How do you look after those aching muscles/joints?

[guzhenglover]

Dear fellow guzheng lovers

I am posting a different thread as what I am about to ask is on a different topic (sorry, I seem to be particularly chatty as of late! :

How DO you guzheng experts keep your fingers, hands and arms all nicely maintained so that they are in great physical condition? And how do you look after those aching muscles and joints? I am finding that my right index and middle fingers in particular are becoming a bit sore recently. I know this is surely not a good sign. I've played the piano for many years and haven't noticed this problem. I am sure the sore comes from either using the computer mouse or playing the guzheng. Suppose the problem is with the latter, am I probably ignoring the signs of pain when I play the same thing repeatedly? Or maybe the guzheng strings are too tight? Or perhaps I am not quite using the right playing technique for certain things? I thought I was wary of all these points...though at the end of the day, my fingers are still telling me that something isn't quite right! Are guzheng players known to get RSI, etc.?

I remember someone mentioned using alcohol as pain relief. What kind of alcohol are we talking about precisely? Any other prevention techniques or special remedies that you guzheng experts know?

After all, playing the guzheng shouldn't just be about playing, but also looking after ourselves so that we can continue to play this beautiful instrument till life's end...

Thank you people!

Guzhenglover

[davidmdahl]

Repetitive stress injuries are a big concern to anyone playing a musical instrument. It is important to be aware of posture and how we are using our hands and arms. This is one reason that studying with a teacher is such a good idea, since it is one more way of preventing problems before they start.

Muscles used in a new way will get sore, so it is likely that this will happen when learning a new instrument. The soreness should go away pretty soon though. It is a good idea to practice in short periods of a half hour to an hour. My practice time is broken up in roughly 20 minute to 45 minute sections. I find it helps my body and mind to have periodic breaks. Marathon practice sessions of two to four hours should be done very carefully.

If you suspect that you have an injury developing, get thee to a doctor who understands musicians and repetitive-stress injuries. Many have been helped also by body-aware teaching such as Alexander Technique, Body Mapping, and Feldenkreis.

Best wishes,

David

[YouLanFengChune]

Hi!

For the first time in weeks, i am slightly healed from a very very bad bout of flu which landed me (softly) in hospital for 2 days.

My laptop works (hooray)

My bdy aches too, and i should answer this as well. Repetitive stress is possible, and always ice the sore parts. for posture related issues (erhu, guzheng), there must be some moistake with your positioning in your playing.

David, your order is more or less ready. my assistant checked the gaohu, and it should be good. The dizi will arrive in mid october. Its a new series of dizi, with a few special traits, and we are looking forward to some comments from Dr yang.

[calden]

Yinhao:

Sorry to hear you were in the hospital. That sounds serious!!! Hope all is okay now.
Carlos

[davidmdahl]

I am so glad and relieved that you are feeling better, Yinhao!

Best wishes,

David

[guzhenglover]

I am also glad that you are back to your normal self now, Yinhao. I didn't know that your bout of flu was this serious. I think I have a good guzheng teacher now, though we may not necessarily have gone through all the tips that one should know in order to protect oneself from repetitive stress injuries etc. (well I haven't been with her long enough yet).

My practice time goes for about an hour or a bit and this happens twice everyday. I tend not to do marathon practice sessions as I prefer to break up my practice times as just described.
My finger joints are sometimes sore, esp. the index and the middle fingers of my right hand, as these obviously are the two fingers that one uses most in guzheng playing. My thumb doesn't seem to ache at all, probably because it's the strongest digit of the hand and its use is less than some of the other fingers. I don't always get soreness, just sometimes, but what I am worried about is, as I understand it, sometimes just because the soreness has gone away doesn't mean it won't come back (in some cases, I know it actually comes back with a vengeance, as it's happened to a few of my pianist friends who can no longer play the piano because of it).

Do you guys do any warm ups or after-practice exercises? And if there's soreness - whether occasionally or constantly - what do you do? Do you apply oils, ointments, alcohol, etc.? If so, what do you use, precisely? Thanks for sharing your expertise/experience with us all!

[YouLanFengChune]

Hahaha...

When i used to train my team for Wind and percussion ensembles(th team won champions anyway), we trained for 3 hhours daily and progressed to 9 hours and went back to 3 hours before competition. Wind players need alots of relaxation and a proper dieting. Jogging and swimming sessions.

Percussion players need muscular exercising and lots of stretching.

My erhu teachers who won Chinese Music Competitions trained for 15 hours to 22 hours daily (wowwee) needed muscular relief by ice water baths. The lactic acid buildup must be released.

Those were competitive professional performers. For normal performers, we should do some back, finger stretching. Practise till point of exhaustion when needed. If not, as far as your will takes you.

[guzhenglover]

Are you sure about practising "till point of exhaustion when needed. If not, as far as your will takes you"? That sounds, well, extraordinary...I did that before on the piano practising 15 hours plus, but that didn't do me much good. ?

[blob]

I guess it is also important to practice in an efficient and smart way, having specific goals, putting more emphasis on mainly the problematic areas of a section of a piece, and knowing when to stop and move to something else for a short while, bla bla bla....
Simply playing over and over again an entire music piece for 22 hours is definately neither efficient nor a good thing, even to the point of exhaustion. In fact bad practicing may do more harm than good.

[Charlie Huang]

Surely there is a fine line between optimum and overkill?