PLAY

Playing is what musicians are good at and unfortunately for most musicians, playing is all you do! Every musical instrument regardless of musical genre has its own inherent risks, purely from the way the instrument needs to be held to create sound. There are of course separate principles for every instrument to improve performance and minimise pain, but every player will hold an instrument differently depending on their skill level, body dimensions and physical capability.

There are an enormous amount of instrument attachments and add-ons you can purchase to help make it more comfortable to play but many players can rely on these external modifications rather than looking at their own physical capability as to why they may be struggling with the instrument.

  • POSTURAL ENDURANCE

    Postural endurance seems to be a significant factor for pain and injury, regardless of the instrument played. As your body fatigues, performance decreases, muscle tension increases, and the risk of pain or injury increases. You can improve your postural endurance through our four level general exercise and body conditioning program HERE

    Planning your practice sessions can be extremely useful to reduce physical overload and avoid those niggling pains and tightness that hamper so many musicians. There are rehearsal planning apps like ‘Andante” to help you but the main aim is to stick to a plan regardless of external pressures.

    Research also points to a protocol of 30-40 minutes of high-quality practice with a decent (10-20 minute break) as a plan to get the best out of your rehearsal time. This area is not our expertise but we do have further reading links available to help you keep up to speed with modern research-based methodology.

    You can also join our community to see what others think and ask for help.