My wrist hurts! What can i do to stop gripping my trumpet as hard?

Question

whenever i play my trumpet anymore i tend to squeaze it with my left hand rather hard. i don't mean to but when i get done playing my left wrist hurts, it feels tight or cramped and i have to stretch it a bit then it feels better. the bad thing is that i don't know that im doing it until after im done playing.
so what can i do to not grip it as hard; got any suggestions.

i think i may have a carpultunel(sp)

Answer 1

Here is what I think your problem is: you are jamming your trumpet into your lips, which is not only damaging to your wrist but musically importantly you are destroying your embrochure by playing that way.

Lets start with the way you hold your trumpet, you should always hold your trumpet parallel to the ground. Secondly, you should never put your right pinky finger in the pinky holder even though it is made for that. Your right pinky is connected to your right ring finger and resisting one is resisting the other. Your right thumb should wrap around the first valve casing as comfortably as possible. Your left thumb needs to be in the first valve slide holder if you have one. then you should your index and middle finger wrapped around the third valve case as comfortably as possible. Your left ring finger should be in the holder and your right finger should be flush and parallel along the third valve slide.

Now that you can hold your instrument correctly, you should try to hold your instrument with an air gap in your left hand. Meaning that your wrists are completely straight and your valves are perpendicular to the ground. this way you will learn how to hold the trumpet with as little grip as possible. Once you become more and more confident with this you can go back to a more comfortable hand position, hopefully having learned how to control your grip.

As far as your embrochure problem goes, hold the trumpet with as little hand tension as possible (described above) and practice as much as possible with little contact with your lips. Slowly you will learn to control your embrochure and you can start using more tension as needed.

I hope this helps

Answer 2

I do not play instruments, however, if you'd like to get some relief for your wrist I would see a Chiro. They can do amazing things. I swear by them.

Answer 3

That suggests that you need to change your posture. I suggest that you stand with your heels against the wall when you practice. Keep your shoulders against it and breathe LOW, using your diaphragm. Most tension like yours comes from poor posture and poor breathing habits.