Replacing Pain, Injury and Limitations with Speed, Ease and Virtuosity

Dorothy Taubman discovered that there are certain movements that are incoordinate and also likely to cause injury. Eradicating these from a pianist’s technique is important, not just to avoid injury, but because these movements can impede speed, ease and, ultimately, virtuosity.

Tell-tale signs of issues or injury include the following:

• Pain

• Weakness

• Lack of control

• Numbness

• Tingling

• Nerve entrapment (e.g., carpal tunnel syndrome)

• Dystonia (the unexplained closing of the hand in on itself, or the inability to control any aspect of the fingers or arm)

• And other symptoms that interfere with your ability to play your instrument at the level you’re accustomed to

What is disturbing is that the rates of injury in musicians are extremely high. In Australian studies, the following rates of injury were found:

• 67% of child musicians

• 25% of Australians commencing tertiary music programs

• 68% of Australian tertiary students have experienced a playing related musculoskeletal disorder in the preceding week

In orchestral musicians:

• 84%: respondents suffered a playing related musculoskeletal disorder sufficiently severe to have interfered with their playing in the past 18 months

• 49.3%: respondents admitted to currently experiencing pain or injury for at least the week prior to the survey

The solutions to injury are simple.

For pianists, we must make sure that the finger, hand and forearm always remain aligned, in one piece and with no collapses or breaks at any joint.

We must avoid:

• Twisting

• Collapsing

• Isolating (including isolating exercises)

• Stretching

• Holding Up/Out

• Pressing excessively on the key-bed

• Any movement that puts us in the extreme range of motion

In our upcoming workshop, we will explore how to avoid injury and pain in yours or your student’s technique and show how to move in a coordinate way that allows for speed, ease and, ultimately, virtuosity.

We’ll be in Sydney on 7-8 October and then the Gold Coast/Logan from 14-15 October. If you cannot make it in person, you can purchase video access to the lectures. These videos will be made available after the conclusion of the workshops once the videos have been edited.

For a strictly limited time, you can save 10% off the cost of entry or the videos by using this discount code: EASYTECHNIQUE10

Book here: www.trybooking.com/QFMA

Please note the change of venue for the Gold Coast workshop. It will now be held in Shailer Park (Logan).

We look forward to seeing you there.