4/26/2021 11 stretching exercises for musicians | Focus | The Strad

11 stretching exercises for

musicians
25 FEBRUARY 2020

Do you feel tired and stiff after performing? Pilates instructor John Black explains how some simple stretching
exercises can make all the difference

Musicians have the general problem of having to stay in one – often far from natural – position for long periods. In
addition there is a lot of rotation involved, with extraordinary demands made on some small muscle-groups. This
can easily be a recipe for the ills that befall body tissues held for too long in one position: neural compression,
reduced blood ow, joint stiffness and collagen creep. Tissues are chemical structures that obey the rules of
chemistry and biomechanics, so elastic (or other) bres, if stretched too far or for too long, can potentially deform
permanently.

It is important to be in good posture whenever possible, so that the different parts of the body are correctly
aligned, thus placing minimum stress on body tissues. However, the reality for a musician is that less-than-ideal
posture is inevitable. The consequences include the overworking of some tissues and underworking of others,
leading to imbalances in exibility and strength; and the misalignment of joints, which then undergo more wear and
tear than they would otherwise.

Damage to muscle bres and connective tissue – which occurs especially during eccentric muscle contractions,
when muscles are both lengthening and contracting at the same time – can result in muscle tears and the formation
of scar tissue, which tends to shorten muscle bres. So stretching at the appropriate time in the healing process is
necessary to counter this.

The rst priority, especially after a long performance, is to restore correct postural alignment as quickly as possible.
This is the purpose of the ‘warm-down’ exercises here, which should not take more than a few minutes to do and
can be done without invading anyone else’s space, often while seated. One small caveat: if in attempting to correct
stiffness you experience any neural ‘zinging’, seek professional advice.

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1. STAND TALL

Stand with feet hip-width apart, draw your lower tummy in and up (a little) and lengthen up through the crown of
your head, looking straight ahead. Let your arms hang by your sides, palms facing into thighs. Relax your shoulders
and draw shoulder blades gently down your back, but without sticking out your lower ribcage. Then take a few
deep breaths, breathing IN to the sides and back of your ribcage and OUT drawing your abs in slightly more.

2. BIG SHOULDER-CIRCLES

Bring your shoulders up to your ears, letting the arms just hang. Then try and touch shoulder blades behind, as you
circle your shoulders. This is purely to loosen up your shoulders. Reverse the circles.

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3. DUMB WAITER

Have your forearms parallel to the oor and each other, with palms facing up and elbows into your sides. As you
breathe OUT (drawing your tummy in a little), rotate your arms out, keeping your elbows into your sides as much as
possible. Breathe IN to return them to parallel.

4. OPENINGS

Have upper arms in line with shoulders and have a right angle at your elbows, palms facing front. Breathing OUT
bring right-angled arms tightly together (elbows as well). Breathe IN as you take them wide and stretch back.

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5. FLOATING ARMS

[a] On an IN-breath, oat your arms up (hands just forward of shoulders), keeping your shoulder blades drawn
down.

[b] Breathe OUT, bringing your forearms behind your head.

[c] On an IN-breath, shrug your shoulders as high as possible.

[d] On an OUT-breath, lower shoulder blades as far as possible and oat the arms back down, keeping shoulder
blades drawing down.

6. THE COSSACK

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Place one forearm lightly on the other, keeping shoulders relaxed and open, with shoulder blades drawing down
your back, and breathe IN. Breathing OUT, rotate arms and head as one unit to your right, keeping your pelvis
facing forward. Breathe IN to return to the front and OUT to turn to the left. Keep alternating. This exercise is
easier to do sitting (as illustrated), because your pelvis is xed.

7. SIDE REACHES

Stand with feet parallel and hip-width apart. Breathe IN to lengthen up through the spine, raising one arm as you
try to keep that shoulder blade drawing down: breathing OUT lengthen as you reach upwards towards the opposite
corner of the room, the other hand going down your thigh. Make sure you only go over to the side. Breathe IN to
lengthen up again. Alternate side to side.

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8. FLEX AND EXTEND

Breathe IN and lengthen back and up through the crown of your head, extending your spine back a little while
drawing in your tummy. Breathe OUT as you nod your head (chin to chest) and curl your neck forward.

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9. NECK TURNS

[a] Standing tall (eyes straight ahead), keeping chin parallel with the oor, gently turn your head from side to side to
look over each shoulder.

[b] Be tall and look straight ahead, drop chin to chest, then take the head directly back to look over your head,
before coming back to look horizontal again.

[c] A side neck bend. Keep your head to the front throughout, and take your ear over to your shoulder each side.
(Any neural ‘zing’ – stop!)

10. ARM AND FINGER STRETCHES

Hold your right arm out straight in front of you, palm down and elbow locked. With your other hand, gently draw
back your ngers. Keep your arm the same, but this time bend the wrist over, drawing the hand back towards you
with the other hand. Repeat on the other side. Hold your hands out in front of you, elbows soft, take rst and
second ngers together away from the fourth and fth, also together, creating a gap. Return, and alternate with
separating rst and fourth ngers from the middle two, which stay together

11. ROLL DOWNS

If you have no serious issues with your back, roll downs (standing with the knees slightly bent, dropping the chin to
the chest and letting the rest of the spine gradually curl down towards the oor) are a great exercise to include
somewhere in your routine. Do them either with your back against the wall (easier on the back) or free standing.

This article was rst published in The Strad's December 2005 issue

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