Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.piano Subject: Backaches! I've recently begun playing the piano after an almost 20-year absence from keyboard music (studied organ ages 7 to 17). When I was young, I had terrible backaches (even in my 30-minute practices) until my legs grew long enough to reach the bass pedals or footrest. I'm enjoying my piano immensely, but the backaches are back with a vengeance. My fingers and arms are doing just fine (typing has kept my fingers nimble, and after a bout with carpal tunnel when pregnant I'm very careful), but pain in my upper and lower back and shoulders is interrupting my practice more than my preschooler. (Obviously) I've had a child, so the muscles in my abdomen could probably use some strengthening. Does anyone out there have any advice? Even stretching breaks every so often are not making a dent. Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.piano Subject: Backaches! Are you keeping good posture? You should play sitting at the very edge of the bench (toward the piano) and upright with your back straight. I see a lot of people sit on a piano bench as if it were a chair with the front of the bench right under their knees and this is not correct. You also shouldn't slump. You might also consider getting a padded bench. I use the adjustable type like in auditoriums, but they're awfully (and, I think, unnecessarily) expensive. Hope this helps. Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.piano Subject: Backaches! These things are true. Also, playing the piano is no different from any athletic activity in the sense that you are a specific set muscles and focusing mentally on using them in a highly specific way. The lower back muscles figure prominently into playing, and will develop over time. Get up and walk around after 30 minutes to relieve your back. If you plan on practicing a lot, the concert chair is almost an essential, IMO, and yes, you should sit on the very edge of your seat . This will keep your weight forward, where it should be and straighten your back (unless you have an abnormally short back--I noticed in a newspaper picture that Andreus Schiff sits all the way back on his seat, but this guy has an incredibly short back!). They also sell special chairs (or used to anyway) that tilt forward. These are a great aid to correct posture, but a little hard on the arse. You can improvise and put blocks under the back legs of your bench to tilt it forward as well. Joseph Hoffman had special blocks he took with him wherever he performed, and I've also noticed that Abby Hoffman (his student, btw) does the same thing. Anyway, I've got a long back and proper posture is tiring for me too, but I can tell you that these muscles get stronger over time. The key is to get up and stretch and rest them for a few minutes every half-hour, so as not to develop spasms. Then you'll have to take a week off, and you don't want to do that. . . at least not till golf and tennis season kick in. Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.piano Subject: Backaches! I used to have similar problems on gigs. The sets last from 45 minutes to an hour, and my back would hurt something fierce. I've done all the exercises, stretching, posture, things that are recommended here. They did not work. I've had this problem since I was in my early 30s. One day I got a piano stool with a back support. It's old. I found it in a junk store. That cured the aching back problem. I can play for hours with no pain. Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.piano Subject: Backaches! The whole body is connected, so every movement you make naturally wants to involve a whole chain of muscles and bones running from your fingertips to the place you are supported by the ground, probably your pelvis on the piano bench. In American society, we typically have habits of trying to move just one body part to accomplish something, and to make that seem easier to ourselves, we hold the rest of our bodies rigid. The rigidity can cause stress and eventually pain. I suggest the following the experiment. Pick some typical movement with your hand as you play the piano, say moving your hand from side-to-side or up-and-down. Notice which parts of you move. Probably your lower arm moves. Maybe your upper arm moves a little. Your shoulder blade probably doesn't move very much. Now see if you can allow your shoulder to move a little more. It may feel like an exaggerated movement, but see if you can find a natural way of doing it. Then pay attention to the rest of your back and torso, and see if you can find a way of involving them in the movement---again, it may feel exaggerated, but you may find a smooth way of doing it. For the movement of your hand lifting and falling, trying using extension and flexion of the spine. Then allow the movements to become smaller while maintaining a sense of them happening in a chain. Then see if you can transfer this feeling to your normal playing. Notice what feels different about this way of playing. Many of these ideas can be found in the Feldenkrais Method, and there are many more helpful techniques along these lines. Let me know if you'd like more information. Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.piano Subject: Backaches! Try a chiropractor. I've seen one exactly once, and I will swear by him. BTW, I play 5 1/2 -6 hours a night. Only twice a week. I never have any back problems.