!
I just saw him yesterday. He looked a little worn out from helping me run the festival, but otherwise fine.
I recommend reading the History of Orchestration by Adam Carse, which tells when and how the harp (re) entered orchestras. In Berlioz’s Memoirs, he describes his frustration with the lack of harps and/or harpists in Germany. It would be relevant to know if French conductors placed harps differently than Germans, who like to stick us as far back as possible (so as not to be bothered, I think). It seems to me I’ve seen old photos of the Conservatoire Concerts orchestra with the harps to the side, maybe.
The conception of the harp you describe, Tony, to me is a strictly Germanic view which has dominated classical music for 150 years or so. Stokowski, well-known to have the best ears of any conductor, mostly placed the harps at his right, between the cellos and basses and the audience. It depends a lot on the acoustics of the hall and how much the conductor likes the harp.
Whew. Another one done. Bigger and better than ever. The Philadelphia Harpestra Harp Quartet was a big hit!
It’s funny, because in the performance I was thinking of, the first harpist was watching the second harpist like a hawk!
A good old-fashioned pharmacist can sometimes give excellent advice, and for free. Aspirin and tylenol can reduce inflammation. Careful stretching. Liniment. Warmth. Hopefully their will be medical insurance for you soon. Massage it gently as often as possible. I have had bursitis in both shoulders, which is fluid collecting due to inflammation. It took a long time to heal.
You are very fortunate not to have access to P.T. based on my experiences with them. It sounds like you still have inflammation there, pressing the nerve. I would concentrate on reducing the inflammation as much as possible. Nerves take months to heal, so it may have stopped being injured two months ago but hasn’t finished healing yet. Swimming in warm water is good if you are gentle in movement. The only way you can really know what is going on in there is if you can see an ultrasound radiologist who will look at your soft tissue via the ultrasound. They can inject cortisone into the exact place of swelling or fluid using the ultrasound as a guide. They do this Thomas Jefferson University. It is a rather new procedure, and IT WORKS. Safely. I wouldn’t recommend playing until you can move the arm, then you need to rebuild strength carefully. Maybe acupuncture would help.
http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music.singleplaylist&friendid=170582967
If this will work, it links to my performance of (“Flight”) by Carlos Salzedo at the 2008 Festival.
