<html> At 04:59 PM 12/26/2004 -0600, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Guy,   Not only can one "tucker" out, tendonitis can occur!  Even though I would tell myself I was only playing a keyboard, the musician in me would automatically try to get that keyboard to react like a piano.  I remember playing for an event and thinking, "Well, at least in this section I can settle for playing softly,"  and then the sound man took over and bumped up my volume.  So much for expression!    :-)    Barbara Richmond</blockquote> Barbara,    Tendonitus can occur with pianos, also. Improper posture and overly heavy touchweight will getcha! With keyboards, a complaint I have heard more often is about joint pain. Especially in the last finger segment . Many (not all) keyboards have short keys and a very firm front punching. The worst part, I believe, comes from keyboard actions that have a very high "upweight" (ie: springs only). When the upweight is equal or almost equal to the downweight, there is a "following" feeling that can make the action seem fast, but also creates a struggle for players that are used to "standard" ratios of down and up, along with the tendency for players to attempt damper control in mainly legato passages. Could be almost subconscious with a piano, but you really have to concentrate to get the control out of a keyboard. Assuming, of course, the keyboard has ANY damper modeling other than on/off. The "following" that is achieved with the newer super-low friction actions is a different beast, in that it is still associated with the lever of the key and the hammer weight. A true balancing act. With a spring-loaded short key, the arc is different, and the finger doesn't have control of a beam as much as it is just fighting the pushing up of the spring. There's no "bounce-ability", even with the so-called keyboard hammer actions. Tiring, for sure. Kinda like playing a no-friction 50 year old spinet where dip and let-off are both about 1/2", and the  front rail is woolcrete. Then again, what I would have given to have one of these new keyboards back when I was toting a Rhodes and a Hammond (with Leslie) and assorted other keyboards and amps! (no sympathy for the horn players) later, Guy Nichols, RPT <x-sigsep></x-sigsep> <x-tab>        </x-tab>             &nbs= p; "Not everything that counts can be counted,             &nbs= p;  and not everything that can be counted counts." <x-tab>        </x-tab><x-tab> =        </x-tab><x-tab>   &= nbsp;    </x-tab><x-tab>     &n= bsp;  </x-tab>        &nbs= p;            &n= bsp;    Albert Einstein </html>