Try a Hand Strap

If you have small hands and a large horn, that can be tricky. If you stand and play you may be likely to lose your grip on the horn. For a lot of players, the pinky hook is in a bad place that doesn't fit their hand. Even when it does fit well, all of the weight of the horn is resting on that one little finger. This can create excess tension in the outer muscles of the left hand, causing not only tendinitis problems, but also limiting the mobility of the third finger. A good way to alleviate these troubles is the use of a hand strap. Permanent straps can be very expensive, and require soldering new pieces onto the horn. Another option is the flipper, but those can be uncomfortable and also require the addition of new pieces to the horn. A non-permanent strap has been made, but it attaches to the horn with Velcro straps and doesn't always stay in place.

I have developed an alternative combination hand strap and guard that is not permanent, so there's no need to add new parts, but still provides the stability of a permanent strap. If anyone in the horn studio is interested, I'm donating one of these new straps to the studio as an alum, so that anyone can try it out. If you do and you'd like to buy one, I'll be happy to help you. If you want to see what they look like, check out my horn or Leah's, she purchased one last week. I'm currently developing a new model that will not require a pinky hook. A website and photos of the strap are on the way, and I'll have a new post when it's all up and running.