Piano Guidance
Piano Guidance
Photo: Mikhail Nilov
As a result, tension and stress accumulate not only in our mind, but in our hands as well. Carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis are just two of the many repetitive motion related injuries that pianists may experience during their musical career.
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Read More »Ideally, pianists should not experience hand injuries as a result of their practice. If you’re practicing regularly and correctly, constantly relaxing your shoulders, elbows and wrists, you should never feel pain, tension or discomfort in your muscles or tendons. However, I don’t think there is a professional pianist in this world who had not suffered from a certain hand injury at least once in his/her life. No matter how relaxed we play, sometimes the pianistic challenges are too high and so is our desire to overcome them. As a result, tension and stress accumulate not only in our mind, but in our hands as well. Carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis are just two of the many repetitive motion related injuries that pianists may experience during their musical career. I am not a doctor and I will not overwhelm you with complicated medical terms that will explain scientifically all these conditions. I will just share with you a few simple insights – the result of more than 20 years of hard work – that will help you understand the causes, the symptoms and the prevention measures of practice-related hand injuries. I will also tell you what exactly you should do in order to effectively deal with a muscle strain or a hand injury.
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Read More »4. Incorrect posture. A correct piano posture harmonizes the anatomical particularities of the human body with the particularities of the instrument. If your posture is incorrect (slouching, raising your shoulders, positioning the elbows too close or too far from the body, straining your wrist or lowering your knuckles below the wrist level), then you’re dramatically increasing your chances of developing a hand injury. 5. Too much ‘enthusiasm’ in your finger stretching exercises. Did you hear or read about what happened to Robert Schumann? He was a brilliant pianist, but he was seeking perfection in his piano technique, so he invented a ‘device’ that helped him stretch his fingers. Maybe the idea itself was not so bad, but unfortunately Schumann exaggerated with these exercises and he developed an irreversible hand injury. After that, he could never perform in public his own virtuosity pieces, which started to be promoted by his talented wife, Clara Schumann. Be careful when you do your finger stretching exercises! Your whole body should be relaxed and each stretch should be performed at exhalation – just like in yoga. This way you’ll avoid an accidental strain that could cause a more complicated trauma. 6. Psychological tension, stress and a negative attitude. Even if you practice regularly, even if your posture is correct and you play relaxed, by using the weight of your entire hand behind each note, you still risk getting a muscle pain if your attitude is incorrect. Our state of mind is the fundamental cause of all our problems. A negative attitude will amplify and worsen all our dysfunctions, while a positive one will accelerate the healing process of the most severe traumas. Now let’s see which are the main symptoms of muscle strain and other ailments related to repetitive motion and constant stress. Hand pain and/or wrist pain Numbness and weakness in your fingers and arms Diffuse pain radiating towards the forearms Poor blood circulation and cold hands Sore shoulders and/or neck If you feel any of the above-mentioned symptoms, it means that you have to take urgent measures in order to stop the destructive process before it makes even more damages. The good news is that even the most severe injuries manifest their first symptoms long before the condition becomes irreversible. Now let’s see what exactly we should do in order to deal with a hand injury effectively. 1. Stop practicing for at least one or two days. Rest and relaxation are the best remedies for tired sore hands. Take your time even if it affects your school schedule, your exams and your concerts. After all, your health is much more important! If you’ll not protect your hands when the first symptoms appear, it will be much harder to heal your injury in the future. 2. Resume your practice routine gradually. After a few days of rest (in a severe case the break should be longer – weeks or even months), begin your practice with several easy exercises. Play slowly some scales or a piece from your repertoire by using the weight of your arm behind each note. Don’t play pp or ff; mf is your main dynamic for the time being. Monitor your wrist, your elbows and your shoulders – they should be relaxed and heavy. Don’t hurry to play fast, the more time you dedicate to this thorough detailed practice method, the better your hands will heal.
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Read More »3. Practice regularly. It’s better and healthier to practice 1 hour per day EACH DAY than 5 hours per day twice or thrice a week. Regular practice will always keep your arms, your wrists, your hands and your fingers in good shape. When your muscles are trained and prepared for their daily work, it’s impossible to overwork them. I’ve seen many pianists wearing hand or wrist bandages when they get a muscle strain. I don’t recommend such measures. A tight bandage will decrease the blood circulation, slowing down the healing process. The blood has powerful healing capacities, that’s why we have to allow it to circulate freely, bringing fresh energy where it’s required and washing away the toxins. However, you have to be careful not to expose your hands to a cold environment. Wear something warm and gloves (especially during the cold season). And let’s not forget that prevention is better than any treatment. No matter how difficult your repertoire is and how little time you have at your disposal for learning it, try to avoid the causes of hand injuries mentioned above. Keep your hands and your mind relaxed while playing, try to enjoy the beauty of the music, to explore its mysteries and understand its message. Don’t play only with your fingers, use your arms like a bird is using its wings – this is the only way to ‘fly’ and conquer new peaks! If you enjoyed this free online piano lesson, here are some other piano learning and practice topics you’ll like:
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