How to maintain good health & fitness as a musician

If you are learning/play a musical instrument, take note, your body is sacred. This is because the act requires certain physical movements as well as a level of endurance, strength and flexibility, especially in practice where repetition is the norm.

At the core of any good practice session is your posture. From how you hold your neck as a violinist to how you sit if you play piano, cello or other instruments that require you to sit, your physical wellbeing is based on posture. The wrong type if maintained for too long, can obviously lead to long-term problems.

1. Stretches are designed to ‘loosen up’ the body and eradicate any stiffness in particular joints. A warm-up routine doesn’t have to be restricted to the fingers (although simply stretching them wide repeatedly for short time as part of your routine is a good way to loosen them).

2. Don’t stay seated for too long. Remaining sedentary if you sit down to play/practice your instrument is unhealthy and it is better to get up now and again (around every 30-40 minutes) to give your legs and body in general some circulation as well as break the . For practice on piano 1 hour, take a short break and walk around.

3. Breathe deeply when you take short breaks as this allows more air to circulate. This is especially effective when stood up. Also have a glass of water during this time and before you begin practice as this helps improve concentration and general body balance.

4. Try different positions when playing your instrument. By varying this you can see what areas you are least comfortable with and at the same time, find other positions that you can improve if your instrument requires playing in an orchestra, small group or band.

5. The right furniture is vital. What you sit on, your environment play a part. Make sure your chair/stool is comfortable and the right height, as is your music stands (if you use one). Also, if short sighted obviously wear your glasses and ensure you are seated and standing at a distance where you don’t have to crane/arch your neck nor strain your eyes to see the music. The right light will also help your music-reading vision as will room temperature (which will affect any wind instruments you play like clarinet) for your comfort

6. Never overdo your repetition. If in practicing, you are struggling with a particular area the last thing you want to do is let your determination to correct it get the better of you. Sometimes there is the temptation to just keep on repeating a passage, pushing through until it all comes good in the end. Practice as you may know, doesn’t work like that and the unfortunate result can be quite the opposite – muscle pain, strain and even damage. So when you find an awkward area you can’t get right, don’t feel it needs to be corrected there and then through repetition. Leave it, come back to it another time and save your body potential injury.

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