I just thought I'd add another dimension to the answers coming in with
regard to those with troubled thumbs. I also had this problem for a while.
When I told it to my teacher, he smiled and said,' so desu ne!' then smiled
even more. I never tried attaching anything to the instrument, but I wanted
to. Instead, I learned to adjust my wrist position and even do it while
playing. It doesn't actually take much of an adjustment to relieve the
built up stress.
I'm not saying that this is the right thing to do or that any of you should
necessarily do this. All that I am saying is that through my teacher's
expression, I realized that what I was going through was not abnormal. In
fact, there is a great deal of non-ergonomicity with the shakuhachi. You
can choose to adapt yourself or adapt the instrument. Both work. Some will
frown on your choice, some will smile at it, some will want to adopt it...
and some will ignore you. What ever you choose to do, it's what comes out
that really counts.
My personal position was and is to emulate my teacher as much as possible
because up until now I have felt that he has had a lot to offer me. His
smiles are re-assuring when I am in doubt. I trust this. His ease at the
instrument has always been a target for me. I know there is nothing strange
about his physical composition, nor is there of mine. As such, I take heart
in the idea that these kinds of problems have been worked out before and
will be worked out again.
Good luck,
jeff
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