Study of people's efficiency in their working environment. What is best way to hold a music instrument? What are best exercises to strengthen appendages to prevent injury, improve music practice?
Questions tagged [ergonomics]
12 questions
9
votes
4 answers
Practice to minimize finger pressure on guitar strings?
For years I did not notice now I need to correct my bad habit of putting a lot pressure on guitar strings when I play. How to get rid of this bad habit.
I know I put my finger on a guitar string and after buzz, the minimum pressure will give me…
Iplayguitar
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7
votes
1 answer
Top-down strokes versus side strokes: what is the most ergonomic drum style between tabla or mridangam/pakhawaj?
Tablas are hand drums that comes by pair which the 2 skins are (nearly) horizontally oriented with the hand moving from top to down, while mridangam/pakhawaj/dol/dolak are hand drums which the 2 skins are mounted on the opposite side of a single…
Noil
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6
votes
2 answers
How to continue to play the piano after cutting off part of a finger?
I used to play piano for hours a day out of enjoyment. I won't try to express the level of satisfaction, peace and enjoyment it brought to me, because frankly I don't think it's possible to do so. I can only trust that others who relate can know of…
Fortis
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5
votes
1 answer
Piano posture - front shoulder delt tension
They say you have to play the piano without any static muscle tension.
At the same time, to reach the freedom of movement your elbows should be a little bit in front of you.
I have a sitting posture with by elbows and forearms looking smooth like…
ibe
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5
votes
1 answer
Is it safe to use thumb position in lower positions on cello?
A piece I've been playing has a notation to use the thumb in 2nd position on cello (with thumb on the D-string F# specifically, where first finger would go in normal 2nd position). I tried it out but my arm ended up at a really high angle and I just…
knipine
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4
votes
1 answer
Stretching on Ukulele: How Far is Fair?
I've noticed that I play a lot of chords on ukulele with larger intervals in them, and often the chord voicings have big stretches from the lowest notes to the highest notes.
Obviously, I know beginners often struggle with chord shapes, but for more…
user45266
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3
votes
1 answer
Tips on finding a comfortable position to hold a guitar?
I have an ES-339, and play sitting down with a strap, right leg on a footstool (or the bar of the chair/stool I'm on). Even though I use the strap, the guitar's body still slightly moves away from me sometimes while playing. The "moving away" motion…
Sigil Vigil
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2
votes
1 answer
Anti-slip foam material used for shoulder-rest?
What's the name of the very anti-slip foam felt used in popular violin shoulder rests such as Everest, Bonmusica etc?
I have a high neck and I want to cut out another layer of that foam to adhere to the shoulder rest.
Additionally, I want to…
Shimmy Weitzhandler
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2
votes
1 answer
What vocal techniques are needed to prevent strain when talking into a vocoder?
A full song played through a vocoder makes my throat begin to ache. I am not sure what I am doing wrong, but I do notice that I try to sing the melody instead of speaking it in an unusual way that is unlike normal singing, and this is hard to…
JohnnyApplesauce
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2
votes
3 answers
Guitar - strumming / palm muting -tops of fingers hurt
First off, I'm very new to guitar, and pretty sure my strumming is not working. The thing is, after a few months I never noticed any issues with my right-hand fingers while I strum. Then recently, after I attempted "palm-muting" with my right hand,…
Arash Howaida
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1
vote
1 answer
Why do my cheekbones hurt when I play?
I play the flute and I don’t know if it’s just me but my cheekbones hurt when I play for more the 30 minutes. I don’t know what it could be, I usually have good posture and practice everyday. I have a class (and get graded) for high school band, so…
Perla Carrucini
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1
vote
3 answers
How to prevent middle back pain when playing piano? (New problem after 40+ years)
There was some advice for a beginner given here: Back hurts after playing piano, but I'm looking for something a little different:
I am now 52 and I have been playing since childhood (informally taught by my mother until I got formal lessons age…
Theodore
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