Stress in Piano Practice/Playing 2
Last time, we talked about the concepts of practicing on the piano. Now, we’d visit some stress related issues that concern our practice lifestyle.
Some causes of stress
This requires regular, carefully timed work at the instrument, as well as exercise away from the instrument. It is important to take part in some form of exercise which gives a regular aerobic workout, although exercises which concentrate on building strength alone should probably be avoided, as they can result in imbalances which could later cause injury.
Minimizing stress
The following is an attempt to provide an example of some kind of table in ascending order of stress. Each category becomes more stressful if played either louder or faster.
Some causes of stress
- Practicing for too long without a break - particularly fast playing which doesn’t give the muscles time to recover.
- Excessive practicing brought on by panic when trying to learn new music against the clock, or when worried about auditions or exams.
- Returning to a full practice regimen after a holiday or other break from the instrument.
- Poor posture and unsuitable seating - often resulting in back, neck or shoulder pain.
- Faulty technique, especially resulting in excessive muscular tension, awkward positions of the joints, imbalance between opposing sets of muscles.
- Over-lifting the fingers.
- Strongly curved hand position - particularly with clenched fingertips.
- Extreme position of wrist - too high (extensor strain) or low (flexor strain).
- Excessive lateral or ulnar deviation of the wrist.
- A fixed position of the wrist.
- Excessive abduction of the fingers - especially in loud playing.
- Influence of other pianists’ example (trying to play like a particular model or just showing off).
- Danger of expecting all pianists to be able to do the same work/ practice for the same hours etc.
- ‘Mammoth achievements’ (having to accomplish all you want to master at once).
- Unrealistic standards of perfection from listening to edited performances on music tracks.
- Anatomical differences e.g. small fingers as opposed to a player with longer ones, etc.
- Danger of treating all pupils the same, and of applying ‘received’ theories of technique unquestioningly.
- Music which doesn’t suit an individual pianist's physique, e.g. the big stretches.
- Mental tension, distractions and depression and their effect on the muscles.
- A grim attitude to practice - not having fun.
- The strains of touring - accommodation, food, unsympathetic people, jet lag etc. (for bands on the move)
- Fear of performance, or ‘stage fright’, Critics.
- Attitude of teachers, parents, friends. Feelings of “letting people down” etc.
- Being ‘nice’, ‘obliging’ and ‘no trouble’. The traditional image of the accompanist who is supportive without thought for self can be a problem if it means not taking time to warm up properly before a rehearsal or concert.
- Warm up before practicing and cool down afterwards.
- Physical exercise warm up.
- Hot water warm up.
- Note learning can be a good warm up and economical use of time.
- Use of stretches (but warm up before stretching).
- Smile whilst practicing. Consciously make every movement as enjoyable as possible.
- Breathe whilst playing!
- Learn a physical awareness technique, such as Yoga, Tai Chi. The effect of these ancient practices give you an unbelievable amount of calmness and concentration.
- Take up a sport (low impact, e.g. swimming, cycling) to build stamina. Weight lifting could result in muscle imbalances - aerobic sports which increase heart and lung efficiency are better.
- Take frequent breaks in practice sessions, with movements and stretches that counteract the predominant playing positions, e.g. back and neck stretches, spreading arms wide etc.
- Adjustable stools are an absolute necessity.
- Stool height should be adjusted so that the thigh slopes slightly down to the knee, so that lower back lordosis is maintained and shoulders tend to sit back as part of a normal spinal curve
- The forearm should be at a height (usually level with the keyboard) so that the wrist can operate in its middle range of movement, where the tendons can travel in a more or less direct line to the fingers. This position can vary according to individual physiognomy (e.g. the extensor/flexor balance in the forearm).
- Note: It is frequently impossible to get both the thigh slope and the forearm height correct, as only the seat is adjustable and not the piano height, except keyboards on an adjustable stand. This can be a big problem and many pianists have to adopt a compromise position.
- Correct posture should make it possible to avoid extreme angles in any joint - and to play in the central range of movement.
- Vary the material or technique practiced to give some muscles a change of position or a rest.
- Practice scales and arpeggios for no longer than 10 minutes at a time, and these should be separated by playing forms which don't stress the same muscles in the same way. This applies equally to any other stressful form of playing.
- Use a timer to limit the practice time in one session. This could vary from 10 minutes to 20 or 30 minutes, depending on the material being worked on and the type of practice done.
- Take time during each practice session to get up from your instrument and do some stretches and/or relaxation exercises.
- Use of mental practice. Frequently the real problem in learning a new piece is analysis - an intellectual understanding of the structure of the music. Note bashing tends to be used far too much as an ‘easy’ option which can often result in injury - especially when there is a limited time to prepare.
- Take time to educate yourself musically, instead of spending all of the practice time ‘note bashing’. This could involve theoretical studies, reading, and listening.
- Develop a greater knowledge of music at the keyboard, including reading from figured bass, improvising and sight reading. This is generally much less physically taxing than playing pieces over or working on technical exercises.
- Use of extracts from pieces can be used instead of studies - saves time.
- Know what you are going to practice before the practice session.
- Don't always start at the beginning of a piece. Keep a list of the bits that need to be worked on every day, those that need revision less often, and those that scarcely need to be practiced at all.
- Use prime time for the most intellectually difficult work (often learning new music). This will be the first 20 minutes of your first practice for the day. So often students waste this period by playing favorite bits they know very well already.
- Design an appropriate technique for each passage instead of mindlessly repeating it in the hope that it will eventually ‘come right’.
This requires regular, carefully timed work at the instrument, as well as exercise away from the instrument. It is important to take part in some form of exercise which gives a regular aerobic workout, although exercises which concentrate on building strength alone should probably be avoided, as they can result in imbalances which could later cause injury.
Minimizing stress
- Strategies for overcoming performance fear - “Inner Game” etc.
- Permission to be less than perfect
- Give others permission to be less than perfect. We need each other's support.
- Recognize that our abilities vary with bio rhythms, what we eat, illness, sleep deprivation, emotional stress, jet lag etc.
- Alexander technique, Yoga, Tai Chi, meditation, aerobic sport etc.
The following is an attempt to provide an example of some kind of table in ascending order of stress. Each category becomes more stressful if played either louder or faster.
- Slow soft playing in single notes or chords.
- Slow and soft playing also incorporating alberti basses and scale and broken chord patterns.
- Gentle arpeggios in either hand. The hands ‘float’ over the keyboard with the help of the sustaining pedal.
- Chord playing at a moderate speed.
- Octave playing at a moderate speed.
- Scale passages and alberti bass accompaniments - moderate tempo - soft to moderately loud.
- Scale passages and alberti bass accompaniments faster and louder than above.
- Loud and slow chord playing.
- Octaves or chords at a faster speed.
- Mixtures of scales, chords, octaves, trills and arpeggios at various speeds.
- Rapid finger work.
- Double thirds or sixths.
- Repeated notes.
- Single note leaps and stretches.
- Tremolandi and fast broken octave and chord patterns.
- Rapid repeated octaves or chords.
- Leaps involving octaves or chords.