Hi Robert,<br><br>I think I was the one who mentioned that to you at Kansas City last year. Are you from the Boston area?<br><br>Anyway, we had a discussion on Pianotech, so you could check the archives. I found the following by doing a search for "hammer shank stability" (without the quotes).
<br><br>That seemed to help me, but what I found was that regular exercise also helped lessen my elbow problems. I do simple bodyweight exercises like squats and pushups (a la Matt Furey's Combat Conditioning program) for general body health. Also, doing bicep curls and tricep presses with a 20 lb. dumbbell seems to help tremendously. I think it's probably because of the different range of motions that we don't get from pounding a piano all day. It seemed like my arm was getting "locked" into a certain position and just doing test blows. Not so good for overall arm health.
<br><br>You might also find trigger point therapy will help. You can do that yourself. I think there might even be a publication by PTG on that topic, but another one is by Bonnie Prudden. Really easy to learn and quite helpful.
<br><br>Also very helpful has been gently stretching the wrist upward and downward (using the other hand to apply pressure). You keep your fingers straight out and also keep your elbow locked in an extended position. Then pull the fingers back toward you, (palm away from you) feeling those forearm muscles stretching and getting looser. Go the other direction by curling the wrist so that the palm is facing you, again applying some pressure with your other hand. (Or, you can do this stretching using something soft like a chair or mattress.) I do this while driving between appointments. It's great.
<br><br>It's also possible to tune without massive test blows and still get as stable a tuning. It's a matter of "feeling" where the string is as you manipulate the lever.<br><br>JF<br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">
On 3/18/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Robert Finley</b> <<a href="mailto:rfinley@rcn.com">rfinley@rcn.com</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff">
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Since July of last year I have been suffering from
lateral epicondylitis in my left arm, or tennis elbow. I am not sure if I got
this by practicing the piano, tuning pianos, lifting a heavy suitcase, playing
golf or what. I have had a couple of cortisone injections and physical therapy
sessions, and now the problem has almost disappeared. After this problem
started, I had to severely cut back on my piano tunings because it was painful
when I had to hit the keys firmly with the fingers of my left hand to
settle the strings. I recently tuned a piano and tried to hit the key with my
right hand, then hold the key down with my left finger while I turned
the tuning hammer with my right hand. It took longer but I was able to tune the
piano, and it reduced the amount of pain I had in my left arm. The last thing I
want to happen is to aggravate my arm and for this problem to come back, and
then to eventually need surgery. I have heard that surgery is not always
successful and can lead to permanent irreversible damage. It's a very scary
thought since I am a concert pianist and teacher as well. </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">I have heard that some piano technicians use a
technique where they hit the key with a smaller amount of force and gently push
the string with a small rod or tool to equalize the tension along the speaking
length. This avoids the need to hit the key firmly and achieves the same effect,
whilst reducing the chance of getting tendonitis and tinnitus (due to high sound
levels that might cause hearing loss unless ear plugs are used). </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">My question is, has anyone used this and how
successful is it? Do you push the string downwards or horizontally inwards? Does
it matter? Is this done after the key had been struck? What is the sequence of
actions to use? How long would you expect to complete a piano tuning using this
technique? </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Thank you for your help. </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Robert Finley</font></div></div>
</blockquote></div><br>