Excellent hand exerciser

[erick]

I just got a Handmaster Plus for my birthday. #It's a ball shaped device with elastic loops for your fingers so you can exercise your hand on both the squeeze and release of your grip. #Pretty cool device, especially as it resists your fingers as you try to open them. #It's been helpful for me in dealing with wrist and joint #stresses from too much time on the computer. #I think they're around $25.

Here's a picture. #BTW I have no financial interest in the company..

[mad dawg]

That's pretty cool -- I could have used one when I was recovering from hand surgery; instead, I ended up using a silly putty-like substance, plus an 8-string hand exerciser tuned GDAE. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[jjboone101]

Cool! Can you get them online?

[TeleMark]

Here's a variation on it...

Metolius hand exerciser (http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=47549367&parent_category_rn=40000052&vcat=REI_SEARCH)

TeleMark

[Pete Martin]

Unless you have a weak hands (like mad dawg when recovering from surgery), players don't need stronger hands. Usually, one needs to learn to play with LESS force. Push down only enough with the left hand to make a clean sound, not any harder. If you train yourself not to use too much muscle force you will be able to play faster and cleaner.

I used to squeeze tennis balls to strengthen my hands. All it did was make me use more muscle force when playing. It wasn't until I learned to relax that I got faster and more fluid.

[wdrysd]

Can you tell us exactly how you learned to relax?
Thanks - W Drysdale

[siren_20]

Hey all...
About 2 years ago I was diagnosed with tendonitis and carpal tunnel (both acute). #The cause was that I was playing too hard and under too much stress in the band I was in. #Through very limited use of a device similar to the ones described in this thread (specifically, the rubber device that makes you do work on the muscles opposite the ones that do the work fretting), chiropractor visits, and rest, I was able to make a pretty much full recovery. #We're talking completely debilitating here...I wasn't able to feel my hands when I woke up in the morning, and I couldn't even fret one note on a classical guitar.
As much as anyone else, I have a deep love of playing mandolin. #But I had one of those moments during my bout with this disorder where I had to face facts: "There is a serious possibility that you could COMPLETELY LOSE YOUR ABILITY TO PLAY THIS INSTRUMENT" So I made the decision, hard as it was, to stop playing for a few weeks.
The bottom line is that there is something called pushing yourself too hard. #The muscles that are worked by squeezing the ball get plenty of exercise just by playing. #If you play a lot, a workout of the antagonistic muscles with the rubber goody might be a good idea in careful moderation. #
I may be echoing Pete's sentiments here to some degree, but I would urge you all not to just blindly go out and start pumping rubber balls thinking it's going to make you play better/harder/faster. #That's only acquired with time behind the instrument, and as Pete said, developing a certain sense of pressure sensitivity in the left hand. #
I'm not trying to anger anyone here, I'm just very concerned that the attitude/approach to this topic in the first few posts could result in some folks getting hurt. #These devices certainly have value in physical thereapy and recovery...like I said, I used one. #Losing the ability to play was more painful than the tendons in my hands and wrists and it's something that I would wish on no one. (Yeah, I know you're thinking it: 'except for banjo players')
What does help everyone is a periodic stretch. I have some stretching exercises that my chiro advised me to try that have helped immensley. Let me know if you're interested and I'll post them.
And, as Sam Bush says, "If it hurts, just stop!"

[otterly2k]

Siren-
My partner has had problems with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome to the point where they were recommending immediate surgery. In the process of investigating and seeking therapeutic alternatives, she was told something much like what you said. One of the prices for our having developed opposable thumbs is that we OVER-use the muscles that contract the fingers and grip things. (in almost everything we do with our hands) And we UNDER-use those opposing muscles. They gave her exercises and stretches to do with rubberbands (much like the black bands on this ball) that involve exercising the muscles that spread the fingers out...and it helped tremendously!

So I want to echo what you said about the rush to increase grip strength, and also comments of others re: the value of a lighter touch ... for clearer, faster playing and fewer risks to one's hands.

KE

[Tom C]

Finger muscles are important. But the muscles that need building are the ones that help you move your fingers independently of one another. Try the B part of Jubilee or B part of Blackberry Rag (not blossom)for examples of this.

[Luthier Vandross]

Ouch. Please don't hurt yourself with that thing. Use lighter strings, play lighter. Use taller frets, play lighter.

You need dexterity, have you ever seen a guy who could dead-lift 500lbs, and run?

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

M

[Pete Martin]

One great way to learn to relax is to play very slowly just barely touching the strings with the left hand. Just bring the finger in contact with the string, not any more pressure. You won't get a clear note, but you will teach yourself to relax (the whole point). After doing this very slowly for a week, ad just enough down pressure to get a "buzzy" note, still not clear. Do this very slowly for a week. Then just a slight bit more down pressure, you'll get a very clear note with little left hand effort. You must practice this regularly to make it a part of your playing.

Unless your action is too high. If it is, lower it!!

[Dolamon]

Pete's advise above is spot on!

To be honest, I thought I was the only one doing that. With several instruments with varying scale lengths, I get tangled up when I change instruments ... unless I "airplay" a few tunes or scales without using my right hand. It seems if I watch the left hand for a few moments when I am running a scale or figuring out fingering, the muscle memory is enhanced. That's for me anyway ...

As a survivor of two crushed wrists (two different incidents) one thing is seldom ever discussed on the Cafe' regarding the difference between individual finger strength and finger agility. For the pinky, a curious fact occurs ... it generally has a shorter tendon (relative length) than the other fingers. So ... just stretching and teaching that finger to work independantly from the ring finger can be a slow, but positive, leap forward. One exercise I came up with doesn't need a mandolin - just your steering wheel when your driving.

Holding the wheel at about a ten o'clock position ... try drumming with all the fingers then just work the ring and pinky for a few seconds / minutes. It amazed me how tiring it was to do it - at first. Keep at it for a few minutes at a time and then try it with the hand further down the wheel towards seven or eight o'clock position. A few minutes a day for a week / month or so will really make a difference.

The beauty of it - it's cheap and you can do it when running a few erands.

[Lee]

Amazon has these for just $9.00.
(No financial interest...)