Aside from the musical and technical pursuit of excellence, one of my duties is to encourage myself and others around me – students and colleagues alike – to engage in healthy habits for complementing music playing skills and promoting mental and physical longevity. Musicians may not be athletes, but our skills are still a form of physical activity; in some cases, requiring immense physical and mental endurance. This is especially true when we have to perform at a high level under pressure.
Learning how our body responds in various situations and understanding the relationship between various muscle, tendon, and ligament groups when we play can help us not only prevent injuries before symptoms occur but also improve our performance skills by fortifying a strong foundation underneath the technical fundamentals layer (ie – scales, etudes, etc).
I may be a fitness enthusiast and am always happy to share some exercises that work for me (more of these to come!) but at the moment of writing this post, I’m not certified as a body mapper, personal trainer, or therapist along those lines of any kind. However, I’m very happy to recommend two physical therapists and trainers who specialize working with musicians (especially to take care of, and prevent injuries):
- Cody Weisbach from the Musician’s Maintenance newsletter. Musician-specific exercises, coaching programs, and “Movement Monday”: https://sparklp.co/02ce821d/
- Angela McCuiston from Music Strong – Music Strong has just released a brand new membership with tons of services. Included are: On-demand videos such as instrument-specific workouts, live classes, a private discord channel, courses, and monthly guest artist residencies so we can learn from even more sources. You can get a FREE 7-Day Trial by using my affiliate code at checkout: “VIOLINNA”. You’re also welcome to use this code if you’d rather make an individual purchase on the musicstrong.comwebsite. In that case, you’ll get 10% off anything.
*I’m a brand ambassador of Music Strong, and will receive a small commission if you use my code at checkout*