Yesterday morning my piano teacher and I finalised the difficult and frustrating decision to postpone my Licentiate (LmusA) piano exam in the first week of September. About three weeks ago I began to get pain in my left shoulder which has only recently begun to subside. Turns out I have bursitis (traumatised tendons underneath an inflamed fluid sac). Ultimately it would have been unrealistic to balance regular accompanying and teaching commitments while trying to rejuvenate what I had lost physically and mentally. I haven’t been able to practice anything for 3 weeks. I dont intend to use this status update as a sob-story but rather something more indulgent and off-putting for Facebook users - a soap-boxy rant. Firstly, a word of disclaimer here: I speak from experience with classical music but I’m sure this is relevant for other genres of music. Musicians don’t take care of themselves. In many cases, you are artificially manipulating something that is designed acoustically rather than ergonomically. This is compounded that much of the standard repertoire requires you to do unnatural, awkward things at absurd speeds and durations. All of this while trying to develop such disproportionate speed, flexibility, stamina and power from muscles and tendons that are so small, delicate and complex. If this isnt bad enough or doesn’t apply to you, then you probably play something that locks you in an unnatural posture for several hours a day that non musicians might (only incidentally) spend less than 10 seconds in every day. This is before extra-physical factors like stress/deadlines are factored in. Music may be good for the soul but its potentially atrophic for the body.If you want to play physically demanding repertoire for the rest of your life, then don’t dismiss the benefits of stretching, warming up properly, seeing a physio/osteo, doing regular exercise, trying meditation/muscle relaxation techniques, reading and learning about your body, optimising your practice and relaxation regime for maximum physical well-being. It was only by failing to do maybe 1 or 2 of these that I ended up with an injury. As a reward for reaching the end of my status update I promise I won’t post another preachy and condescending update for another few months. Pinky promise.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 02:00:21 +0000
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