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Is it undesirable to have double jointed fingers for pianists? How do they affect piano playing? How to rectify the problem?
Thank you!

Hi!

Well, my thumbs are double-jointed. A physical therapist once told me not to bend them back. But I do it anyway because the result is a wider stretch!

I don't think double-jointedness can be corrected ~ it just is. If the person can play regardless, then it's fine!

Gretchen

I have "double-jointed" hands as well (correct term is hypermobile), especially my thumbs. Here's what I'm talking about:


Maybe some doctors or physiotherapists can chime in? I'm pretty sure it wasn't this bad initially, but playing piano (plus violin when I was growing up) has made my hand joints stretch even more.

I just lost my lunch.

I have double-jointed thumbs and this has not bothered me as a pianist. However, I do have a student who has a joint issue with her thumbs and it is seriously affecting her technique. At least I think it's considered to be double jointed, maybe not...? Her knuckles closest to her thumbnails seem to be "off", because she bends her thumbs back really far at that knuckle, not inward, but outward. Very awkward.

Can someone qualified please define "double-jointed" in the first place? I thought it was when you can pop your joints in and out, not bend them back into contorted positions...? I would love to understand this...

Should the absolute limit of a regular joint necessarily be your safety net, anyway? Sometimes there are cases for using joints this way, but surely the widest path of a joint is not an issue- if you're fully sensitive to the minute muscular actions that ought to be stabilising the joints in their midrange? Obviously it makes avoidance of collapses more of an issue, but isn't it largely the same procedure of collapse avoidance as for anyone else- just with greater consequences if you do collapse?

bumping the thread, hoping others will respond.

i've got double-jointed thumbs and it hasn't really had any negative effect on me. although, when i was younger and performing, sometimes they would lock back when i would get nervous :P

you can't really "un-double-joint" your fingers, and i don't think that it could really cause any problems (many in extreme cases?) so just be happy with what you have!

Try playing with flat fingers. That solves one problem.

Do you play with your thumbs turned out, flexing way back?
I have a new(er) student who does this. She says she can't help it that they turn out. We have done exercises to get them to turn in but she can't (won't?) do it.

I don't know exactly what you mean by this, as I can visualize several scenarios (my thumbs can pretty much go every which way). Could you do an illustration or a more thorough description?

This is my first posting, let's see if I can manage...

Well, I have "double-jointed" hands, fingers and wrists (can bend them in many awkward positions, such as bending my hand forward so that my fingers touches my arm :P) and I actually think it's an advantage since my hands are very flexible. Though I can't practise for too long because my joints start to hurt if I practise big chord or other things requiring streching more than normal. I had some problems with my little finger before when it "locked" in a bent back position and I had to push it back, something that of course disturbed my playing. I could hardly play octaves because of that. But with a lot of practising and focusing on always being relaxed the problem is now gone.

What was the question again? Anyway, I hope I answerd it :P. And excuse my English, I'm not fully trained yet, but I hope you can help me improve it

Not now, but I may possibly have done it when I was younger just because I thought that it was interesting that my hands had this unique trait!

Does it affect/hinder her technique at all? I'm just guessing here but it may be involuntary and just fix itself after she gains more control of her hand (when I was little, I used to also have this involuntary lifting of my pinky as I'm sure is pretty common -- it just stopped after a few years). It is definitely something to keep your eye on though.

Guys, there's no such thing as being "double-jointed".

http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/double-joints-redux/