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Episode 16: Perfect Piano Posture Problems

Abby Halpin, DPT Season 1 Episode 16

Abby talks about the concept of "good posture" for pianists, a review of the workshop she led for the Vermont Music Teachers Association last weekend.

Major takeaways:

  1. There is no such thing as good or bad posture. Instilling that idea only makes a musician have to choose a body position and stick with it all the time in order to be good.
  2. Problems arise from a lack of variety more than the actual body position itself.
  3. Muscles are happiest when they are in their middle range, so whatever feels easiest, is probably right.
  4. Whenever talking about posture, use sensation cues rather than action cues whenever possible to avoid a rigid strategy
  5. Encourage the use of body position as a means of communication. It will allow for the variety the body needs to stay healthy at the piano for longer.

Abby is the owner of Forte Performance & Physical Therapy, where she works with musicians, artists, and performers to help them feel and sound their best.

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Disclaimer: This podcast episode is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice.

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