Playing an instrument is a physical activity, so you need to stay strong, balanced and flexible. There are five areas to be aware of in order to stay strong — general health and exercise; muscle movement vs tendon use; rest b
reaks; varying our positions; and maintaining natural positions. Here are few tips about each of these, plus some book titles at the end. I hope you find this helpful!
1. Getting general exercise is key to avoiding problems due to specific musical activities. The fiddle requires some unbalanced movements — for example, the right palm faces up, the left faces down; meanwhile, the left shoulder is tempted to lift to help support the fiddle while the right shoulder is often held down for bowing. It’s very important to your health to stretch and strengthen all parts of your body, to counteract any imbalances. Simple 20-second stretches are good, such as holding your arms open in a doorway. Or you could get serious with something like Pilates, which is great because it doesn’t require any equipment. Other ideas include yoga (with a good teacher), well-considered workouts at a gym, a bicycle, regular outdoors walks.
2. It’s important to keep in mind that you are able to do more than your muscles allow, but that isn’t necessarily healthy. Sometimes pushing to the max, such as forcing your fingers to move while in odd positions could work the tendons too much and the muscles not enough. Try to strengthen the muscles you use, and don’t take them for granted. Even when people use equipment at gyms, or take long walks, they can hurt themselves if they don’t consciously engage their muscles in a controlled way. Exercises in Technique Video Groups #1 and #2 can be very helpful in this way, such as (in Group #1) Windshield Wiper, Triangle, Drumming, and Fingertaps; or in Group #2) Breathing Bows and Inchworm.
3. Take some rest breaks. It’s recommended that you rest 10 minutes for every hour of effort, and that you’re not working so hard that you forget to give yourself 30 seconds of rest every 10 minutes. I know someone who practiced so intensely without breaks that she put herself right into a neck brace. Often, halfway through playing a tune or doing an exercise, try pausing and thinking about relaxing your muscles 10%. We do need to use the muscles so we can’t relax them very much. But taking the edge off the tension is critical, even if just 10%. The “Ugly Scale” in Technique Video Group #2 is all about finding the minimum pressure necessary for your fingers.
4. Don’t stay in one position too long. One professional string player told me she alternates the use of two bows so that her hand gets a little variety in weight and positioning. Little changes make a big difference, and pushing yourself for too long risks overuse problems in the back, shoulder or elbow for many musicians. Sometimes the briefest breaks and changes of position can stave off a problem and keep muscles in control. Exercises in the Technique Video Groups 1 such as Rolling the Bow, Drumming, and Body Mapping, or in TechVid Group 2 such as Meeting the Bow, the Inchworm, or Circular Bows, are intended to prevent your body from freezing up in a position it imagines to be “correct.” Even if you find a good position for playing, vary it. The way people get hurt most is by not giving a muscle group a break.
5. Be aware of your most natural positions. The wrist is naturally fairly straight, and our hands and tendons are weak if the wrist caves in (flexes). A straight wrist also helps keep good blood flow. The thumb and fingers are naturally bent when relaxed, so that is the position to shoot for. When they’re straight or bent back they are strained. I once calculated that the average fiddler plays about 5 million bowstrokes in a year! So slight adjustments to keep the bowing motion more natural can add up to a big help over time. Some of my exercises for students involve their shaking out their hand and finding what positions their hand wants. It’s good to continue being aware of and experimenting with natural positions, and to remember that physical cues are more important than verbal ones. For example, you may think verbally “I need to stand up straight” but without knowing how this feels, it’s possible to overdo and overarch into a strained position. As mentioned in #4, varying your position can make sure you’re allowing your body to find its best positions while also allowing breaks.
Simple awareness, stretches, and brief breaks can go a long ways to helping. A few affordable and quality books to consider include “Stretch and Strengthen” by Judy Alter; “Core Performance” by Mark Verstegen; “The Pilates Body” by Brooke Siler. (Of course you could buy “Medical Problems of the Instrumentalist Musician” if you have a spare $325!) Best of luck, and stay healthy!
© 2017 Ed Pearlman