Practice-related muscular pain and stiffness

A brief set of suggestions for students who experience muscular pain, or simply some general stiffness when practising on their piano.

Basically the human body works in a certain way (which is a bit too difficult to explain here and now), but we tend to misuse it without realising what we are actually doing.

Lots of piano students (as well as many teachers, I have to say, sadly) ignore the value of a good posture, only to find out - after many years - that there has been something wrong. The way you sit and the position/height of the stool, for instance, are factors which should never be underestimated.

If you suffer from pain on your forearms, for instance, then probably you have been practising for too long with a raised shoulder: put some thought into that part of your body and bring it down. If it's not the shoulder, maybe you are gnashing your teeth: try to play for a while sticking out your tongue, or simply smiling.

I cannot go through all the possible pains and stiffness you may be experiencing now, of course, but  still hope that these few lines can give you some ideas.