O.k so I just wanted to kinda respond to my last post: Hand Pain

Hey I need some help here. I've recently started having some light pain in my left hand after I'm done playing my flute. Yes, I am holding the flute correctly. I was just wondering if a Bo-pep finger rest\saddle would help in anyway. Maybe it would help so not all the weight would be on one particular area? The pain I believe is not from my flute but from the piano. I'm auditioning for a lot on piano lately and have to do a lot of stretching from key to key, and one part I have to play really loudly.So it's really hard on my hand. I would take a couple days off from practicing but I have competitions on both instruments coming up, and I have to keep my tone up. Any advice?

So here is the whole embarrassing story! After the "light hand pain" became really bad hand pain. I ended up going to my regular doctor who told me I should go to a Bone doctor, both doctors thought I was having over use pain and tendonitis and that I should probably just not practice for awhile. (seemed to make sense right?) Well then my band director told me that I should go to a friend of her's that is a woodwind player. When I went to him he immediately saw the problem. I was after all holding the flute wrong, and that is what caused the injury. This is how I was holding it. I was holding the flute in a way that made my left elbow stick out causing my wrist to bend and twist. (thus the wrist injury) When that happened it caused more weight to be put on my left index finger, bruising the bone. And then the pain just spread throughout my hand making it extremely painful to even pick something up. Needless to say I'm going to start taking private lessons! I've been wearing a wrist brace that helps the wrist pain and also keeps my wrist straight. All pain has cleared up now. And I have started playing again ... in front of a mirror! I'm being really careful! So yeah... my band director is a trumpet player so she had no idea that I was holding it wrong for 3 years! I'm just glad I can keep playing! I love my flute!

Hey, great to hear you found your problem cause and you are better now!! And wow, you learned flute without a flute private teacher? so cool and so talented!!! really! I mean you are ranked the no.1 flutist in your region man!

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I can't image without a private teacher or help...I will be lost direction and hurt myself easily. even with a piano private teacher I still always hurt my wrists and I finally gave up piano.

Thanks! My band director helped me with the dynamics and stuff with my All-State piece so I think that's why I scored so high with that. But I've never had anyone help me with technique. As showed! Someday I hope I can be as good as you! You have the most beautiful tone! I really admire you.

Thanks! And You should get a good flute teacher if you love flute and you will be the best in all State, you have talent.

As for tone, my tone was very ugly at 8,9,10 years old with tight smiley embouchure, then I changed a good teacher, spent my 11,12,13 years old only worked on relaxed tone with frown embouchure, and then I changed another teacher worked only on scales and techniques at 14,15 years old, now I'm working on musicality. It takes years to train on tone and techniques even with good teachers, be patient.