To Your Health!
Most professional musicians get periodic aches and pains. We are susceptible to overuse injuries because we:
-have up to five rehearsals and four concerts a week
-are at the mercy of conductors and the music we play
-practice additional hours to learn the orchestra parts, retain and improve our skills
-perform extra chamber and solo concerts for musical variety and to advance our individual careers
-fail to manage our practice time effectively
My son played high school baseball, basketball, and football. I recall the many hours of practice that was required of him, and the conditioning in the offseason. There were football coaches who expected him to play hurt, and baseball coaches who left him on the pitching mound for extra innings to "secure the win". Musicians are like athletes, but we play our entire lives, or at least, until retirement at age 65. Too many of us play 'till we drop!
Conductor Mistislav Rostropovich used to rally us on by calling us "soldiers for music". It was well intended, but I'm sure many of his musicians sacrificed their bodies, quite literally, for the highly charged Shostakovich symphonies we played. He was merciless!
Young musicians might feel invincible, but they should know that the strength of youth will begin to wane by about age 30. I recommend establishing some routines early in your career that will help ward off injuries...
1. Warm-up your body before you pick up your instrument to play. It would be ideal to get your heart going a bit by walking to work (lesson or gig), or by taking a 10-15 minute walk outside after driving. I always do a short warm-up routine of windmills, stretches, and one set of three different shoulder exercises with a thera-band or surgical tube. When I begin playing my instrument, I feel that my shoulders, arms, and hands have all been tended to and are not in for a rude awakening.
2. Strengthen the rotator cuff, where repetitive motion injuries are likely to occur for bass players (and baseball pitchers). The rotator cuff is a collection of small muscles and tendons in the shoulder which hold the head of the humerus (upper arm bone) in place. These relatively small muscles can only be strengthened with light weights or elastic bands, because weights of more than 2-5 lbs. will engage other larger muscles. I like elastic bands or stretch tubing because they are convenient to take anywhere. There are a variety of exercises that can be performed, of which doctors and trainers have their own variations. But they all consist of the arm pulling against resistance either toward the body (internal rotation, extension, and adduction) or away from the body (external rotation, flexion, and abduction). Typically, one holds the position for about five seconds, then slowly releases. Your doctor can provide exercises, or you can find them on the internet or in books.
3. Keep generally physically fit. There are very few "couch potatoes" that succeed in the music world. I don't do highly strenuous workouts like lifting heavy weights or marathons. I like routines that will carry me safely through middle age into the golden years. One guy in our violin section is an ironman tri-athlete, so, we've all got to follow our own drummer, certainly. But I'm quite sure body building or other heavy weight lifting is detrimental for string players. General conditioning can be achieved through moderate weight bearing exercises and safe sit-ups, swimming (watch the shoulders!), or other means I'm not familiar with (yoga?). I like to take a short jog every other day, too, and when the weather is nice there are some great hikes in the Washington area (many of them strenuous!).
4. Don't over do the practicing. I've heard bassists say how they are in such good shape they are able to practice six hours a day. Well, there's a good chance they'll end up on the operating table! If you are practicing effectively, you can get by with two hours a day, and you need recovery time - just like athletes. It's better to have shorter practice sessions (even one hour), but try to do it consistently everyday or twice a day. If one must practice four hours in a day it should be spread out over the whole day with frequent breaks. A day off every once in a while does wonders, too!
We all struggle with managing practice time. It can be hard to stop when things are going well, or maybe you think you'll conquer a "lick" if you just try it a few more times. But, when you come back after a break you might surprise yourself and play a passage better. Also, understand that if you keep playing something over and over, eventually you won't be able to do it at all! Know when to move on...
5. Have good technique. It's another whole subject, I know, but bad technique can wreak havoc with your body. The left arm and hand mostly take care of themselves if you "listen" to them. You can get tendonitis with overuse, certainly, but mostly, you need to establish intelligent fingering habits and a good vibrato. There's a lot more going on with the bow arm. Poor understanding of the bow arm can cause unnecessary tension, which can lead to aches and pains, and ultimately, injury. A bassist should have knowledge of:
-when to use the whole arm, elbow, wrist, and fingers
-what part of the bow to use (frog, middle, tip)
-when to be off the string or on the string
-where to place the bow between the fingerboard and bridge, and why
-how arm angle and bow grip play a huge role in delivering power efficiently
In closing, I should probably remind all of us that many other activities can cause career-threatening injuries. For instance, I used to bowl a little, with a very heavy ball. Bad! And I finished two basements, which quite certainly was rough on my shoulders and fingers. I even got carpel tunnel syndrome from power washing my deck, which took me three years to recover from. Finally, using very dangerous saws should be left to the "big boys".
I hope to see you around, just not at the doctor's office!
