There is hardly a higher music education institution today that does not offer its performing students an introduction to how to use the body correctly. The Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH) offers modules in several disciplines involving body control and correct use of the body. They include Feldenkrais, tai chi, qigong, eurhythmics, biomechanics (Timani) (all covered by the umbrella subject “Body, Balance and Breathing”), occupational physiology and Alexander Technique (see Chapter 4). The project described here is based on naprapathy, which has not previously been used at the NMH.
Four violin students and their teacher participated. The violin is in many ways an ideal instrument for a project like this. All instruments have their physical challenges, but it is not without reason that one English performance scientist describes the violin (along with the viola and flute) as being “notoriously userunfriendly”. Research has found that the biggest physical problems suffered by violinists relate to the neck and shoulders as well as forearms, hands and wrists. They also share some problems with all musicians: bad posture, inappropriate practice regimes, poor fitness levels and stress.
The project has involved three seminars at the NMH with the principal instrument teacher, students and naprapath as well as one seminar at New York University for teachers and students from Norway, Australia and the US.
In light of the above, the aim of the seminars was to improve the students’ stamina and quality of practice through effective recuperation and injury prevention, by:
- Acquiring basic knowledge about body functions
- Learning how problems can be mitigated
- Learning to prevent new problems through recuperation, physical activity and exercises
This involved demonstrating and practising:
- Posture techniques: Demonstrating which extreme muscle and joint positions create tension/strain; moving with the music to create better circulation; set-up of chin/shoulder rests; looking at tendencies and faults in individual performers; and how to break with negative patterns.
- Training and stretching: Research shows that string players often practise a lot, and they need good routines for recuperating after practice. This involved exercises with rubber resistance bands to improve strength and blood circulation in regions impacted by static muscle use as well as light stretching of muscles that tend to shorten when exposed to repetitive strain.
- Good routines for taking breaks during practice: Examples were provided of what constitutes a healthy balance between practice and rest. Rest patterns were suggested that are easy to incorporate but that are easily forgotten during an intensive day of practice. The importance of taking several short breaks was emphasised – including breaks as short as one minute in order to boost stamina and concentration.
All seminars began with a brief, individual consultation and treatment in order to identify knots and blocks in the muscles of each student, before using this information as a basis for individual guidance during the seminars on the topics described above.
Having the principal instrument teacher present also benefited the teacher, as it provided him with knowledge of strain problems and potential injury that can be prevented by teaching correct performance techniques.