Weird Physical Thing Happened At Gig Today

Rattlin' Bones

Rattlin' Bones

Gold Member
First time ever happened to me. Today playing at a jazz festival one set 50 minutes long prepared for 9 tunes. During 7th tune Have You Met Miss Jones my left hand starts to shake. I can't control my stick. It's during the 2nd solo when the keys are soloing. I can't control stick enough to comp quietly behind keys I have no subtle control. I get through rest of tune by minimizing what I play. Next tune is a Latin cross sticking so I don't need that subtle stick control I can keep it simple. Last tune is up tempo swinging Miss Brown To You but I use brushes on it so not much of an issue. I trade 4's with bass for two A's and a B we do it well and then it's back to the head.

Man if the last three songs had all been swinging tunes with sticks I would have been in trouble.

Not sure what happened. It was a festival lots of folks there and most of the jazz cats around town are there, so maybe I had so much adrenaline pumping in me that by 7th tune I was in overload or something, but man it was kinda scary.
 
Hmmm… Could it possibly be age related? I’m turning 60 this year and all kinds of weird physical things have been happening to me lately. Things that have never happened before.
 
Scary when you can’t trust your own body.
Could it be dehydration?
Or even a pinched nerve in your spine or upper arm?
 
My hands started shaking at gigs last year. I ended up being diagnosed with Essential Tremors. Now I’m on medication to control it, but my hands still start shaking sometimes. I’m even having trouble eating with one hand. It’s weird. My right hand can shake too bad to get a spoon to my mouth, but just touching it with a finger from the other hand and it stops. It’s like it’s more mental than physical.
 
I practiced 2x yesterday. Both times I started to lose control of left hand after about 15 minutes. My fingers just would not do what I wanted to do. They had little tremors. Kinda sucks trying to comp behind other instruments, or play quietly.
 
I can lose control of my feet (they start to rush) if I haven't eaten or hydrated enough. Can't say it's happened to my hands yet, but I could imagine it happening.

Do you stretch your hands?
 
Maybe you were gripping extra hard, more than usual… at this event? That might make your body, hand break up with shaking and/or cramping.
 
Rattlin' Bones said:
I practiced 2x yesterday. Both times I started to lose control of left hand after about 15 minutes. My fingers just would not do what I wanted to do. They had little tremors. Kinda sucks trying to comp behind other instruments, or play quietly.
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If I were you, I'd visit a doc about that. Tremors can mean a lot of things, some of which can be helped (or their progress slowed) with treatment.
 
^^^ This ^^^

Until it's time for your appointment, drink more water (not just liquids), be mindful of excess sugar and coffee intake, maybe get more sleep and try to recall any dietary or exercise changes you may have made. Then be sure to relate all these to your doc.
 
Rock Salad said:
I get that from dehydration sometimes, that and/or cramping
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agreed...and it could have also just been muscle spasms

I have had the same thing happen after playing fast for long periods of time...it feels like rapid quick cramping or pulsing

usually, I just start taking deep breaths, and use my other hand if I can, or change the pattern to something that allows the spasming hand to relax

I have also had this happen with my calve muscles on my bass foot

I don't think it is directly age realted. I am 55 now, and have had this happen off and on back into my 30's
 
Macarina said:
Maybe you were gripping extra hard, more than usual… at this event? That might make your body, hand break up with shaking and/or cramping.
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Nope. If anything very loose, which is how I usually grip. But combo of loose grip and the fingers uncontrollable made me revert to just a basic groove I could not comp in a jazzy way.
 
Okay, @Rattlin' Bones, you've had a week to make that doctor appointment and within that week, you had a re-occurrence. I'm not gonna try to be your Mom and make you post proof of your appointment. ;-) Mostly just wondering if the tremor/loss of control has reared its ugly head since last Tuesday or if it's manifested itself in any other hand functions. My best to you, drum Buddy!
 
Smoke said:
Okay, @Rattlin' Bones, you've had a week to make that doctor appointment and within that week, you had a re-occurrence. I'm not gonna try to be your Mom and make you post proof of your appointment. ;-) Mostly just wondering if the tremor/loss of control has reared its ugly head since last Tuesday or if it's manifested itself in any other hand functions. My best to you, drum Buddy!
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Smoke said:
Okay, @Rattlin' Bones, you've had a week to make that doctor appointment and within that week, you had a re-occurrence. I'm not gonna try to be your Mom and make you post proof of your appointment. ;-) Mostly just wondering if the tremor/loss of control has reared its ugly head since last Tuesday or if it's manifested itself in any other hand functions. My best to you, drum Buddy!
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Yes - manifested itself in other hand functions. My right hand. I do some professional photography. Holding focus down on part of frame I want focused. Keeping finger ever-so-lightly on shutter release to hold focus and then move frame to change view to what I want framed. My right hand will start shaking after I do this 2-3 times in a row.

I'm on an assignment. Can't make appt. until I'm finished.
 
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