Hey all, I apologize for the lack of updates lately. The bad news is I haven't been feeling too well for the past month and a half. The good news is that I know exactly why, and it applies to my playing, so I figured that would be a good topic to bring up.
I discovered that I have TMJ (colloquially known as Temporomandibular joint dysfunction) which is the swelling of the joint that connects the jawbone to the skull. A typical cause of TMJ is grinding your teeth together, often while asleep or involuntarily. This leads to a lot of different symptoms: headaches, pressure behind the eyes and in the ears, dizziness, lack of sleep, ringing in the ears, and trouble moving the jaw. I could speculate for hours where this came from for me - stress, sleep habits, karate training from years ago finally catching up - but I do know one cause for certain without the diagnosis from a doctor, only because I feel it: playing my instrument.
How you handle your body affects how you play your instrument, and how you play your instrument affects how you do anything else in life. People usually don't think much about how they use their body when they sit, while they walk, while they eat, sleep, use their computers, read, or do any other task, mostly because it doesn't require much body movement at all. They might bend their backs too much, or lean in while watching a TV show, or put unnecessary pressure on their arms while lying down, use the wrong muscles in exercise, etc. - and let me tell you right now that I am no stranger to these habits. It's the kind of thing that we would eventually notice once we've been doing it too long; I notice that when I stop such an activity and the pressure releases, I realize that I've been hurting myself for the past few minutes, or even hours. Now, I would definitely forget about that within a few minutes and think "I just won't do that again, that weirdly hurt", but the problem with that is, how often am I messing with my posture, and how much does it add up?
Unfortunately, I haven't done the scientific research to answer that, but based on my own experience (and that of colleagues), it can add up quite a bit. Muscles don't heal quite as quickly as people think they do, and repetitive minor strain on a muscle slowly becomes major strain, since the muscle isn't given enough time to relax and fully heal. That strain, combined with the repetitive motion of playing your instrument, could be harmful. Practicing too long and with too much unnecessary strain is certainly harmful, but not giving your body the proper rest is what can exacerbate the pain.
This is where the jaw pain came in for me. I noticed that I would grind my teeth together considerably while I played, and that caused some serious tension throughout the rest of my body as well. I've dealt with shoulder pain, tension in the hand, back issues, all the standard bass playing problem spots; but never, before last month, to the point where my daily life and mood were affected by the tension I was feeling. I had made grinding my teeth such a habit that I was doing it involuntarily, especially in moments of stress, and I would get headaches several times a day. I didn't discover this until I saw several doctors and an ENT (Ear Nose and Throat specialist) thinking that I had a chronic sinus infection, but my ENT was quickly able to diagnose the problem, since it was evident that I had no sinus infection (or anything else for that matter) after an x-ray.
When you think about it, you are really the instrument, and you happen to use a device to express your body movements. When you're damaged, your playing is damaged. This was a hard pill to swallow for me. With auditions coming up and my career basically starting, I already had enough stressors dragging me down. To have my playing affected by this had me in quite a slump. However, perseverance is key to any success! I managed to take a step back and analyze my habits and practice technique, in addition to following doctor's orders on treating my jaw. Now more than ever, the phrase "quality over quantity" rings true to my practice. I clock in some good time still, but long gone are my 6 hour days.
In addition to knowing my limits, I found it to be more productive to come up with positive remarks regarding my habits. For example, "don't tense up your left hand" becomes "relax your left hand, and let the fingers fall into place." My personal favorite at the moment is "you play in tune when you relax your jaw," as opposed to, "don't tighten your jaw." The negative remarks tend to make me more anxious since I'm focusing on what I'm doing wrong, not what I could be doing right. These techniques apply in performance as well, and have helped me get over the ever-familiar performance anxiety. It's easier to think "I always have trouble playing this" in performance, but it feels much better when that thought is "I'm going to nail this" and you do it! And if you don't, it doesn't make that much of a difference.
Although these tips I offered are based on my observation of peers and speculation from my own habits, but many of them are backed by scientists and specialists. I have to refer to the link Ivy provided in her previous post, "The Bulletproof Musician," where Dr. Noa Kageyama, a professional violinist and a doctor of psychology, explains tried and true techniques and behavior adjustments to overcome performance anxiety, and many of them have to do with how we handle our bodies. In addition, any resource or study on the Alexander Technique would also be beneficial (I have been reading "The Alexander Technique for Musicians" by Judith Kleinman and Peter Buckoke - this book delves into how to balance your body and use it in the most efficient way possible as much as possible).
I swear I'm doing some other things, and you'll hear from me again in the not-so-distant future. Stay happy and healthy, and take care of yourselves!
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