Curing Focal Dystonia-Right Hand Technique, Dr. Apostolos Paraskevas

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Movements of right hand fingers for classical guitar/finger style playing. Ways to avoid and/or to be cured from Musician's Focal Dystonia of the Hand.
Performances of A.P after FD:
• The Romantic Bach, Apo...
• Cavatina, by Stanley M...
• J.S.Bach, Prelude BWV ...
• BWV 1007, J.S. BACH, P...
• Milonga by Jorge Cardo...
Please read the full article soon on the Classical Guitar Magazine (August-September 2013) and on www.apostolosparaskevas.com
Also you can download here:
www.amazon.com/...
Introduction:
Back in April 2009 and shortly after my fourth solo concert/recital at Carnegie Hall, I got 'injured' and affected with Focal Dystonia. A 'neurological' condition that forced me to stop performing because I lost control of my right hand. Four years later (April 2013) I overcome this injury and I returned to performing again and with even more control than before. It took me nearly 7,000 hours of personal work to 'decode' and subsequently cure myself and fully recover.
"...If you have Focal Dystonia (FD), there is most likely no damage to the muscles and tendons of your hand and fingers or to your brain or nerves. That explains why your doctor can't actually see the problem----there is no anatomical damage. FD is also not essentially a psychological problem, although emotional stress can worsen it.
Because FD is a problem of unconscious behavioral habits, the solution is not drugs or treatment by a neurologist, a physical therapist, or a psychologist (unless you have a strong underlying emotional problem that's causing your tension----but even then psychotherapy will not cure FD; it will only make it easier to implement behavioral change). This should actually be good news to you, because it means that the solution lies within your own power and you can implement it at home...'.

Опубликовано:

30 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 38

@alainvalodze 8 лет назад

Thank you. A well presented video with a postive breakdown of movements and approach. My question would be to deal with recovery using apoyando - particularly with the right hand thumb - incorporating more control over note duration in the bass or utilising a Spanish techniques ie flamenco hand positions - is this an area covered in the book ?

@classicalguild 8 лет назад

Please see my comment

@martynhawkesstg679 7 лет назад

I am grateful for this video and have returned to it a number of times over the past few months as I have been attempting to retrain my right hand. At first I was quite sceptical of the suggestion that m and a are one unit, but I'm increasingly discovering that it is a fundamental path to recovery for me. Not there yet but I feel that this is really helping. Thanks!

@oriventura 8 лет назад

definitely not the only way to recover from what is indeed a neurological disorder. Appreciate your need to help but we need to be careful with claims.

@classicalguild 8 лет назад

Thank you for the comment. My sentence refers to the recovering of focal dystonia of the right hand as a musician and especially for the classical guitarist. In more detail the comment is towards the "reconstructing the way of playing the instrument". I do not believe that this condition is a neurological disorder. Indeed affects our body in a neurological level but As I explain in my article I believe that is "a behavioral practice error."

@classicalguild 8 лет назад

+classicalguild Where I write " reconstructing" I also mean "retraining" as well

@musicianspracticeglove9347 7 лет назад

Just a note about the fingering hand and FD: World-class UK bassist Scott Devine suffers from Focal Dystonia, and at one time thought his career was over. He can play once again, (better than ever) thanks to wearing a glove! His brand of choice is Musician's Practice Glove. He has a youtube video called "Why I Wear the Glove". For the Classical Guitarist the picking hand ideally has no glove but possible help with FD can be had using a glove on the picking hand... if possible cut out the fingertips of the glove.

@Carrrlito75 8 лет назад

Very interesting, thank you for this video. I still don't understand how can you play arpeggios like (pima) or (pami) if you consider (a) and (m) as one big finger. I assume that the need to differentiate the two fingers shall change the perception and the movement. Do you explain this in details in your book ?

@classicalguild 6 лет назад

well, I see where the confusion could be. Consider it like this: when m is used the a and pinky fingers follow. When a is used the m sympathetically will follow as well but the focus of the strike is on the a finger.

@classicalguild Год назад

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-g67X9Q6jJMo.html My latest recording. Fix your hand and play some music.

@classicalguild 7 лет назад

Dear Scott Johnston, I am sorry to hear about your problem with focal dystonia and your other hand injuries. I will be happy to give you more details and help you recover as I did. Lately I am recording two major suites by Johann Sebastian Bach and a lot of my own guitar music. My hand, I can assure you it is more relaxed than ever and my technique, the one I used in the past to perform at least six times at Carnegie Hall is better than even before my injury. I wish you well and I hope someday to see your findings published and your performances as well.

@malcolmperris5497 8 лет назад

great information thanks apostolos

@classicalguild 8 лет назад

when I say "you need to retrain the way you play your instrument" I mean that if it's not the way I suggest in my video it's better to follow my path. Before my injury I was not playing in this way and my hand was in a different position. By making this statement I actually mean the path I chose in the technique I demonstrate helped me to recover from focal dystonia. I always believe focal dystonia affects the hand because of tension that comes from the wrong technique. . Think this backwards. A wrong technique will cause you tension and for few this tension could cause focal dystonia

@classicalguild 8 лет назад

The initiation of the movement (stroke) starts from the knuckle but of course the middle joint also contributes to the execution. When I demonstrate I exaggerate this motion to be more clear. During performance of course more subtle and smaller movements need to take place

@ChristopherClarkeGuitarist 6 лет назад

I have suffered from right hand focal dystonia for many, many years. Indeed, I don't recall there being a definite diagnosis back then. Despite sitting in a room over a period of several years trying to retrain the way I play the instrument the symptoms remain. At one point during an extended period using a mirror and very slow, precise movements striking the strings more forcefully than I normally would I regained virtually all movement. Sadly, this was short-lived. As I recall, the patterns of dystonia overcame the relearned patterns. I may have been too impatient in trying to perform repertoire after so many years being unable to do so. I have since sold my concert guitars and I have far less time to devote to exercises now that I have a mortgage and a full-time job but I was interested to see your approach to right hand technique. I have no aspirations to play Bach lute suites anymore but alleviating the issue would be beneficial in so many ways even for using a computer keyboard.

@goksenintuyan5687 7 лет назад

Dear Apostolos. Thank you for these tips which seem very useful even at first attempt at arpeggio technique. I have dystonia on my middle finger at right hand and it is mainly involving arpeggios and my apoyando (picado) technique. how should we practice on apoyando in such condition?

@PascalsGuitar 6 лет назад

Good evening Apostolos. I have been working on my focal dystonia for the last 5 years. I have had it for 30years without knowing anything about it ( hard to research when one has no name or words to describe what one suffers from ). I wrote your article and exchanged a couple of emails about focal dystonia with you. I have move forward a lot and can at least now play to myself. Unfortunately my hand has still a very fragile balance. I noticed that your “a” touches the string before it plays. This is something that I am trying to avoid as it cuts the resonance of the string, specially in the tremolo. I am trying instead to get my hand balanced over the thumb “p” instead of the “a” but cannot yet play this way in public.

@classicalguild 8 лет назад

I do not use the Apoyando ( rest stroke) technique in my playing now and certainly I stayed out of it during recovery. I suggest you do the same. You can improve the free stroke in such a way that will sound as if rest stroke.. Bottom line is NO rest stroke.. I consider it actually quite dangerous when tendons are always in extension position ...

@alainvalodze 8 лет назад

Thank you .

@fedefranz 8 лет назад

great video, so useful! it gives advises and courage to recover from the condition! thanks mr. Paraskevas!

@gianniskatsanoulis5815 7 лет назад

καλησπερα και συνχαρητηρια για το βιντεο!!! μετα το διπλωμα μου ενφανιστηκε ενα προβλημα στον δεικτη και στο μεσο του δεξιου χεριου!!!σε μεγαλες ταχυτητες μπερδευονται ξαφνικα και ο δεικτης τιναζει προς τα εξω και νιωθω "κλειδωμενα τα δαχτυλα". μου ειπαν οτι εχω εστιακη δυστονια!!θα βοηθησουν οι ασκησεις αυτεσ για επαναπρογραμματισμο των δακτυλων??? και μπορω να βρω το βιβλιο σε μαγαζια στην ελλαδα?? ευχαριστω!!

@swordsheldhigh7934 7 лет назад

Are guitarist more exposed to focal dystonia?

@classicalguild 7 лет назад

i have to yes, and it's a social issue why. It's a popular instrument and it's been used in so many different styles. but, pianists and violinists have a fair share

@PastoAzul 7 лет назад

Ευχαριστούμε για τη βοηθεια! Ωραίες πληροφορίες! Ήθελα να σας ρωτήσω κάτι. Το δικό μου πρόβλημα είναι πιο πολύ στο παράμεσο. Όταν πεζώ το το μέσω το παραμεσω κάπου κρύβετε και δεν κάθετη εκεί που πρέπει (χαχα). Πες μου αν έχετε καμία συμβουλή. Χερετίσματα από τον Ουσινγτον! Καλό μήνα.

@classicalguild 6 лет назад

please refer to the video and follow through. it will help your m issue. Sorry for the late reply.

@irarana503 6 лет назад

Great video!! Merci

@slapmyfunkybass 7 лет назад

I would disagree with you and state it's neurological. However, the question still remains does it originate in the brain and alters the hand or starts in the hand and alters the brain? It can certainly be cured, but more often than not it is a change of technique to achieve this. There's different symptoms and conditions to dystonia as well, unfortunately it's all grouped under the same umbrella.

@classicalguild 7 лет назад

Please read my article as I explain everything there. Quick answer: it starts on the hand. Thanks

@slapmyfunkybass 7 лет назад

classicalguild Yes, I agree with you, I think it does start in the hand, that's why a change of approach to playing, or technique is necessary.