Student has a bad habit

[MissyHPhoenix]

I have a student who is quite good, has been playing for 4 years (I think), and has a very bad habit. Her first band director instructed all of his flutes to hold their left elbow way up in the air in front of them; probably to be "uniform" in appearance, as was stated in this post previously. This has caused her to tilt her right hand back so that the openings on the flute keys are basically pointed up. It effects her breathing technique (breathy) and is also causing her to have pain in her right thumb and right wrist. We have worked on this for weeks now, with me constantly reminding her to bring the elbow back down; relax the arm; etc., but she is having a very difficult time overcoming the habit.

Has anybody else run into this kind of thing? Does anybody have any ideas on how I can help her overcome this? She holds the flute correctly when I remind her, but as soon as she concentrates on the music, up the elbow goes and there goes her hand!

[pied_piper]

To break the habit of holding the arm too high, you might consider fashioning an arm band of Velcro (something like a blood pressure cuff, only much smaller and not as tight) and use a piece of heavy string of the appropriate length tied between the arm band and to her belt or around the waist. That would prevent her from raising the arm further than the normal position. Have her use it when practicing and that would help to reinforce proper arm position.

[MissyHPhoenix]

Thanks! Not sure if she would go for that, but I'll ask her. She's having trouble with her right thumb and wrist hurting a lot, and I'm thinking that the incorrect position she holds the flute in could be contributing to that. I'll see how she's doing.

Thanks again!