Musical Injuries

It seems that I have a few things going against me here...a woodwind player, double-reed, and percussionist. I might be in for some pain in my years to come. Anyone want to disagree with me?

I still believe if you do everything right... you don't injure yourself.

I mean, I play viola.. we're pretty injury prone... especially compared to cellists and violinists... So... yeah.

Originally Posted by Corbin The Violist

I still believe if you do everything right... you don't injure yourself.

I mean, I play viola.. we're pretty injury prone... especially compared to cellists and violinists... So... yeah.

I believe it... I was in agony trying to hold up a viola for more than 5 minutes at a time.

my mom (violist) got rotator cuff tendonitis for a while... she had trouble going grocery shopping because she couldn't lift her arm up enough to reach the high shelves. She's all better now tho!

My dad (tubist) has had nothing... but his teacher got focal dystonia and can't play anymore :<

Originally Posted by flint-wwrr

I believe it... I was in agony trying to hold up a viola for more than 5 minutes at a time.

Hahaha...

THE VIOLA STRIKES BACK!

I believe it... I was in agony trying to hold up a viola for more than 5 minutes at a time.

For the show I'm playing right now (Jekyll & Hyde) in a pit orchestra, we're accompanying college kids with less than stellar voices, so we have to play about 2 dynamic levels lower than written to avoid overpowering them. Holding up the instrument for 3 hours is enough of a challenge, but having to play piano to pianissimo 60% of the time and being unable to set the bow into the strings is really killing my back.

I hadn't realised just how much bow weight is mitigated by playing into the string...and just how heavy a 70 gram bow can feel cantilevered out away from the body for a whole evening.

Originally Posted by J. Lee Graham

For the show I'm playing right now (Jekyll & Hyde) in a pit orchestra, we're accompanying college kids with less than stellar voices, so we have to play about 2 dynamic levels lower than written to avoid overpowering them. Holding up the instrument for 3 hours is enough of a challenge, but having to play piano to pianissimo 60% of the time and being unable to set the bow into the strings is really killing my back.

I hadn't realised just how much bow weight is mitigated by playing into the string...and just how heavy a 70 gram bow can feel cantilevered out away from the body for a whole evening.

My bow is pretty heavy... 70 is a monster for viola. :-p

i play flute, and the joint on my index finger often hurts.

When I was younger and playing the French Horn, my hands weren't big enough to hold the horn in the correct position and so I got very sore muscles between my left thumb and index finger. This is aswell as the ring on the lips that all brass players get!

not purely musical, but when I'm tying reeds, the thread digs into my index finger and pinky and sometimes makes blisters