Musicians' Health Matters: Discussing Music-Related Injuries and Prevention Strategies š©ŗ
As we all know, playing music can be a physically demanding activity. Whether it's from hours of practice, or performances, our bodies can take a toll. I wanted to start a conversation about the topic of music-related injuries, and invite all musicians to share their experiences and advice on how to prevent and treat them.
Have you ever experienced pain or injury as a result of playing an instrument or singing? How did you handle it? What steps did you take to prevent it from happening again?
I think it's important for us to have open and honest discussions about these issues, so we can all learn from each other and take better care of ourselves as musicians.
So please, share your stories and let's start a conversation!
43 replies
-
What do you think about this simplified view about piano technique, which offers some premises in the interest of allowing technique to be built around injury prevention?
- Ortmannās two seminal books seem to establish that the performer has only a few mechanical effects at his disposal: the velocity with which the key is depressed, how long the key is held down, and what is done with the pedals
- All the various desciptions of techniques devoted to eliciting specific characters of sound and the elaborate gestures needed to produce them are actually just maneuvers to control the velocity with which the key is depressed, timing of its depression and release. There is no magic.
- The various timbral qualities supposedly elicited by technique also result from only the velocity with which a key is depressed (and interaction with other events like concurrent notes being played, pedal effects, and thumping of the key or other mechanical components against felt). The timbre of any note which is imagined to be controlled by some technical finesse (ābrighterā, ādarkerā, āsingingā) is also a consequence only of key velocity (and ambient sound environment). The timbral changes are the consequence of the elastic or compressive properties of the hammer felt, which have a non-linear relation to the force with which it strike the string, hence eliciting more or fewer upper partials.
None of this minimizes the finesse and skill of the pianist in creating music, but thinking in this way might facilitate development of a safer, simpler technique.
Is this perspective controversial?
-
I had left hand wrist pain due to 1. not understanding how to release tension, 2. collapsed knuckle bridge (I don't have strength in these muscles) 3. my LH finger 5 and 2 second knuckle also collapsed for some reason - so I overused wrist to compensate these issues. I finally found a teacher who pointed out these issues, and now I'm working on slowly developing these muscles and finger strength and proactively working on releasing tension when I practice.
My new teacher constantly put her hands on my shoulder to remind me to relax my shoulder. I often tense up my shoulders as I am engaged in practice. I put a mirror next to myself to watch my movement now.
I'm open to hear your feedback if you have suggestions!
-
I'm dropping this here as I just found it: https://www.musicandhealth.co.uk/health.html
I haven't looked at the site thoroughly, but it looks like there may be some useful information on it. (I was looking for information on something my son's teacher just told him regarding what a professor in her PhD program is having students do to 'correct' high wrists while playing. I didn't find what I was looking for, but did find this interesting site!)
-
Check out this link to beautifully animated presentations of Chopinās method of playing, from a specialist in biomechanics of piano playing with interest in injury prevention.
-
Mini textbook online that has some excellent information, by a specialist surgeon:
-
I have just read through this thread and it is clear this is such a big topic and so essential for us all. My teacher for several years was Carola Grindea who had studied with Tobias Matthay. Matthay was criticised for advocating what people thought was over relaxation but considering that he was one of the first to think about technique in this way over 100 years ago it was probably proportional to the lack of investigation or joined up thinking at that time on the topic. In the 1980s Carola founded the European Piano Teachers Association with one of the aims being to teach teachers how to teach, avoiding technical problems caused by tension. She also founded ISSTIP, the International Society for the Study of Tension in Society. This drew together therapists, medical and musical practitioners and led to BAPAM, a degree in performing arts medicine in the UK. This area of study has come along way with ever improving technology proving. The other people you list above have also had this benefit and we must know more scientifically proven information than ever before. As is many areas of life I suppose!
I think Penelope Roskell explains technique so clearly, in a way workable for everyone- her course is definitely worth looking out and following.
I have small hands and have always had to think particularly about big chords/octaves. One thing I think I have learned is not to āend gameā simply getting through a passage regardless of how I do it. Pain is a sign something is not right, it mustnāt be ignored or put up with. But I think also donāt expect things to happen quickly. You can make progress but be content with tiny steps that mean you work with your body and with the instrument rather than setting the two against each other.
It is good you have been able to do so much research Michael and I hope you find something that works for you very soon.
-
A separate thread now addresses How to Deal with Thumb Arthritis.
-
This has become one of the central questions in my own work.
Over the years, I've come to wonder whether many playing-related injuries begin much earlier than we think. By the time pain appears, the body has often been compensating for a long time.
Physical tension certainly matters. Misaligned wrist or elbow motion, static positions, and excessive muscular effort can all contribute to injury. But I've also found another source that is easier to overlook: mental tension. When the musical image is unclearāwhen we don't yet internally hear every note, direction of the sound, harmony, dynamics, voicing, distance between the notes, phrasing, form, inner pulse etcāthe body often starts searching for solutions physically. That search can become surprisingly demanding.
Looking back, I don't think my greatest improvements came from learning how to relax. They came from understanding why I was becoming tense in the first place. As the music became clearer in my mind, many unnecessary movements simply disappeared, and the hands no longer felt the need to work so hard.
I'm curious whether others have noticed a similar connection between the clarity of their musical thinking and the physical ease of their playing. It isn't a relationship we discuss very often, but I suspect it's more significant than we realise.
-
Folks have been mentioning Peabodyās Performing Musiciansā Clinic, which is a part of Johns Hopkins. Peabody is also under the JHU umbrella.
I have been a patient there for a bit over a year and it is absolutely terrific. The leader, Dr. Serap Gray is, herself, a classical guitarist and deeply understands musicians and the physical challenges associated with playing at a high level. I HIGHLY recommend them. The facilities are quite quaint, but the knowledge and approach is world class.
-
said:
How did you handle it? What steps did you take to prevent it from happening again?I wonder whether we sometimes assume the body is the origin of the problem, when in some cases it may simply be expressing a deeper mismatch between the musical intention and the way we're trying to realize it.
In my experience, many injuries are discussed in terms of muscles, tendons, posture, or technique. Those are certainly important. But I've often wondered whether they are always the starting point.
Sometimes the body seems to be working extraordinarily hard to solve a musical problem that hasn't yet been solved mentally. If the sound quality, direction, phrasing, or movement implied by the score isn't fully understood, the hands may compensate by adding effort. From the outside, it looks like a physical problem, but perhaps the physical strain is only the visible symptom.
It makes me curious whether anyone has noticed that certain passages become physically easier - not because the fingers became stronger, but because something in the musical understanding suddenly became clearer.