My Color Music

Like I said … chords make music especially cool. They add weight to a song and provide support for the melody. By giving our ears something to listen to, chords just make life more interesting.

At the same time, chords also create a little more work for our hands. And that’s because, on a keyboard, the right hand focuses on the melody (in the treble staff), while the left hand picks out the notes of each chord (in the bass staff).

As it turns out, it’s all pretty easy. Sure, it might take a little more coordination … as we play melodies with one hand and chords with the other. But it’s also very basic. Like learning to dance, ride a bike, or jump rope, it just takes some focus … and a little practice.

And who knows … after a little while, you might even learn to play like this:

Let’s face it … making music is all about the hands. Sure, we’ve got to understand what we’re actually doing if we want to get really good. (Thank you, Color Music.) But it’s just as important to have nice, flexible fingers. After all, your hands are what connect your brain with your instrument. So if your hands ain’t workin’, then everything stops.

That’s why it’s totally important to take care of your hands … and treat ‘em like babies. (That is, if you’re good with babies….) Because if your fingers are in good shape, then your music will sound better.

Don’t get me wrong … I’m not saying we all should go out and get a manicure every Saturday night. But as a rule of thumb, try doing the following and you’ll be able to make music for a long, long time:

1. Try not to crack your knuckles
2. Keep your hands warm (wear fingerless gloves if you have to play in cold weather)
3. Use hand lotion if your skin gets really dry
4. Always do finger warm-ups before you play (gently stretching your hands for better flexibility)
5. Trim your nails (for better sensation and grip), and finally …
6. Avoid rock climbing, fist fights, and other activities that might mangle your hands

That last one is especially good advice … in general, really. Because a broken hand is a sad hand. Of course, you’ll sometimes hear about musicians who live on the edge and do crazy stuff with their hands. (Like Richard Hughes of the band, Keane—who is an avid rock climber. Or Kid Rock—who has an odd reputation for punching people.) But most of the time, musicians take it easy when it comes to their fingers.

So the bottom line is this: Take care of your digits … because your music depends on it. As they (should) say, “Happy hands make great musicians.”

Okay, admit it. You crack your knuckles. I’m not saying you do it 86 times a day or anything. But sometimes you just can’t help it … right? Well I do—maybe only once or twice a day. But it sort of feels nice.

Anyway, it’s got me feeling kind of guilty. Because I’ve always heard that it’s bad for you. Really bad for you. In fact, the stories are pretty terrible. I’ve heard that if you crack your knuckles too much, you’ll end up looking like this guy:

Have mercy! I guarantee that wouldn’t be cool. And it would be pretty hard to whip out a guitar or piano solo with those hands. Seriously.

So it’s got me thinking … should I quit my “crack” problem? Like RIGHT NOW? I mean, what’s going to happen to me? What’s going to happen to us? We musicians don’t want to be getting our hands all mangled!

But before we all start freaking out, let me do a little research on this. Hold on, I’ll be right back….

Alright, I’m back. And this is what I found. I asked Google if cracking my knuckles will give me arthritis and this is what it said: “Probably not.”

Hallelujah!

But here’s the catch: According to Peter Bonafede, M.D. (the director of an arthritis center in Oregon), knuckle cracking isn’t necessarily good for you. It’s just not the end of the world. As it turns out, he recommends you avoid cracking your knuckles—just in case.

Dr. Bonefede says that the popping sound you hear is caused by an air bubble that bursts in the space between your joints when your finger bones are suddenly stretched apart. Whoa.

He also says that there’s no real benefit to cracking your knuckles. So while some people might crack their knuckles after writing for a long time—or a musician might stop to pop after practicing a really hard song—it doesn’t do you any good. Instead, the experts say it’s better to take a short break to bend and stretch your fingers a few times. That way you can keep on rockin’. Which is good to know, since we’ll be making a lot of music.