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Gosh, Andrew, thanks for the plug. It's not gonna change your test
scores, y'know! <G><br><br>
Matthew,<br>
After almost 30 years, I finally got around to making a
bonker. I've made several, and a few are "out there" being
tested. Our good friend Fred Yonley has started advertising one in the
classifieds, I noticed. <br><br>
I'm sold. In my case, it wasn't so much the wrist as the fingers. The
bonker eliminates that problem. My massage therapist has noticed quite an
improvement, also.<br><br>
My favorite bonker is about the size of tall pistol grip, has a strap for
around the back of the hand (to allow for interval playing without
setting down and piking up), and a chunk of hammer felt about 3/8"
tall by 3/8" wide by 1" long. I try to hold it at an angle that
is most "natural" to my forearm. I can just grip, or use my
thumb on top. I don't have to pound as much, because the tool allows for
one "heavy" bonk in the set of strikes, as opposed to several
"hard" strikes with the fingers. The whole subject of bonker
technique, pro-and-con, etc., is for another time.<br><br>
The weight-lifting section of anywhere (except the evil Wal-Mart) has
gloves with wrist straps. Consider these for many activities besides
tuning.<br><br>
Strengthen your forearms. Flexors and extensors can be beefed-up easily,
minutes a day. Strength really matters. Those tuners with dainty arms and
great technique will argue that, and I respect their position. Strong
arms aren't mandatory, I just know that good muscle tone in the arms,
lats, and shoulders reduces fatigue, increases control, and speeds-up my
tuning. I can almost guarantee that if you spend 10 minutes a day, every
other day, strength training your forearms, you will notice a difference
in just 10 days. After three weeks, I bet you can see it on the clock.
(yeahyeahyeah..... all youse guys that know that my forearms are as big
as your thighs..... ease up!<G>)<br><br>
Massage is another key, I believe, and I highly recommend regular
sessions. It's every two weeks for me.<br><br>
Mr. Davies' series on trigger-point self massage was one of the best
series to ever hit the Journal. <br><br>
During prep for the NAMM show, it was interesting to watch other tuners.
Lots of different techniques, including several "Karate chop"
styles. Oh, my aching pinky! A couple of super soft, but mainly good hard
test blows.<br><br>
Off to work,<br>
Guy<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
At 08:13 AM 2/1/2005 -0700, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Matthew,<br>
Guy Nichols made a wood, buckskin strap & hammer felt contraption
that he holds in his hand (fist) and plays the keys that way. Ask
him for a picture. Another individual made one that will play
octaves horizontally or a single note vertically, I believe that was in
the journal some months back.<br><br>
Andrew<br>
At 08:38 PM 1/31/2005 -0500, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="arial" size=2>Dear
List,</font><br>
<br>
<font face="arial" size=2>I am contemplating getting some type of support
brace for my pounding hand and was wondering what any of you 4-5
tunings-a-day people use to reduce wear and tear on your
hand(s).</font><br>
<br>
<font face="arial" size=2>One way I've been able to reduce pounding
damage is by learning to tune with my opposite hand: not only does it
reduce stress on my limbs but it also increases my tuning speed so that I
don't have to shift position at either end of a grand; I just switch
hands if I need to. I've also gotten a more ergonomic tuning
lever.</font><br>
<br>
<font face="arial" size=2>Even by doing that I still feel discomfort in
my hands, especially after a heavy day of tuning. If anyone has any
suggestions, a brand name to try or if it's better to see a specialist
about this sort of thing, I eagerly await your post.</font><br>
<br>
<font face="arial" size=2>Matthew Lavender</font><br>
<br>
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