More on Ending Discomfort in Playing

Let's talk about relaxation.  How often have you been told, or even told a student to “relax!”  What exactly does it mean to “relax.”  I’m a big believer that you have to be able to explain anything you instruct a student to do, and instructing them to relax is no exception. 

Being able to physically relax, and relax in a way that is appropriate for your instrument (or voice) is a skill that can be learned.  For the purposes of playing a musical instrument, it comes down to understanding a little bit about how muscles work.  Muscles work in pairs or in groups.  The easiest example is to flex your bicep.  When it is flexed, the tricep on the back of your arm is loose, but when you straighten your arm, your tricep flexes, and your bicep gets loose.  If you keep your arm straight for an extended period of time, your tricep fatigues, but your bicep feels nothing.  Relaxing your arm is finding a balance between the two muscles so that neither is working harder than the other.

I can’t begin to tell you exactly what muscles are affected for every instrument.  My best advice if you are having specific muscle pain is to visit a physical therapist or medical massage therapist and show them what you are doing when you feel it.  Ask them to explain to you which muscles are overworking, and which muscles will balance them out.  When you're playing an instrument you're inevitably going to be out of balance with some muscle group or another, the key is not going more out of balance than necessary.  Overall fitness helps as well.  If your body is in good physical shape, it can handle more stress and strain.   If you’ve got the time, you can also do some research on anatomy to learn more for yourself how muscles work together.  Something I’ve done with good success is to just close my eyes and be aware of what muscles are working.  I’m someone that carries tension in my shoulders, so when I work on a tough piece of music, my shoulders sometimes head for the sky.  By focusing on the muscles that I feel when I lower my shoulders, it helps me to relax.   Since I’ve learned about this, I no longer feel like I’ve been in a wrestling match after a long practice or rehearsal.  Even more than myself, by being aware of this with my students, I can actually see habits that could be causing them discomfort or will in the future and help them change those habits early.

If you or your student has an injury, please see a doctor.  I’m a musician, sharing what works for me.  I tend to be drawn to the minutia of how things work and this is what has worked for me.  I think that relaxing appropriately for your instrument or voice is a skill, and mastering it can give you many more hours of practice and play without discomfort.  Hope that helps!