Taking care of yourself this holiday season (part one).
Surviving the busiest time of the year for musicians…
The holidays are upon us, and you know what that means… it’s gigging season.
Nutcracker performances, church services, Messiah sing-alongs, you name it. Musicians are busy.
So for the next few weeks, I’m sharing a few wellness tips for surviving all your gigs.
This week–taking care of yourself before performances.
Tip #1 Get warm–literally.
For many of us in the northern hemisphere, it’s going to be a cold month. Make sure your hands and arms are warm before you sit down for your gig. It’s great if you can do some light exercise (e.g. a brisk walk or jumping jacks) to get the blood flowing, but you can also put hand warmers in your pockets or wash your hands with warm water. Your muscles and connective tissue will thank you!
If you like Franklin Method exercises, tap your arms, hands, ribcage, and shoulders to activate your sensory receptors–it’ll release some tension and help you feel more awake and ready to play.
Tip #2 Know what you need to feel warmed up on your instrument.
This is mostly geared towards string players as we have a tendency to jump into repertoire at rehearsals without adequately preparing the body for playing.
Over the years, I’ve noticed that many published warm-up routines for violinists (or those shared on social media) are so technically demanding that they can hardly be considered warmups in the truest sense of the word.
(This might be controversial, but I don’t consider scales to be warmups, either.)
Personally, I’ve learned that I need to have an off-instrument routine and a fundamental movement series with the violin to feel ready to play.
An off-instrument routine might be derived from athletic trainers or somatic disciplines like yoga, Pilates, Feldenkrais, or the Franklin Method. Books like The Athletic Musician and Playing (Less) Hurt are good resources if you’re new to the world of musicians’ wellness.
When I first warm up with my instrument, I like to play a minute or two of open strings so I can get a feel on how my shoulder and arm are moving that day. For the left arm, I’ll do gentle arm swings, shifts, and slow finger pattern combinations with and without the bow.
Once I’ve done those basics, I might do simplified or slow exercises based on the technical difficulties in my repertoire, or play a scale. Then I move into my repertoire practice.
A routine like this doesn’t have to take long–my goal is to prime the nervous system so I’m moving efficiently and freely in performance.
Tip #3 Fuel accordingly.
I’m not a nutritionist, but I do know that what we eat impacts our performance and recovery. If you want to learn more about food for musicians, check out The Hungry Musician for recipes and kitchen tips and corpSonore’s nutrition guide for performances and auditions.
And finally–and perhaps most important–try to plan enough time in your schedule so you can get ready, eat, travel, and warm-up without additional stress.
Happy music-making this month!
If this is the first time we’re meeting virtually, hello! My name is Erika, and I’m a violinist, teacher, and certified Franklin Method Educator. My mission is to rethink traditional teaching approaches to help musicians play with confidence and ease. If this resonates with you, here’s how you can connect with me:
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