The Importance of Good Posture for Musicians

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.

I will consider a few important elements of good posture when playing an instrument from a sitting position that have considerably improved my tone and volume as a guitarist: 

• The positioning on the chair without your instrument is very important. Finding a relaxed position is necessary before you incorporate your musical instrument. Knees should be between a 90-110 degree angle depending on the instrument you play.
• Keep a level head and square shoulders. Adjust the height of the music stand to eye level to achieve this. 
• Keep your hips level to avoid the temptation to lean forward (aka round back), to lean in the opposite direction (aka over-arched back), and turn to one side. This is a normal tendency with beginner students. 
• The use of a mirror can give us an objective viewpoint when practicing while opening up our peripheral vision allowing us to see all of our upper body (both arms) in one glance in a natural position. 
• Video recording oneself during practice and/or performance can provide vital information on our posture which directly affects our ability to play an instrument. 

The use of a yoga strap (eight feet or 2.4 meters) can help align all the bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons in the upper body. I use the strap during my daily one hour warm-up routine and I have noticed immediate results. If I do not maintain the natural curves of my spine while playing, the yoga strap will give me a gentle reminder to recover the most natural position possible.

An increase of sound quality, quantity and control have helped me improve my general level of performance while prolonging the longevity of my performance career.

I would like to take thank my Wellness instructor, Sutat sutat.com and and Doctor  Cristine Dillon Ross Valley Chiropratic for increasing my awareness between mind and body, reviewing this post before publication and introducing me to the benefits of the yoga strap.

These step-by-step photos taken by Elsa Laremont show how to place the yoga strap correctly. Avoid securing too tightly and overlapping the straps.

1. Put strap behind your back and hold it with your hands.

2. Place straps ends over the shoulders.

3. Cross each end of the strap with the opposite arm.

4. Secure, buckle or tie strap ends in the front.

5. Side view of the strap in a sitting position.