Have you experienced some sort of pain in your body as a result of, or made worse by playing the piano? It’s a huge problem and it forces some pianists to stop playing altogether. If you’re suffering while, or after, you play the piano you need to read this article or watch the video below! [7 minutes]
This problem is something that every dedicated pianist I know has struggled with and there are many causing factors:
long practice sessions without a break.
poor posture.
unsuitable seating.
lack of or poor technique.
stress, overworking,
pressure from unrealistic standards of perfection.
mental tension and pushing too hard through new concepts.
a combination of physical activities outside of piano.
existing conditions from injury or illness can be exacerbated by all of the above.
daily use of digital devices or sitting at a computer.
It’s extremely common. In fact, a study published in academic journal in 2017 called ‘Musculoskeletal Problems in Pianists and Their Influence on Professional Activity.’, studied 200 test subjects ranging from student to teacher to professional pianists - they identified 20 different problems, which principally involved the upper body (arms and back). These results were regardless of occupation or age:
“All respondents reported having musculoskeletal problems and that these impacted on their professional activity.”
The problem for pianists is that the piano is a seated instrument and we do have to put our arms forward to play - and that pulls the rest of our upper body forward. If we are not careful, or even when we are, we can cause strain in our upper torso area from pulling forward in the wrong places (it should be from the hips not the back). This can manifest as lower or upper back pain, chest pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, and headaches.
Another common pain that pianists experience is in our fingers, wrists and forearms from lack of, or simply poor technique.
You might not have experienced any or all of these kinds of pains yet, and that’s great! But assuming you don’t want to give up playing piano, it’s important to put some good habits in place and look after your body, so you never have to experience more pain! Prevention is better than a cure after all.
If you do experience pain already then it’s important not to ignore it – you don’t have to continue to suffer or wait for it to get worse, or the outcome nobody wants – to stop playing piano altogether.
By taking action with a focus on good technique and exercises designed to relax & de-stress the muscles you can minimise pain and maximise your piano longevity!
I’ve certainly experienced a lot of pain especially in recent years as an online piano coach, because when I’m not at the piano I’m at the computer, or on my phone – which all contributes to that neck and back strain. The thing I’ve found the most beneficial is YOGA.
I’ve been doing yoga every week for the last 3 years and every day for the last year. A few simple yoga stretches each morning and when I feel strained, has helped me to destress and neutralise my body, stretch out those areas that hold all the stress & strain of my every day and limber me up for better piano playing.
My discovery of yoga coincided directly with moving to a small beach town that is New Zealand’s yoga capital, Raglan! So I’m perfectly situated to bring a solution to this problem that many pianists face with the help of one of the countries best yoga instructors.
Our next course is an exploration into YOGA poses that benefit us as pianists and as humans in a stressful world.
There’s more details to come about what that looks like, but know this: it’s going to be hugely beneficial to you no matter your age, your pianistic ability, no matter what your level of fitness or flexibility and physical capability - I have teamed up with a qualified Yoga instructor to make a program that will suit everybody and ALL bodies.
