Ouch.
Percution in my case.
I got my lil Mexican drum (my first one hehe) yesterday and I already got a somewhat swallen hand - but I cant stop - I am addicted. And it already sounds quite good.
But folks - anybody know if this is normal or if I am just doing something wrong?
Any musical horror stories? (or tennis or wanking wrist stories?) grins
Jeez! No wanking stories, but I’ve had my share of percussion injuries. I have tendonitis in one of my wrists, and when I play maraccas or the “shaky egg” with our throw together band, I often get bad swelling and soreness. A day or two of rest helps a lot.
Try doing some stretches on your arm and wrist before playing (or wanking, if that’s a problem). Soaking in hot water seems to help with the swelling and Ibuprofin (make sure you aren’t allergic) is good for swelling, too.
I am a drummer and like all drummers I have injured myself many times. I have hit my thumb on many occasions as well as my nose. The best one however was when I was about 13 years old. I was wearing my glasses because my contacts were bothering me and sitting on my bed practicing my rudiments. I got a little over-zealous and hit myself in the face and immediatly everything went blurry! No eye damage though… I split my glasses right in two and they fell off my nose! Needless to say my mother was not very happy with me.
I also have had some wrist problems which were aggravated by playing but I don’t know of many people who GET wrist problems from playing though I suppose it is completely possible.
I play bass guitar (more like used to), and played in a few bands in college. During one intense afternoon practice we ended up working on “Higher Ground” by the Chili Peppers for about an hour. I was just learning how to ‘slap and pop’ and by the time we were done my wrist was killing me and I’d ripped open a hole on my right middle finger.
First and foremost, “Higher Ground” was originally performed by Stevie Wonder.
Second, have you ever seen the video of the Chili Peppers, where they show Flea before a show, filling the hole in his thumb with super-glue, then bandaging? It was sick!
I know, I know! At that time I had no idea, but after finally hearing Stevie’s version, I think I like the original better. Still, I can understand Flea’s need for bandaging his fingers like that. The couple Chili Pepper song I learned would leave my fingers in terrible shape, and I highly doubt I had close to the calluses he has.