I was apparently doing something else for the last couple hundred messages, so am only now getting into the discussion...
What interested me were the comments about fingers stiffening with age. I'm only 50, but my fingering has improved steadily (that is, way too slowly) as long as I've been playing. At what age have people noticed it starting to go the other way? Is it possible to rule out inefficient practicing/warm-ups? I also wonder if the British climate is a factor, because my fingers have felt unusually stiff when practicing in Northumberland. Are there any (especially older) players who have lived in both Northumberland and North America that can comment on this? Or for that matter, is there anyone familiar with medical statistics who knows if arthritis or other joint problems are more prevalent in Britain than N America? Dick Hensold St. Paul, MN 651/646-6581 Traditional Folk Music, Early Music, and Cambodian Music Northumbrian smallpipes, recorder, Medieval greatpipes,Swedish sackpipa, & beyaw. [1]www.dickhensold.com -- References 1. http://www.dickhensold.com/ To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html