Hey all,
I’m new to the forum and haven’t seen this mentioned yet, so I wanted to just post this as a reminder to make sure that you guys are paying attention to your positioning/posture when practicing.
Context: I grew up playing piano and was involved in private instruction from age 6-14 before opting to learn R&B/pop songs that I would hear on the radio because I didn’t enjoy classical at the time. At some point in my early instruction, I was taught about the importance of making sure I established the proper distance to sit from the piano, seat height, and proper posture but hadn’t taken it seriously since I was young and spry (I’m 31 now). I began to take piano seriously again about 3 years ago, after many years of producing music in a recording studio setting, and everything had been going well. After getting married, I decided that I would get a smaller keyboard that I could bring out of my home studio so that I could practice while spending time with my wife. As a result, I began playing the keyboard on a stand that sat above my elbows and wasn’t always properly centered on my body. These habits, over time (inflamed by the repetitive motion, compounded by my daily use of a computer for school and work), have caused me to develop either tendinitis and/or carpal tunnel.
Disclaimer: I have an autoimmune disease that causes me inflammation and have had carpal tunnel flare-ups in the past when painting. Carpal tunnel can be a progressive ailment, so this is likely caused by several contributing factors.
I bring all of this up just to share that after taking several weeks of reduced practicing/rest, I’ve learned that piano injury is real and affects people of all levels. I’ve read that self-taught players are more susceptible; however, when looking at online resources, I’ve read anecdotal stories of people struggling with this even at music conservatories. For me, I noticed several errors. The piano being too high caused me to bend my wrist, which placed too much stress on my joint when striking the keys. Additionally, not sitting directly centered on the keyboard caused me to twist my wrist when climbing scales etc.
If anyone is interested in learning more about proper techniques to avoid injury, there’s a piano method that some people swear by called the Taubman Method. I cannot personally attest to its efficacy nor is it uniformly accepted to be standard but it’s interesting nonetheless. There’s a book that can be purchased that delves into this topic.
Here’s an excerpt:
Links for the book