Importance of body awareness during violin playing

When practicing an instrument, we all strive for clearer, more musical phrasings, as well as a faster left hand and a more comfortable bowing technique. However, we may not be very aware of what our body is doing in the meantime, or even what position it is in.

In recent years, musician's health has been taken more seriously and I appreciate the developments in this field. Physical therapists for musicians are being emerged and Alexander Technique classes are being offered. There are even yoga videos specifically for musicians on YouTube. There is also an abundance of new "ergonomic" equipment for instrumentalists. To take the violin as an example, today there are thousands of different models of chin rests made of different materials, lots of cushions, and even exotic thingamajigs that are to be sticked on the chin rests (I speak from years of personal experience and a lot of money wasted).

Some of these products are made to make us musicians feel physically comfortable, because comfort is one of the conditions for playing an instrument well. Meanwhile, I think that some of them are not so necessary, and there are “inventors” who try to “corner the market” by introducing something new - but that's a topic for another article.

But no matter what equipment or gadget we use, it cannot help us if there are fundamental technical deficiencies in our playing.

It’s normal to have a bit of physical tension

When playing the violin, the idea of playing every second of the performance completely relaxed and tension-free is a bit of a stretch, don't you think? It is necessary and normal to feel "tense" at certain moments if we want to extract a powerful tone from our instrument. The caveat is that this intentionally created tension should not be prolonged, i.e. it should be released as soon as it fulfills the desired musical function.

That being said…

If we musicians feel a lingering tension in a certain part of our body after we have finished playing, we should stop and think about what we are doing wrong technically. For example, if after a spiccato passage our right arm is showing so-called "tennis elbow" symptoms, we should stop and look at our spiccato technique, perhaps questioning why we are using our whole arm to spiccato.

Also, if we don't have a sound ideal in mind, we should first create it - which is also a topic for another article.

The violin is one of the most difficult and awkward instruments to hold and play. It is not like the cello, for example, which you can practically “hug”, since it stands in the center of your body. You wedge it awkwardly between your chin and collarbone, to the left of your body, while constantly supporting it with your hand (that is without a shoulder rest - but it would be fooling ourselves to think that all problems would be solved if we used a rest). Our left arm is supinated, while our right arm is pronated.

That's why it is necessary to be extra careful while playing the violin, because physical problems such as muscle cramps and pinched nerves can occur in the long run, especially in our efforts to create a satisfying musical expression as classical musicians. If the musician does not have sufficient body awareness, such problems can even lead to the end of one's career.

So, how do we increase body awareness?

There are many ways to do it, but in my opinion the number one thing is physical activity. We all know the benefits of physical activity, and its mental benefits for us musicians is not to be understated. The important thing here is to choose holistic activities that will progressively strengthen the muscle, joint and bone structure and improve the mind-muscle connection. Find activities which will reduce your existing pain (if any) or prevent it from occurring in the future. I recommend:

• Yoga

• Weightlifting

• Swimming

• Bodyweight training (calisthenics)

For us musicians, exercise should not only be about rehabilitation.

We instrumentalists often talk about the pain of certain muscle groups (back or shoulder, for example). However, exercises targeting only these areas will only take us so far. Instead, we should always see our body as a whole and choose exercises accordingly. Also;

• Mindfulness meditation

• Breathing exercises

• Dancing (to increase spatial awareness)

will also help you stay calm in case of stage anxiety.

“But what about cardio exercises? I know a lot of musicians who like jogging, so it must be healthy, right?”

With all due respect, I would like to say a word about cardiovascular exercises. Although activities such as running and cycling contribute to the circulatory system, they are too static for muscle and bone development. But for those who prefer cardio to strength training, swimming is a much better option for whole body muscle activation, joint lubrication and general body awareness.

Also, being physically fit and the happy feelings that come with it will directly translate into our performance.

What do you think about this topic? I look forward to your comments below.