Subject: Re: Carpal Tunnel and weighted keys Date: Sat, 16 Sep 1995 02:02:33 GMT Xref: crcnews.unl.edu rec.music.makers.piano:12920 rec.music.makers.synth:66598 : About a month ago I posted re: carpal tunnel. Well, it seems... : Do weighted keys make a difference? I have a synth ... : ... A friend : mentioned that weighted keys may be better for the wrists. If so, I will : buy a weighted key controller, but I'd like a little advice first. I had problems switching piano to organ- the opposite of what I expected, since less force is required. Probably the more you use the whole arm (and body, for that matter) instead of working from the fingers, the better off you will be, and it seems like weighted action would encourage this. Good luck!!! Richard Mix Subject: Re: Carpal Tunnel and weighted keys Date: 16 Sep 1995 03:45:03 GMT Organization: General Magic, Inc. alevin> budget was not com- patible, I went with a synth) that does alevin> NOT have weighted keys. A friend mentioned that weighted keys alevin> may be better for the wrists. If so, I will buy a weighted alevin> key controller, but I'd like a little advice first. As someone who's fought with RSI for a couple of years, I think your friend is correct. Anything that helps you build muscle and stamina in your hands and fingers is going to be a *good* thing. -- Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.piano,rec.music.makers.synth Subject: Re: Carpal Tunnel and weighted keys Date: 16 Sep 1995 18:18:06 GMT >Do weighted keys make a difference? I have a synth (I wanted more than >just piano, and I love baby grands, but since my budget was not com- >patible, I went with a synth) that does NOT have weighted keys. A friend >mentioned that weighted keys may be better for the wrists. If so, I will >buy a weighted key controller, but I'd like a little advice first. >Any help would be greatly appreciated, as my doc didn't know too much given that typing rsi's INCREASED with the advent of electronic, easy- touch keys (vs typewriters), you may have a point there. In any event learning to use the whole upper body instead of just wrist/fingers to play is important. Subject: Re: Carpal Tunnel and weighted keys Date: 18 Sep 1995 14:27:29 GMT [lost attrib -- sorry] : >As someone who's fought with RSI for a couple of years, I think your : >friend is correct. Anything that helps you build muscle and stamina : >in your hands and fingers is going to be a *good* thing. : I was playing acoustic piano, synth-action synth and pipe organ. I suffer : from RSI. During my therapy one of the things that was stressed was that : playing different *types* of keyboard actions was bad. I moved from the : synth-action to weighted-action (O1/WproX) in my studio, so that it would be : close to piano action. I play as gently as possible and use velocity from : WinCake to compensate musically. I've kept playing for 3 years past being : told to *stop* playing. Playing the keys lightly and keeping the wrists and : forearm in alignment and not raising your shoulders etc., are ( at least for : me ) *very* important factors. BTW, one side-benefit I discovered is that I : can play the 88-weighted keys more musically than the 61-synth actions keys. : Your milage may be different! Well, thanks to all who responded. As far as the email, Mitchell and Martha: I agree that it would seem as though a synth would be easier to play because you don't have to put as much effort into tapping the keys. However, I think the point my friend was making was that the lack of resistance is somewhat shocking, and this may not be good physically, whereas a softer feel (as with weighted keys) may require more effort but would be better as far as shock. I went ahead and picked up a Fatar 900 this weekend (the store has a money- back guarantee if it doesn't work out). The thing weighs a ton, but I love it. The feel of solid, weighted keys is fantastic. I was able to play without pain for longer than usual, so it looks good so far, but I need to use it more before I know a definite answer. Also, I have been told by many people that those chinese meditation balls are a Good Thing(tm), so I'll be picking up a set. Finally, I realize that one of my problems may very well be technique, so I am trying to get more info and I'm talking to some keyboardists/organists/ pianists near me. Thank you once again! -Adam Subject: Re: Carpal Tunnel and weighted keys Date: Wed, 20 Sep 1995 01:15:57 GMT >I wonder to what extent not feeling resistance contributes to a different >kind of physical stress. By analogy, if to point your mouse to a place >where there is not a lot of tolerance for error it takes a bit of nervous >effort to get it just to that place, and I have a sense that with a >little resistance it might be easier to position it. Could it be the >same with trying to produce the right sound volume by pressing a key that >offers no resistance? What are the anatomical mechanics involved? I think you're dead right. Which do we suppose would take more effort: a) playing a piano b) pretending to play a piano on thin air. In the second case, one's own muscles have to resist each other: one set has to oppose the other, playing the role of the piano's resistance. The instrument has to fight back physically so that "I", playing it, can be one. If it doesn't resist me, I have to devote some part of myself to supplying the missing resistance, so I'm spiritually and gymnastically in two places at once. This is particularly bothersome when I'm playing something expressively, a patch that makes good use of keystroke velocity. On an unweighted keyboard it's nearly impossible to gauge or control the velocity well. -- -- Regards web residence at http://world.std.com/~jamzen/ Subject: Piano vs. harpsichord technique Status: RO In response to the recent thread on heavy vs. light piano techniques, I would caution against making an automatic assumption that light is better. My own RSI problems started after lots of practice at the harpsichord, which has a much lighter touch than any piano could ever have. As a matter of fact, "lightness" can actually contribute to forearm tightening, if the player is not careful (which is what happened to me); the heavier touch of a piano, on the other hand, allows the player more leeway in terms of greater arm movement, thus preventing (somewhat) a rigidly fixed arm position.