OperatingThetan said:

joyinrepetition said:

Throughout 2014 he played quite a lot. But he's only human. There were probably times when he wanted to rest his hands. I remember re-watching the Montreux 2009 concert and later in the show, he kept flapping his hands (like he was relieving pain or stiffness) between licks. Saw the same thing when he played "when u dance 4 me" in 2009 during the French performance. He was a trooper though. I believe he must have really been experiencing some issues to play so much less guitar in that last year to 6 months of his life. Piano playing is strenous too. But at least he got to sit down at times and maybe it meant less strain in his thumbs etc due to not having to grip an instrument. Musicians might disagree..I don't know. I don't play an instrument but sometimes my thumb locks in place when I write or type to much.

rogifan said:

It sad to me when people make so many assumptions based on the limited information from the death investigation.

Limited information??

OperatingThetan said:

with Prince, everything is hard to read. But.., as much work as the man did, i find it hard not to believe his hands hurt. I only play piano and my hands and wrists hurt, and.., i've never worked like prince. what makes me question it is how well he was playing, at the very least, whatever issues he had couldn't have caused a lot of stiffness issues which real arthritis probably would. Aslo, i don't play guitar but i find it hard to believe it's any more demanding than piano, piano playing is physical as hell, especially the rhythmic style prince had. I realy don't know why guitar would be harder than piano. piano seems more demanding to me, we've heard prince "couldn't play guitar" which we don't know how true that is anyways. did he mean he wanted to devote all his energy to piano? that his shoulder hurt? that his hands hurt?

PennyPurple said:

peggyon said:

OperatingThetan said:

Wlcm2thdwn3 said: So many of his statements at his final Paisley party caused confusion. Prince made that comment in regard to his new custom guitar that he had ordered and displayed to the audience. He couldn't play that guitar now as he was immersed in the Piano and a Microphone tour. I don't think he intended to convey the impression he could no longer play the guitar as it was made in reference to his new guitar. The comment was also made long after the piano tour started and he had tragi.cally played what would be the final date in Atlanta. That doesn't mean he didn't experience pain in his hands, of course.

Co-sign regarding the guitar (OperatingThetan).

He banged the piano pretty hard while performing during the Piano and Microphone tour. Perhaps some ice, rest for a few days/week and Advil likely would have helped helped.

[Edited 7/20/18 18:36pm]

Yep, he banged the piano pretty hard, but we know now that he had been addicted to Opioids for quite some time prior to the P&M tour, which no doubt eased any pain, numbness or discomfort with his hands.

Wlcm2thdwn3 said:

I read in an artcle that Prince said he could not play the guitar anymore. That's when he decided to have the Piano and Microphone tour.

Yes, that is the article that I read as well. Someone needs to find that one. He planned the P&M tour, because he was having a hard time playing guitar by that point. Lisa Coleman also stated that is when she became concerned about him, because she said it was so unlike him to perform just sitting at the piano, with no guitar at all in his show. I believe Prince also stated during one of his P&M concerts that it was hard for him to just sit and play the piano - like having one hand tied behind his back, or something to that effect.

In the scene from Under the Cherry Moon when he gets tossed out of the party he seems to hurt his hand... I remember very clearly seeing that (I saw it the day after it was released) and cringing...

PeteSilas said:

with Prince, everything is hard to read. But.., as much work as the man did, i find it hard not to believe his hands hurt. I only play piano and my hands and wrists hurt, and.., i've never worked like prince. what makes me question it is how well he was playing, at the very least, whatever issues he had couldn't have caused a lot of stiffness issues which real arthritis probably would. Aslo, i don't play guitar but i find it hard to believe it's any more demanding than piano, piano playing is physical as hell, especially the rhythmic style prince had. I realy don't know why guitar would be harder than piano. piano seems more demanding to me, we've heard prince "couldn't play guitar" which we don't know how true that is anyways. did he mean he wanted to devote all his energy to piano? that his shoulder hurt? that his hands hurt?

Remember though Pete, guitar involves standing and moving around. I'm sure that played into it too. Just more energy altogether to perform with guitar. And possiblity the pressure on his fingertips may have been causing the numbness or pain....

violetcrush said:

peggyon said:

Co-sign regarding the guitar (OperatingThetan).

He banged the piano pretty hard while performing during the Piano and Microphone tour. Perhaps some ice, rest for a few days/week and Advil likely would have helped helped.

[Edited 7/20/18 18:36pm]

Yep, he banged the piano pretty hard, but we know now that he had been addicted to Opioids for quite some time prior to the P&M tour, which no doubt eased any pain, numbness or discomfort with his hands.

Though I know he was taking opiates, Advil is an anti-inflammatory agent which would address pain of that nature in a different, perhaps more effective way.

SkipperLove said:

206Michelle said:

SkipperLove said:

I think it is more than possible. I think it is very likely. Transferring from guitar to piano as his primary instrument is another indication. I doubt Prince would publically admit that his most notable talent was becoming too painful to continue.

SkipperLove, I agree with you. . In my opinion, Prince Rogers Nelson was an elite electric guitarist and the electric guitar was his best instrument. He was an excellent keyboardist/pianist, but I don’t think he was elite. Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Billy Joel are all better pianists/keyboardists than him (I’ve seen EJ and SW live). . As for the reason why Prince stopped performing the guitar, my guess is that it was not just due to pain in his hands, but also due to pain in his joints. He was still an elite guitar player in 2012; at that time, and for many years prior to that, I feel that very few musicians could match his electric guitar prowess. But playing the guitar is more physically demanding since he stood when he played it, while wearing heels whereas he could sit while playing on the piano. I think that P knew very well how elite of an electric guitarist that he was so I wonder if when he realized that he could no longer play the EG in an elite manner, he stopped playing it publicly.

Right - that was my response on reply #40. The extra energy needed, and pressure on his joints no doubt factored into him no longer playing guitar. I'm sure it was also taxing on his fingers and hands.

help me if you recall this. i thought i read that Prince said he just couldn't play the guitar anymore

because he "simply couldn't put it down" he loved it so and he would wear himself out when he played

it. I have no doubt that he would wear himself out and thus be in pain the follow day, so to him playing piano was resting.

a piano must have meant "home" to him because he always requested a piano in any place he stayed.

must have been a comfort, a self soothing to have one always near by.

purplefam99 said:

rogifan said:

joyinrepetition said:

In the last 2 years before Prince passed away, I noticed Prince deferred many guitar solos to Donna. I thought he could have had arthritis issues, but once we found out he was suffering from pain and using pain killers, I felt that Prince may have had issues with his dexterity from that point.

Hmm...I didn’t notice that. I have quite a few 3EG videos (before they were removed from YouTube) and Prince is playing plenty of lead guitar. My guess is he wanted to give Donna the chance to play lead sometimes too.

Correct.
And Atlanta is testament he was banging that keyboard unrestrained.
That said, everything is connected in the skeleton, and I can imagine the pain going from the shoulders to the back
and to the hips. There's a strong possiblity that he played the way he played thanks to painkillers.

206Michelle said:

SkipperLove said:

I think it is more than possible. I think it is very likely. Transferring from guitar to piano as his primary instrument is another indication. I doubt Prince would publically admit that his most notable talent was becoming too painful to continue.

SkipperLove, I agree with you. . In my opinion, Prince Rogers Nelson was an elite electric guitarist and the electric guitar was his best instrument. He was an excellent keyboardist/pianist, but I don’t think he was elite. Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Billy Joel are all better pianists/keyboardists than him (I’ve seen EJ and SW live).

Such nonsense.
You don't play the piano, do you?

Just because these musicians have the keyboard has their primary — and only in the case of Joel and John — instrument
doesn't make them better than Prince. Prince could kick both their asses any day of the week.
I watched them closely and, they're not capable of much.
They owe their success and fame to their composition abilities (if you're into their kind of stuff).
As for Stevie, Prince and him pretty much on the same level.

I'd suggest you go back to "It's Gonna Be Lonely", "Do Me Baby", "Free", "Moonbeam Levels",
"How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore", 1st Avenue '83, Syracuse '85, "God" (both versions), "Condition Of The Heart",
"An Honest Man" (instrumental), Lovesexy live medleys and aftershows, I could go on and on.
The only reason Prince did not stick to the piano on stage is because it's too static an instrument.

206Michelle said:

violetcrush said:

OperatingThetan said:

violetcrush said:

Yes, that is the article that I read as well. Someone needs to find that one. He planned the P&M tour, because he was having a hard time playing guitar by that point. Lisa Coleman also stated that is when she became concerned about him, because she said it was so unlike him to perform just sitting at the piano, with no guitar at all in his show. I believe Prince also stated during one of his P&M concerts that it was hard for him to just sit and play the piano - like having one hand tied behind his back, or something to that effect.

The article is factually inaccurate and originates from a comment Prince made about not being able to play his new guitar that he was showing the audience at his final Paisley show. He couldn't play it as he was on a solo piano and mic tour. Like so many of his comments that night it has been misconstrued by the media and moved in the timeline. Lisa's concern at Prince sitting down may well be legitimate though and physical difficulties might have been the reason Prince chose the seated format.

Thanks for the clarification. I do think the correlation between choosing the P&M tour and his physical pain/limitations is logical. He never liked to sit still for too long on stage. Even when he put piano segments in his shows he was always jumping around while playing - standing up, sitting back down, running to and from the piano.

rogifan said:

OperatingThetan said:

violetcrush said:

Yes, that is the article that I read as well. Someone needs to find that one. He planned the P&M tour, because he was having a hard time playing guitar by that point. Lisa Coleman also stated that is when she became concerned about him, because she said it was so unlike him to perform just sitting at the piano, with no guitar at all in his show. I believe Prince also stated during one of his P&M concerts that it was hard for him to just sit and play the piano - like having one hand tied behind his back, or something to that effect.

The article is factually inaccurate and originates from a comment Prince made about not being able to play his new guitar that he was showing the audience at his final Paisley show. He couldn't play it as he was on a solo piano and mic tour. Like so many of his comments that night it has been misconstrued by the media and moved in the timeline. Lisa's concern at Prince sitting down may well be legitimate though and physical difficulties might have been the reason Prince chose the seated format.

Indeed. That comment has been misinterpreted by a hell of a lot of people. There is no evidence that he was unable to play guitar anymore.

206Michelle said:

OperatingThetan said:

206Michelle said:

I said 2012 because I couldn’t think of a really good guitar solo by him past 2011 or 2012. But yes, he still had the prowess on the guitar until 2015. He was doing his thing on Saturday Night alive.

Prince was shredding the guitar every night with 3RDEYEGIRL on his tour of Europe in 2014.
I've seen Prince live around 20 times and it was among the best and most extensive I'd seen him play guitar.
His solos were long, frequent and intense.

Look for Manchester's "The Ride" for a good example of this.

[Edited 7/23/18 6:08am]

OperatingThetan said:

littlemissG said:

FuzzyPatricia said:

Hello I just heard something and I need to know has anyone ever heard of Prince having hand pain, if so when? Thanks ya'll.

After he passed. Makes sense, repetitive motion injuries are common for musicians. I also took a close look at some of his pictures in some you can see swelling around the knuckles.

really can you show me one of the pics, or where can I search this, thank you