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Comment |
lesacre
Registered User
Posts: 1
(7/24/01 9:32:11 pm)
Reply
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beginner--collapsing fingers
Hello,
I'm so thrilled to be posting to cello chat. I've
wanted to play the cello for years (I'm a flutist and pianist), and
just got an instrument this summer. I've been practicing hard and
making progress, but I'm having difficulties with my fingers
collapsing. My impression is that the fingers are to be maintained
in a curved shape at all times. I am having the greatest problem
with my little finger, as the joint closest to the knuckle (proximal
interphalangeal, or PIP!) flattens when i apply pressure. Is this a
problem? I can't seem to avoid it when I attempt vibrato on a 4th
finger note.
My teacher is out of town, so I was just hoping
to get some guidance on how hard I should try to keep my fingers
curved, and perhaps what exercises might help.
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zambocello
Registered User
Posts: 678
(7/25/01 12:24:19 am)
Reply
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Curved fingers
good; caved-in fingers bad.
It just takes time, patience, and concientious practicing to train
those digits. Perhaps you can transfer some of your piano
understanding, if not muscle memory. Curved fingers are needed on
the cello for some of the same reasons they are on piano.
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Paul
Tseng ICS Staff 
Administrator
Posts: 1455
(7/25/01 1:33:10 pm)
Reply
 |
Re:
beginner--collapsing fingers
Hey, my 4th finger pip flattens when I play vibrato too!
I
would advise you to try watching some really good cellists play
(like Rostropovich, Yo Yo Ma, etc.) and observe their hands. There
is no absolute way to play except the way that gives you the best
results. That said, you can't really know unless you've thoughtfully
tried many different methods and know what their benefits and
disadvantages are.
Don't obsess with making your fingers
curved (or flat) just make sure you hands are relaxed and balanced
and evenly distributed over the fingerboard. Keep nice straight
lines from your elbow to the middle joint of your left hand. Do it
all naturally, don't force it. Use the weight of your arm to hold
the string, don't choke the fingerboard.
Have fun
experimenting until your teacher gets back! 
Paul Tseng
My Website
Free Cello
Music!
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Liz
Schneider
Registered
User
Posts: 26
(7/26/01 10:25:36
pm)
Reply
|
re collapsing
joints
Joints that collapse are just put together differently, and the
musculature isn't there to build (muscles connect lower down inside
the hand). The ends of the bones are more rounded in some fingers,
and the ligaments vary in degrees of tightness or thickness. So I'd
control what I could in terms of healthy alignments and motions,
general strength and not worry about appearances. Paul is right:
there's no absolute way, and besides, there should be variety
between different positions, to alter the tone, and to vibrato.
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Liz
Schneider
Registered
User
Posts: 27
(7/26/01 10:31:37
pm)
Reply
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1 more
thing
Neither are curved fingers an absolute in piano. As soon as you get
to the repertoire requiring a majority of black keys and lots of
soft, rapid passagework effects (Chopin, Ravel, Rachmaninoff), you
really have to rethink some of the techniques used earlier on
(earlier both in terms of piano study and historically in the
keyboard repertoire).
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JacquiOfStars
Registered User
Posts: 8
(7/26/01 10:53:35 pm)
Reply
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do de do
i agree with paul, my pinky does the same thing. i think it must be
double jointed or something because i can bend that last joint both
the same amount both ways and i can't bend the whole finger back at
all without having the joint collapse in. weird huh. so its all
good! that's so great that you can play flute, piano, and cello,
lesacre! ever since i started playing cello my piano skills have
been deteriorating at an exponential rate. aiY!
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