Looking good, feeling good and sounding good are inextricably linked when it comes to playing our instruments. We strive to play with “good technique” but do we have the same commitment to play with good posture? Good posture helps our body function optimally, promoting efficiency of movement and stamina. When posture is “good” bones are properly aligned, and there is minimal strain on joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons.

Musicians sometimes perpetuate what I call the jazz “look”. When we bend and twist, writhe and lean, does that really convey intensity or passion? These postures are risky for our bodies and our playing health. Long-term, they affect how we sound. Undesirable postures are those that load or put stress on joints in an uneven or asymmetrical way, due to awkward, fixed or stiff body positions.

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Las 4 Estaciones Portenas (The 4 Seasons of Buenos Aires)
(arr. L. Desyatnikov for violin and strings)

I have long had a love affair with Astor Piazzolla’s music. Several years ago I heard the wonderful recording of Le Grand Tango for cello and piano performed by Yo Yo Ma. Written in 1982 and dedicated to Russian cellist, Mistislav Rostropovitch it was premiered by him in 1990 in New Orleans.

I was transported by the piece and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the music to play it myself. I fell in love with the driving syncopated rhythms and the beautiful melodies, perfect for the soulful voice of the cello and The tango rhythm is simply an 8/8 common time signature, but it is transformed when it is grouped in three accented groups 3/3/2. It becomes passionate, unrelenting, unrestrained and the ending of Le Grand Tango leaves both the audience and the performers breathless.

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Mahler Symphony no. 1 in D major “Titan” (1888)

Non-musicians (civilians we call them) like to get behind the scenes. Sometimes they ask questions that surprise us, such as: “You play for a living — do they pay you for that?” or “What’s your day job?” or one I love especially — when I am home during the day practicing, and I answer a phone call — “Janet did I wake you?”

All of this prompts me to describe a couple of weeks we recently experienced that might shed some light on the rigors of orchestral life. While the time period I’ve chosen was unique, it included a tour to New York City still the musical and physical demands are those that symphony orchestra musicians encounter regularly.

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Ravel : Bolero

Sibelius : Oceanides

We musicians just want to make music. We are willing to self-destruct if need be. But the goal is to re-create great music with ease and expressiveness. It’s vital to keep in mind that our violins, cellos, flutes and trombones are only half the musical product. They can do nothing until they interact with our physical, emotional and very human beings.

It is now widely known that it can hurt to play. Playing too much, too intensely, over weeks, months and years can do cumulative damage. Perhaps right now you can launch into any concerto or difficult orchestral work, any time no problem, and pretty much nail everything. Due to a wear and tear in your muscles that occurs over time, however, you may become less able to do these things and you may be at a higher risk for injury. Overuse is a loose term applied to several conditions in which body tissues have been stressed beyond their biological limits. These disorders of the musculoskeletal system can affect bones, joints and such soft tissues as ligaments, tendons and muscles.

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It was one thing to be accepted at age 22 to study with the great cellist and pedagogue Janos Starker at Indiana University. Adhering to his regimen of three lessons a week, each lesson on different repertory was another! Although I had heard stories about Starker’s intensely competitive class, I made up my mind. I was going to be the best Starker student who ever lived.

One of my favorite Starker stories concerns a talented young cellist who lacked the backbone necessary to lock himself in a practice room and make the stellar progress demanded of Starker students. One day in quiet frustration Starker said to him, “I wish I could chop off your hands and give them to someone more deserving!”

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