Practicing and performing music is a very physical activity. In spite of all the mental and emotional exertion that goes into it, we must always remember how physical it is.Â
Below are some thoughts about physical injury from music, and here’s a website link that can give you lots of information about this subject, including practical tips, anatomical information, and a list of excellent books.
As teachers, we can help students appreciate and work patiently with what our muscles and tendons can do for us. Often, we use small, precise, repetitive motions involving muscles or angles of movement that students may not be used to. The way a little finger or a wrist is used in playing an instrument may be very different than the way that finger or wrist is used when operating a computer, for example.
A high percentage of musicians have lost valuable time due to aches and pains that are often little understand and glibly labelled as “tendonitis” or another generic ailment. It’s dangerous to push through little pains, but it’s also unnecessary to take weeks off of playing, or to take drugs, in order to manage problems.  The right kind of warmups and cooldowns, and especially stretching and strengthening exercises, and massage, can be invaluable.Â
It’s important to keep an open mind. I once had a shoulder problem for two years, and a doctor told me I needed 6 weeks rest from playing. He had me worried I might damage my shoulder if I kept playing. Luckily I found an excellent accupuncturist who permanently cured the problem in 5 treatments.
One teacher of mine influenced me in this regard, probably because back when he was in school he wrote a thesis on the ergonomics of violin playing.  I have developed my own exercises for students, aimed at giving them simple movements that are easy to do correctly, but that highlight efficient motions helpful to their playing. The idea is to make them physically aware of how easy it can be to move efficiently, even if they can’t do it immediately while focusing on playing a piece of music.Â
The bottom line is that we can’t just tell our bodies what to do; our bodies have to physically experience the right motions in order to call upon them, and the right isolated exercises can help develop this physical knowledge. I find that there are times when students can absorb this information and times when they are not ready. Forcing them into habitual positions that seem “correct” can sometimes do more harm than good.
Nowadays it’s well worth learning about posture, ergonomics, and how to perform with minimum physical strain and maximum efficiency, not only for our own playing, but so that we can pass along the information to students, and help them integrate physical health into their musical lives.
About the Author
Ed Pearlman has focused on performing, teaching, and judging fiddle music for over 30 years, offering performances and workshops throughout the USA and in Canada and Scotland. His original training was with members of the Chicago and Boston Symphonies, and he played with orchestras and chamber groups at Yale and in Boston. He currently teaches privately at two music schools affiliated with music stores in Maine. Ed directed the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club in monthly workshops for 18 years, directed major concerts and festivals, and recorded 2 solo CDs and several with a fiddle orchestra and top soloists. In addition to Scottish and Cape Breton fiddle styles, Ed plays other Celtic, American, and Canadian fiddle music, classical and some jazz, klez and Hungarian. Ed created and for 11 years ran a CD distribution company to bring music to the USA from Scotland, Atlantic Canada, Ireland, Brittany and Wales. He's the music columnist for Scottish Life magazine.
