Daniel Allan

I am a surgeon as well as a violinist. Playing the violin has been called an unnatural act. Many violinists, including Heifetz and Menuhin, played in a manner that was not ergonometrically sound, however astounding the result. To see examples of physiologically ideal playing, look at the videos of Ricci and Milstein. With respect to hypermobility, players should not take advantage of their their hypermobile joints to avoid placing the left hand in the correct position. Don't be a lazy shifter. If a collapsing right thumb is troublesome, a removable aluminum splint held with velcro straps may be useful-it can be adjusted to to the correct angle. In extreme cases, it is possible to fuse the interphalangeal joint of the thumb. This would not be a handicap for other activities, as we normally use the thumb in flexion (pinch your thumb to your ring finger to see what I mean) except when hitching a ride.

Commented on: 31 December 2024

How to deal with hypermobility as a string player