[PorkpieHat]

Recently started developing wrist pain (I already have chronic wrist issues due to numerous bicycle accidents) and I realized I was bending my wrist to play the left hand pinky table. Particularly the low C# on tenor. I shifted the horn to the right but it still happens. Only way I've found to fix the issue is to play the left hand keys on a slant angle and move my left elbow outward to keep the wrist straight when playing the bottom notes.

Any advice on this? I'm sure I'm not the first to experience such on this horn.

 

[Dr G]

If the horn doesn’t fit, you must acquit!

Oh, wait, different times...

But yeah, if the horn doesn’t work for you due to its layout, you might benefit from a different horn.

 

[jazzbluescat]

Recently started developing wrist pain (I already have chronic wrist issues due to numerous bicycle accidents) and I realized I was bending my wrist to play the left hand pinky table. Particularly the low C# on tenor. I shifted the horn to the right but it still happens. Only way I've found to fix the issue is to play the left hand keys on a slant angle and move my left elbow outward to keep the wrist straight when playing the bottom notes.

Any advice on this? I'm sure I'm not the first to experience such on this horn.

Get a SELMER MKVI.

It's adjustable righthand thumb hook might put you in a more comfortable playing position.

 

[sandster]

I'm having similar problems. Thinking of asking my tech to bend some fingerings so I don't have to stretch so far. Also might have the lower pad springs softened up some. My arthritic (left, dammit) wrist is swollen from over use. Been wearing copper bracelets with magnets for about a year and taking magnesium pills daily plus soaking in epsom salt baths. I think I'll have to watch very carefully what I'm using that hand for and switch occasionally when lifting pots and etc.

 

[Arundo Donax]

Although I don't have wrist injuries, the left pinky table and C# in particular is difficult on my Yamaha tenor and just about every other sax I've tried.

I think the C#, B part of the pinky table cluster is a poor design. It was probably designed for the same spidermonkeys that play guitar.

 

[sandster]

Although I don't have wrist injuries, the left pinky table and C# in particular is difficult on my Yamaha tenor and just about every other sax I've tried.

I think the C#, B part of the pinky table cluster is a poor design. It was probably designed for the same spidermonkeys that play guitar.

Good one!

 

[oddchance]

I've had wrist issues on and off since I started playing my "The Martin" tenor mostly for about the last five years. I'm an old computer nerd and I think my issues originally stemmed from typing - but for a while I was playing two to three hours a night. But the tone holes seem to be more inline than offset. My alto mark vi is way more comfortable.

A few things helped. I angled the horn more across the body to straighten out the wrist which you noted. Next thing I did was push the bottom of the horn forward and backward til I found something else that seemed to make a difference. I've even tried rotating the neck just slightly (fraction of a milimeter) to change some things for my wrist. I now move things around a bit during the course of the practice session or gig which also seems to help.

I now warm up earlier in the day for a twenty minutes or so and do multiple practice sessions throughout the day instead of all at once.

Then I stumbled on something that I would never have thought of but I was experimenting with sound. I have a couple of mouthpieces that are more closed than I would normally use. One is an old C* and the other is a Runyon (of all things...). What I discovered was that playing either allowed me to relax with my chops and that somehow translated to relaxing more with my fingers, hands and wrists and overall freed up my playing. I had less pain. Weird but that's my experience. The more open mouthpieces - some of which I still play don't cause the same effect. Maybe they could if I could get myself to not hold the mouthpiece with the death grip I used to. When I started playing everything was Larry Teal but I'm basically self taught after a couple of years. I had read recently some things that Phil Barone had graciously posted regarding Joe Allard and a whole bunch of other useful ideas. I'm going to dig into that more now. The embouchure ideas are particularly interesting.

I did think for a while that my saxophone playing was over unless I submitted to the work of a surgeon - not exactly my first choice.

Sorry for the rambling.

 

[PorkpieHat]

So an update...

I repositioned the horn to the hip, left hand is on a slight angle to keep wrist straight and I raise the left arm slightly when playing C#. This avoids having to angle the wrist downward to reach the pinky table.