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Gretchen Saathoff

~ Collaborative Pianist/Vocal Coach ~ forging partnerships, making memorable music together

Category Archives: computer

“Hit the Reset Button in Your Brain”

10 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by GretchensPianos in article, career, computer, concentration, distractions, fatigue, focus, goals, health, music, practicing, process, tools

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Reset button.  Source:  Wikimedia Commons

Reset button. Source: Wikimedia Commons

A fascinating piece by Dr. Daniel Levitin of McGill University appears in today’s New York Times.

Dr. Levitin writes about the way we arrive at solutions, advocating dedicated project times interspersed with listening to music, taking a walk, or just plain daydreaming. He suggests that our brains, which assimilate so much more information with ever-improving data delivery, need to take breaks in order to function well.

He goes on to suggest that we check email, text messages, and voicemail only during certain times of day, turning off our devices at other times.

Very interesting!

Speaking for myself, I will hear my phone beep when a text message arrives or Facebook sends an alert to my phone.  I always want to know who it is!  I will stop doing whatever task is at hand, whether that is computer work, practicing, or something else like reading a book.  Then I will call the person back, comment on Facebook, or send an email.

During one recent practice session, I was awaiting directions to a rehearsal venue.  So I practiced with my phone on.  You can guess what happened:  I texted quite a bit more than I practiced.

I have turned off my devices for years in order to practice or get other work done.  It’s refreshing to read Dr. Levitin’s suggestions about doing exactly that.

What do you think?

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Crucial stretches for every keyboard user

15 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by GretchensPianos in article, balance, career, computer, daily ergonomics, ergonomics, exercises, fatigue, health, injury, links, longevity, music, organ, piano, practice, practicing basics, repetition, rest, slow practice, tendonitis, tools, variety, warm up

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articles, links, related posts, staying healthy, stretching

This post is for musicians and computer users.

“Keyboard user” is a conscious decision for inclusion in the title (rather than “keyboard player”) because  computer operators need to stretch.  So do organists, harpsichordists, pianists, electronic keyboardists, and others who use the small structures of their hands and arms in repetitive fashion.

Keyboard users move their hands and arms (and backs and shoulders and necks and heads) primarily in one direction, often for long periods of time.  Work, music, and play can become mesmerizing.  We forget to take breaks, or postpone them to do “one more page.”  And then, an hour later, we’re still at it.

We have all seen athletes stretch.  That makes sense, right?  We are also athletes.  We use smaller structures that are not built for the amount of stress we put on them.  Stretching helps address the problem.

New discussion

A discussion of stretches recently came up on Facebook.  This link takes you to a new article on the subject.

I am delighted to see ongoing interest in stretching.  Everyone benefits by having the topic back at the top of their “to do” lists and reading about others’ experiences.

My friend Michael Meltzer and I continued the discussion.  Michael said:

My last teacher was the late Louise Curcio in New Jersey, who began every lesson with about ten minutes of stretches. She explained, “We are creatures of habit. When you are not properly stretched, you’ll begin your practice in slightly incorrect or imprecise arm & finger positions and configurations. Your brain will remember those incorrect lineups and unconsciously seek to recreate them, interfering with learning and mastering your pieces.”

… looking at it carefully, I think the exact words SHE would have used would have been “arm and finger postures” instead of finger positions & configurations (my words).

Used by permission. Thank you, Michael!

Why stretch?

When playing or using a computer, our muscles and tendons adjust to accommodate our repetitive, uni-directional motions.  The muscles and tendons on the top of the forearm and hand lengthen, while on the underside, they shorten.

This results in an imbalance which can result in injury.

The stretches we need to do help things return to normal.  We need to stretch in the opposite direction from the way we have been moving while playing an instrument or using a computer.

The following comes from a previous post about ergonomics as applied to keyboard use.  As school revs up and we all become busier, combating stress and tension are even more important.

We can maintain our ability to play an instrument or use a computer for decades by being aware and looking for variety as we proceed.

Awareness of warning signs is important to avoid injury.  Once someone incurs an injury, s/he becomes more vulnerable to further injury in the future.  So even if you think it could never happen to you, please read on.

Be aware

  • If you feel numbness, tingling, or pain, you need to take a break.
  • If anything hurts, even a stiff neck, you need to look at that.
  • Practicing mindlessly for hours on end without a break is never a good idea.

Incorporate variety

What’s your plan?  How do you practice?

Going at something as fast and loudly as possible will get you injured in no time.

Here are a few ideas about staying safe.

You can practice:

  • hands alone
  • slower than performance tempo
  • loud/soft
  • changing range on the keyboard
  • alternating difficult passages with less stressful ones
  • mixing up a stint of staccato practicing with legato (use your body in different ways)
  • for leaps and glissandi, measuring distances and calculating timing by faking it (above the keyboard ~ no need to play all that often)
  • feeling chord shapes in your hands, also above the keyboard
  • more carefully when you’re tired

You can:

  • alternate practicing and gripping activities with passive activities, such as reading or taking a walk, talking on the speakerphone.  For example, lifting weights and practicing are both stressing your body, thus making you more vulnerable to injury.  Your body needs a break in between.
  • play with your hands and arms in a natural position (you don’t have to be exactly lined up with the keys!)
  • look at your practice setup ~ lighting, chair height, your distance from the keyboard (do you have room to navigate?)
  • always use healthy body alignment (feet on the floor, supporting your body ~ no slumping forward, no legs wrapped around chair legs, no feet on chair rungs, no head on hand on elbow resting on the piano)
  • look at the music away from the piano
  • conduct, sing, walk the rhythm, clap, speak the text in rhythm, try dynamic changes out with your voice
  • take a 10-min. break every hour
  • practice in more than one chunk of time during the day
  • eat 3 healthy meals every day (don’t skip a meal in order to practice!)
  • exercise!
  • stretch your body and warm up your hands before practicing (5 min.)
  • stretch your arms, shoulders, and back after practicing (5 more min.)

Computer use

The same awareness is important here.  Look at your setup, use good body alignment (don’t lie on your bed, resting on your elbows).  Take breaks.  Move your arms, shoulders, and back when you type, like you would on an old manual typewriter with tiered keys.  Stretch before and after computer work.

Computers probably demand more fast work without breaks than practicing an instrument.  No one talks about good body alignment in workplaces.  Deadlines are much more important.  (Fed-Ex leaves in 5 minutes!  Are you done yet?)  And, unless you’re self-employed, you’re likely to have someone who wants you to produce more, faster than you need to be going.  Pressure means vulnerability to injury.

Why not take a look at your usual approach to the computer during your time off, at home?  Try looking at yourself in the mirror, or ask a friend to help.

At work, you can set your phone alarm to alert you once an hour.  Stand up, walk around, stretch, breathe, and something relaxing.  Take a break!  The up side of leaving your work where it is for a few minutes is, you won’t turn into a pretzel!

What do you think?  What is your approach to practice and computer use?  Do you have certain ways of going about it that work particularly well for you?  Do you take breaks?

Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below!

You can read more articles on this blog about ergonomics here.

Also, while you’re here, please take a look at my E-book!

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Ergonomics: Watch those angles!

23 Monday May 2011

Posted by GretchensPianos in assembly, career, computer, daily ergonomics, health, injury, longevity

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

discomfort, pain, setup

Angle Parking

Image by zebble via Flickr

One morning last week, I woke up with swollen, painful hands.  What was going on?  I felt upset for several hours.  Then, after some time, I figured out the cause.

It wasn’t from playing the piano.

I’m writing about my experience so you can avoid the same discomfort.

Background

There was a significant amount of computer work I needed to get done.  So I removed my new computer desk from the box and unfolded it.  Voilà!  Lifting one section of the desk resulted in the complete, instant setup!

Except…

The wheels were packaged separately.  They were to be attached to the back of the desk.  I assumed that attaching them would be difficult, so I blew it off.  I could get my work done without them, right?

The problem

Now the desk, although stable, was leaning toward the back at an angle of 1½ or 2 inches.  The computer monitor was easy to adjust.  But the keyboard was angled the same way as the desk.

So what?  I could still type.

Why the setup led to pain and swelling

How we use our bodies all day long makes a major difference in preventing or leading to discomfort and possibly permanent injury.

In this case, I raised my shoulders and angled my forearms to accommodate the angle of the keyboard.  And I kept at it for 4 hours.  The angle at which I was holding my arms was not supported.

The next day

Hindsight always makes so much sense, doesn’t it?  I attached the wheels to the desk.  Total time:  less than 5 minutes.  It probably took longer to talk myself out of it than to finish the job.

I took a day off from practicing as well as working on my computer.  My arms needed time to recover, and I didn’t want to push it.  I had no deadlines, so it was possible to allow for a day off.

Now my computer desk is level.  Since last week, I have spent significant time working at my desk with no further problems.

What I learned

It is never OK to blow off something like a work or practice setup.

My advice for all musicians

Be aware of the way you do things all day long.  The happy result will be a lifetime free of injury.

Thanks to C.I. for encouraging me to write about this experience.

Have you experienced discomfort or pain as a result of using bad angles?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!


My E-books help you teach, practice, perform, shop for a piano, and maintain your instrument. Please click on titles near the top of the left sidebar. Thank you!

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Give me a break!

07 Tuesday Dec 2010

Posted by GretchensPianos in balance, career, computer, concentration, concert, daily ergonomics, extremes, fatigue, focus, health, injury, learning, listening, longevity, music, piano, practicing basics, repetition, rest, risk

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Artur Rubinstein, health, Music, practice, practice breaks

Rubinstein in 1906

Artur Rubinstein, 1906 ~ Image via Wikipedia

How many hours do you practice at a stretch?

During my freshman year in college, a senior named Becky accompanied the Male Glee Club.  Fairly often, as most people were headed to dinner, she would stay behind in the music building to practice.  No amount of cajoling would change her resolve.  This would occur most often when she needed to learn music on short notice.

At crunch times, Becky would say, “I’m going to lock myself in the practice room and stay there til I can play it.”  What do you think?  Good idea?

Artur Rubinstein wrote that did the same thing.  He loved his busy social life, and hated to practice when he was young.  While staying in the villa of one friend or another, he would let practicing slide until two weeks before a series of concerts.

With the pressure building, Rubinstein would lock himself in the music room and learn his program.  But there was an added incentive!  He talked about having a bowl of cherries on one side of the music rack, chocolates on the other.   🙂

Practicing for long periods with no breaks leads to problems, even more when stress is present.  A few that come to mind are brain and muscle fatigue, and inviting injury.

Long-distance haulers have mandatory breaks written into their contracts.  Why don’t we add a similar mandate to our practicing contracts with ourselves?

Do you know when you need a break?

Many people don’t.  Do you:

  • lose track of time when you practice?
  • push in order to “get through” and “save time?”
  • stop eating regular meals?
  • practice beyond your ability to listen effectively?
  • find mindless repetition creeping in?

I have seen myself doing all of these far too often, both in practicing and in computer work.

All of us are most alert at the beginning of a session​.  Even without considering the issues of eating and being vulnerable to injury, we will obviously accomplish much more if we remain alert.

How can we notice?

If you “check out” while practicing, as I do, there are some small things you can do to help yourself out:

  • write​ down your start time
  • set a timer or an alarm OR
  • develop a habit of checking the clock
  • take break before you need one​ ~ don’t let it go.
  • make sure to take a break once every hour

Remember that the small structures of our hands and wrists were not built for multiple repetitions.  They need​ time off in order to recover from practicing.

So even if it’s only getting a glass of water, take a break!  Your body and mind, the learning process, and your neighbors will thank you.

Do you take practice breaks?  How often?  How do you remind yourself?

Please share your ideas in the comment section below!

SHOP IN YOUR BUNNY SLIPPERS!  “Goal-oriented Practice” is 50% off in the E-book version, 20% off in Print.  It’s the perfect gift for the musicians on your list!  You can shop in your jammies online, so you’ll have plenty of time and energy left to do all your other shopping.  You’ll see great reviews and wonderful readers’ comments when you click on the link.

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7 Stretches to beat “Piano Back”

26 Friday Nov 2010

Posted by GretchensPianos in balance, computer, ergonomics, exercises, health, injury, longevity, music, piano, practicing

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

back stretches, computer, Music, piano

Title screen for Burbank Films Australia's 198...
Image via Wikipedia

This post is for computer users, too.

On days when I practice for a long time and/or use a computer, I stretch when I’m done.

(OK, I stretch every day.  It’s easy, it works, and it doesn’t take long.)

We have all seen people’s necks set forward, head in front of their shoulders.  Often the shoulders are rounded, even in young people.

We find ourselves hunching forward at times to read the music in bad light or to read small print.

Goes with the territory, right?

Well, no.  It doesn’t have to.

Stretching is one way to counteract the problem.

7 easy stretches you can do

  1. With hands clasped behind back, stretch shoulders backwards for 15 seconds.  Reverse hand position, repeat.
  2. Stretch arms, starting from sides, up over head.
  3. Place hands on hips, then bend back at the waist for 30 seconds.  (Let head drop back, too.)  Repeat.
  4. Shoulder shrugs.
  5. Backwards shoulder circles.
  6. Arm circles both ways with arms straight out at sides.
  7. With arms still out, bend elbows so hands are facing forward.  Stretch shoulders and upper arms back several times.

Don’t overdo it.  Stretching to 85% of your maximum range is fine.  You will notice that you can stretch further after about 20 seconds.  3 reps will take care of it.

You can always repeat the stretches a few more times during the day.

Arm and hand stretches serve a different purpose, and are covered in a previous post.  They, too, are extremely important to our longevity as well as for preventing injury.

Best time to stretch

Any time!  Ideally, stretching immediately after playing/typing would be wonderful.  But sometimes we all have other things to do.

I find myself stretching while waiting in line somewhere, waiting for a bus, using the microwave, or in the shower.  Stretching also helps following a long car/bus/train ride.  Stretching more than once a day is very helpful.

I don’t want to be a hunchback any time soon.

How do you take care of your back?  Please share your ideas in the comment section below.

Do your holiday shopping right here!  Give “Goal-oriented Practice” to your favorite musician!
E-book NOW 50% OFF!!!  Print version only $19.95.

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Posted audio files from live recording!

20 Wednesday May 2009

Posted by GretchensPianos in computer, music

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Wahoo! A stunning success! Check out my “Audio and video” page for 3 songs from the Amherst College Women’s Choir Concert, May 1st. Song titles: Sing Creations Music On, This Is The Day, & Motherless Child. If you’d like to hear the entire concert, I’d be happy to lend you the CD.

Before my success uploading audio files, I tried 5 or 6 different ways of sending songs as email attachments. File size was ‘way under the limit, but my computer didn’t want to go there. So, after The Case of the Disappearing Email repeated itself over & over, I settled on Plan B.

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Potpourri

16 Thursday Apr 2009

Posted by GretchensPianos in computer, music, outdoors

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Sunset tonight was clear blue sky w/pink stripes. Nice!

Last night I was in bed by midnight. That makes a big difference. And today I started practicing w/Bach preludes & fugues (2). Makes my soul happy.

My goal for the next hour is to find the best place to store addresses on my computer. Since Vista has “improved” things that don’t need improving, such as Word, this is no longer obvious or easy. The preferred location would be the easiest to make mailing labels from.

So, I’m off to look @ WP options…

OK, I’m baaaaaaaaaaack. And the winner is: Microsoft Works. There’s an address book converter that sets up Avery labels. The field names are less clear than the Windows version ~ however, when the results are misaligned, when you add returns/spaces, they auto-correct. Of course, I’ve only experimented w/one address… more to come.

G’nite!

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New Computer = Late Hrs.

14 Tuesday Apr 2009

Posted by GretchensPianos in computer, friend

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Just heard from a former coworker on Facebook! He’s usually upbeat, and I miss him. (Moved to NY.)

Watched Obamadog’s lawn debut @ HuffPost. Dog is cute, hand-held camera bounces so much you can barely watch. Sound isn’t so great, either. Reporters all bunched up @ the side… the major news quality of all this is truly amazing.

Got sucked into computer again, stayed up til 6 a.m., slept til 2. Need to get out of this schedule. I mean, I think I can be a night person and still go to sleep before 12!

Got guestbook onto solo website by Googling, then experimenting. I’m picky about layout & colors, so it took a long time. Your basic setup, however, is very easy.

And not that my Guest Book is working, chances are I’ll get more sleep.

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How Is This Done?????

10 Friday Apr 2009

Posted by GretchensPianos in computer

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OK, I’m attempting to verify my blog w/Google. Can’t figure this out. Any magic out there? I’ll go to the “help” pages one more time, but have NO intention of staying up til 5:15 again, staring @ the html page.

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