Author: Daniel Chiung Jui Su, MD, RMSK, CIPS
In my clinic, musicians sometimes come in for suggestions on their playing posture. They may want better sound projection, tone quality, or better playability, or simply because feeling discomfort with their original playing posture.
Several factors should be considered when adjusting our playing posture in the classroom or clinic.
1. Instrument itself
How would everyone feel if you walked into a department store today to buy clothes and shoes, but everything was available in only one size? Unfortunately, most professional musicians face this when playing musical instruments.
Most instruments come in 'One size only.’ However, everyone's height, palm size, finger length, finger span, neck length, and shoulder width are different, making it challenging to fit into an instrument.
Let alone instruments like the piano, for which you don’t have any choice of the size of the keyboard….The keyboard of a piano won't shrink because of you! The finger span needed for Rachmaninoff and Chopin is just that large. Shostakovich's intensity must be strong, no matter your physical condition.
Besides the size, the playability of the instrument is crucial!
String players should find a luthier or instrument maker to adjust their instruments. While every instrument may seem the same, too many small details can impact each player's posture, tone quality, and potential muscular-skeletal injuries.
Taiwan's humid climate can cause the fingerboard to sink and the bridge to tilt, affecting string pressing. Conversely, other countries with dry climates may exert extra tension on wood instruments.
When buying a new bow, special attention should also be paid as it can affect the tendons and muscles around the thumbs, pinkies, and wrist joints. This is especially true if the new bow's center of gravity is different from the previous one or if the bow's bite depth or rebound force is stronger, all of which can potentially impact the neck and shoulders.
2. Individual’s physical quality
The arm length, hand size, finger length, and muscular amount of the body are only parts of the parameters when determining the body composition of the musicians. One of the key factors in the present studies, and also the common story in my clinic, is the laxity degree of the ligaments and fascia, which is partly genetic unless it’s an accumulated injury during the practice. Some musicians have stronger ligaments, and some have weaker (more laxity) ones. The ones with more laxity can spread the fingers more open than the others. Still, it also makes it easier to sprain and tear the ligaments, leading to tenderness and impacting the performance outcome.
In addition to the previous two factors, the constant pressure we face in music may also influence and deteriorate our playing posture.
In Taiwan's music competitions for school-age players (and this phenomenon happens in many other countries as well), the repertoire of the free piece is often out of the league for the players. It's not that it can't be done, but our muscles and tendons need time and special practice to adapt to that level of intensity.
I often see various compensatory postures in my clinic due to improper preparation for a sudden increase in intensity or demanding techniques. These postures can become habits and cause injuries that are hard to mend, affecting one's musical career in the long run.
Furthermore, composers usually dedicate their work to the most outstanding contemporary performers, who are among the best in their generation technically, musically, and physically, which puts extra stress if you are a musician in the “norm.”
It’s easier to say than do. In the clinic, musicians often come, even if they are professors in the conservatory or senior players in the professional orchestra, telling me that they know the correct posture and teach their students well, but they don’t know why it’s hard for them to correct their posture. Is it age or muscle memory or what?
We will discuss this question and the solution in the next paragraph.
No pain is pain.
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The article was written by Dr. Daniel Su from A Tempo Regeneration Center for Musicians at Chi-Mei Medical Center, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Tainan, Taiwan.
