A quick question about posture.

[Zach S]

I am painfully aware that there most probably exist many such topics. I do not think I came across anything that exactly resembles what I wanted to ask, so without further ado:

When seated in the 'proper' classical position, complete with foot stool - how can one differentiate between 'malign' pain and 'benign' pain (benign referring to, say, fatigue rather than pain due to a lack of practise and malign to pain that is actually debilitating and hampers progress).

I suppose my question might be obvious - then again it might not. On that note, does it take a while for one's back's muscles to get used to the position or is it just me who gets slightly uncomfortable after, say, twenty odd minutes?

Thoughts?

Zach

[choctawchas]

if you feel any type of pain then your posture could be the source, however its also possible that your body lacks core supporting muscle
groups and the lower back pain might be more of a question of strengthening abdominals so that your lower back muscles aren't bearing the brunt
of supporting you while playing. twenty minutes may seem a short period of time but if your body isn't use to the work it could be too much.
its important to realise that playing the instrument is closer to athletic performance, learning how to train and maintain your physical
mechanism is the key to keeping your ability to play healthy.

[oski79]

It may be a matter of semantics don't really think you should consider any pain "benign." Pain is an indicator that something's wrong, and if you ignore it, just chalk it up to fatigue, you're asking for trouble. Stand up and stretch, take a little break, walk around the room when you feel it. Yes, if you practice long enough, even in an ergonomically correct posture, you'll eventually get tired, but you should appreciate the difference between fatigue and pain.

[tbon]

You can try a Dynarette or some guitar support (Ergoplay is said to be good). Many people adopt such a solution because of back problems.

[Zach S]

Thanks for the replies.

It may be a matter of semantics don't really think you should consider any pain "benign." Pain is an indicator that something's wrong, and if you ignore it, just chalk it up to fatigue, you're asking for trouble. Stand up and stretch, take a little break, walk around the room when you feel it. Yes, if you practice long enough, even in an ergonomically correct posture, you'll eventually get tired, but you should appreciate the difference between fatigue and pain.

I think I might have erred in my word choices, but I believe that was the answer I was looking for. Cheers.

[clsgtr]

Muscle tension can also contribute to the problem. Concentrating on being more relaxed from the fingers arms, shoulders, continuing to the lower back during practice, especially when playing unfamaliar or difficult passages may help as well. Making a habit of being aware of this has helped me sound better and practice longer.

[AndreiKrylov]

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