Only got one hand!

[saxygirl]

Is there anything i can practice with just one hand? I shut my middle finger on my right hand in a car door and now its swollen to 5 times its normal size and has gone a funny shade of blue. I cant move it at all but I dont want to stop playing until the swelling goes down (in about four to six weeks.) I couldnt go without my alto for that long, I love it too much! Any ideas?

[singlereed]

Maybe work on tone and intonation in the high notes and palm key notes, play octaves up and down and match the pitch - maybe work with a tuner too? You could work on altissimo notes, many of the ones I use are left hand mostly, quite often the RH side keys are involved, but I imagine you can play those still?

You are right to keep playing, it will help your re-habilitation. I fell off a mountain bike a couple of years back and apart from the severe concussion and facial and jaw injuries, I had stitches the full width of my lower lip inside my mouth. Not conducive to sax playing but not two weeks later I was back at it, even though it hurt for months.

[disgruntleddave]

Sometimes when i am bored and playing the sax, I make up melodies with just one hand (the left for obvious reasons), usually in the high end. Is it safe and/or possible to use the index finger only on the right? cause then it opens up quite a bit more.

[saxygirl]

You could work on altissimo notes, many of the ones I use are left hand mostly, quite often the RH side keys are involved, but I imagine you can play those still?

Sometimes when i am bored and playing the sax, I make up melodies with just one hand (the left for obvious reasons), usually in the high end. Is it safe and/or possible to use the index finger only on the right? cause then it opens up quite a bit more.

Thanks for the help. Yes i can still use my index finger on my right hand and the side keys so Im not quite as limited and despairing as i was when i thought i wouldnt be able to play for weeks. The only reason my finger is like this is because i was trying to hold my sax, music, bag of shopping and trying to close the door. It was a choice between dropping my sax or shutting my hand in the door! Which would you have chosen?

[disgruntleddave]

well it depends. what kind of a sax do you have :p

if it was my old yas-23, well then its not a big deal. my mark 6? i dunno. id take the door. Ive taken big doors on fingers before (almost got one of em taken off by a dull heavy metal door once - well it only got half through) - anyways, i also use my feet a lot for stuff. il open doorknobs with em if i dont have any hands free. I have caught things with em too - most of the time i end up sort of stopping the thing then holding it against a wall or whatever to 'catch it' - so i may have gone by that rout.

good luck playing anyways lol

[saxygirl]

it a random french one, wasnt that expensive but its new and my first (and only) sax so i wanna take care of it. Thanks for all the help, you really cheered me up!

[averageschmoe]

well, apparently yamaha, david nabb, eugene rousseau, stelling brass & winds, and the university of nebraska department of vocational rehabilitation had presented a one handed saxophone at the world sax congress in minnesota... only costs about $25,000 to have one made... of course that may just be overkill for a relatively minor and temporary injury. :wink:

[Gordon (NZ)]

Is there anything i can practice with just one hand?

You still have three good right hand fingers, so using these you can move pinky to the D key, and play all notes except 4 low ones and Eb. It will be good brain exercise adapting to slightly different fingering. You would have to adapt anyway if you doubled on oboe.

[6stringsling]

Have you had your finger examined to ensure that it isn't broken? It probably isn't, but you never know. Just trying to prevent future pain and/or disability. Heal quickly!

[benjamin1979]

yeah. get heal quicker. cos a sax player need both hand plus mouth. i hope i can play piano well. :cry:

[saxygirl]

Woohoo! My fingers better!!! It still looks mangled but I can play sax again! Just as well, Ive got pieces to practice and scales to learn! Thanks for all the help.

[Lyle]

I once broke the fingers on both hands. I asked the doctor if I would be able to play the piano once they healed. He said, yes, of course. I answered, hey, thats great. I always wanted to play the piano! 8)

[Lyle]

Saxygirl

Glad to hear you are healed, and playing. :D