Crane Music Blog

Upcoming Performance

2011-01-31T19:03:00.000-08:00

I'm playing with Johnny Cowan on Saturday down at the Rose Wagner Theater. Here's the poster!!

Pain-free Technique

2010-11-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

Pain-free Technique

Relying on back and neck muscles to play may stave off injury
By Laura Sanders Web edition : Monday, November 15th, 2010

SAN DIEGO — A strong back may be the key to tickling the ivories pain-free. Highly skilled pianists suffering from playing-related pain use their back and neck muscles less frequently than do players without pain, a new study shows. The result, presented November 14 at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting, suggests a way for pianists to prevent injury by beefing up their backs.

Errold Reid of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and colleagues studied piano players who had been playing for at least 10 years. Eleven of the players experienced varying degrees of piano-related discomfort; 21 were pain-free.

No postural differences were evident in the two groups, but the players who were pain-free relied heavily on the strong trapezius muscles that snake from the lower neck while they played C octaves in the lab, the team found. Conversely, players who experienced pain used smaller muscles in their forearms more. Not using the strapping back muscles shifts the work to the smaller, more delicate muscles in the fingers and arms, said study coauthor Preeti Raghavan of New York University School of Medicine. “It’s too hard on those little muscles,” she said …. (you can read the rest at the link above)

My Take - While the study is new and helps to add science to good playing technique, it really just explains what many pianists have known for years. Using your forearms to direct playing instead of relying on finger directed playing not only gives one better control of the sound and overall freedom of playing, it also helps to reduce strain, increase endurance and avoid injury.

Basically, when you use your fingers to direct the playing all of the motion is generated by the muscles in your forearms. These muscles are small and not built for the extended abuse they receive with this type of playing. You get overuse syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injuries. For example, to play loud using finger directed playing, you have to stiffen the fingers, wrist and forearm and use the forearms to hammer the keys. There is not enough strength and weigh in the forearms to create the velocity and force necessary to create a big sound without adding the stiff tension. Tension is where your muscles are actually working and pulling against each other. They wear out very quickly and much of their energy is wasted. If you have a long passage to play loudly, then you have to keep your muscles under strain for long periods of time and they wear out quickly and become much more prone to injury. Plus your sound is awful, wooden and mechanical.

However, when you use your forearms to direct the motion of playing, letting the fingers go along for the ride. The fingers just need to be strong enough to support the weight of the arm. The arms are made for fine movement. The muscles of the neck and shoulders are what control the movement of the arms. They are large and have greater endurance, weight and strength. When you used the weight of the neck and back to play loudly, the forearm, wrist and fingers remain largely loose and tension free. Thus allowing you to play longer and weaken at a slower rate reducing the chance of injury. Plus, your sound is much more round and resonant.

For my cello students and any other instrumentalist out there, this can apply to your instrument as well. Cellists have this problem when they squeeze their fingers and thumb together on the fingerboard or pinch the bow too hard. Same results as pianists, bad sound and higher potential for injury. By using the weight of the back to direct the motion of the bow and buy using the whole arm to pull the fingers back into the fingerboard you can get the same effect as these pianists, nice sound and less injury. Again, something good cellists already knew and now have science to back them up.

If you compare the amount of work required to the capability of the muscle, you find that you are only using a part of what these larger muscles have to offer. Under finger directed playing, the muscles of the forearm are constantly running at the limits of their ability. So when I harp on using your arms at lessons, know that it isn't just because I want it to sound nice, but also because I don't want you to injure yourself.

Practicing

2010-11-08T18:42:00.000-08:00

Practicing
Every once in a while and more so in the last few years, I get people that are interested in taking lessons but do not understand that practice is necessary. They usually come in two types: adults that think learning an instrument is more of an academic exercise like reading a book, and parents that have over-scheduled their child and want a teacher that's "good enough" to make their child good with only 2-3 days of practice instead of 5 or 6. The tough thing is to tell these prospective students that it doesn't work that way. As a music teacher, you sometimes have to teach things other than music reading and counting. Sometime you have to help people understand why.

First, most people are not born knowing how to practice. You actually have to learn how to practice. It is an art that is learned right along with the other aspects of playing an instrument. Many new or inexperienced teachers will do a great job of teaching music reading, playing technique and musicality, but will not help students learn how to practice. Good practice will help students learn and progress quickly. Practice shouldn't be a drudge, but a time of enjoyment. Yes, practice can get tedious at times, but with the right attitude, even that can be a source of enjoyment.

Practice needs to be done everyday, even if just for a few minutes. If you are going to learn how to play an instrument, you actually have to "play" it. You only get better by spending time playing it. It doesn't really matter what you play, as long as you play. While having a lesson or reading a book about playing an instrument may help you understand the theory behind it, you have to have the constant hands on playing experience to really learn it. Playing an instrument is physical almost more than mental. You have to feel it and touch it and move with it. If you are not playing your instrument consistently, then you will not gain that experience.

So when your teacher gives you a bad time about not practicing, realize that they are just concerned that you aren't spending the time with your instrument that you need to truly love it. Just as we spend time with the people we love, we have to spend time with the instruments we love as well.

New Music Project

2010-11-08T18:41:00.000-08:00

New Music Project

I was recently able to collaborate with Johnny Cowan on his new CD, In the Key of Faith. It was an amazing project that I am proud to have been a [small] part of. I got involved when Johnny's wife, Heidi, started cello lessons with me. So long story short, I went and recorded the cello part to three of the tracks. They turned out awesome!! I then got to play with the band for the release concert. I've played my cello just about everywhere else, but this is the first time I've played in a band. Hopefully, not the last.

The concert was recorded, so he may be putting videos of it on his website, but the tracks are already there and should be up on iTunes soon. They're all good, but you can hear me on Well Done, You Answer Me and Weary Eyes. Check it out!

Being Yourself as a Teacher

2010-06-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

Being Yourself as a Teacher

Over the last 17-18 years I have been teaching, I have realized that my teaching has changed dramatically. Mostly, I have become more confident in my own abilities and philosophies. Not every teacher is for every student. Rather than trying to mold my teaching philosophies around what others expectations, I stick to my guns and teach the way that I like. When you do this, you have to openly accept that there are some out there that will completely disagree with you, and that's okay.

For example, I had a transfer student who's mother was insistent that he be in a program like the Royal Conservatory Program he had studied under in Canada. They wanted me to teach him with that method. She thought he needed the structure to keep him focused. I could clearly see that he was above needing a graded method. It would only hold him back. So I didn't teach him that way. In the short time I taught him, he went from Level 5 to the equivalent of Level 7 or 8. However, his mother, who was living out of the country and couldn't see the progress he was making decided to put him with a teacher that used one of these types of methods. In the end, there is no use arguing.

This does not mean you get stuck in your ways and don't structure each students program to their needs. I will teach a boy differently from a girl because they learn differently. The trick is not to get stuck in one method or program. You must understand what it takes to be a good musician and then use the best materials to teach your students these principles. It involves a great deal of flexibility.

Personalities also vary. I remember sitting in pedagogy class (a college class on learning how to teach music.) and hearing my teacher talk about how sarcasm doesn't work and should be left completely out of teaching children. In a way she is correct, malicious, depreciating sarcasm has no place in teaching. However, I find light-hearted almost joking sarcasm works very well for me. As music teachers we obviously would appeal to very different groups of students.

You win some and you lose some. Some students will love you and others will not. You have to be yourself, because every student can tell when you're not being sincere. The point is to teach them the best way you know how, and help them love the music.

Welcome to my music blog!

2010-06-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my music blog!

I am excited to finally have this website underway. The Wedding section should be completed shortly. I hope to start adding recordings of my playing soon. The student section will be set up within the next couple of weeks. That will allow students to schedule make-up lessons and see the available times. They will also be able to see where they are scheduled for the week.
This blog will be periodically updated with articles about music, teaching along with links to great music websites. I hope that my students and their parents(for the younger ones) will check back often and find tips on practicing, technique discussions and much more.

Always feel free to comment, or send an email. Click here for my most recent post!

See ya around,
David