Injured Hand
Found in: Special Needs & Learning Differences, Students
Huei Chen T., Hawaii
Hi there! This question might be asked before. I have a student who injured his RH thumb and the whole RH is on a cast. I told the parent to have the student continue to play with his LH to keep the songs alive. He might need at least a month to recover.
We are thinking what we can do if he still want to come to lesson and learn. He is in a group of 2 . Have anyone teach any songs that is just using LH or any ideas will be much appreciated.
Carole M., Australia
I have a student who previously broke her right arm, having broken her left arm prior to that! I taught her the RH of songs and played the LH myself. She loved her lessons and playing duets with me! After she recovered she learnt the LH and was playing BH in no time.
Mark M., New York
Pure visualization — without even being at a keyboard, and without even moving fingers/hands/arms at all — is about 70% as effective as actual practice. So not only can the student continue to participate and continue to make progress, it doesn’t even have to be just working with the one good hand while the other heals. Certainly, that’s an option, too — a good option compared to just stopping/pausing/waiting until healing is done. But if there’s a willingness to engage in visualization as a new practice technique, the student can continue with all the content — RH can be learned through visualization, and even BH can be learned by physically using only the LH and visualizing the RH’s contribution.
Christine W., Kansas
Do “duets” with him in lessons, and also work on chords with the left hand. What level is he in? If 4-5 or higher you can also spend time on music theory, chord progressions, composition with left hand. Oh and reading rhythm or reading notes if he’s in mid foundation 3 or higher.
Original discussion started November 22, 2024