This post is aimed at musicians with the important goal
of increasing and/or improving both sound quality (tone) and sound quantity
(volume). In order to achieve this, I will demonstrate how good posture has a
direct impact on the hard to obtain "good tone production" during practice at
home and live performance.
The image above shows a front and side view of the spinal column where we can
see a vertical series of approximately thirty three small bones (vertebrae),
which are separated by a vertical disc. It is divided into five different
areas: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacrum and the tailbone. Our attention will
focus on the first three upper parts.
The anatomy of the spine shows the natural S-shaped curve (see side view).
This curve that starts from top to bottom offsets the weight of gravity from
the upper body. The spine is not designed to be straight nor C-shaped since
it has to withstand weight from the rest of the body. This curve in the
vertebral column allows our bodies to function properly helping our posture,
balance, stability and flexibility while creating support for the arms, neck
and head when in a sitting position during practice and performance.
Bad posture, whether sitting or standing, implies an “overuse' of the muscles
when playing an instrument and does not help us support our bodies properly.
This can have many negative short and long term effects such as aches/pain, and
restricted movement of the arms which can result in physical fatigue and/or
injuries.
