Fit for the new start

SMM -- After concert activities were reduced in the spring and resumed after the summer vacation, some SMM therapy practices recorded a surprising influx. Musicians had obviously neglected their over-scheduled instrumental and sports activities during the forced break and were no longer in shape to cope with the new challenges.

There is a danger that this will happen again with the renewed halt to concert life. This is exacerbated by the fact that it is impossible to plan. At the moment, no one knows when the strict federal and cantonal measures will be lifted again. However, the impossibility of planning is one of the biggest obstacles to maintaining routines and determination.

After this summer's experiences, it seems certain that the end of the enforced break will bring major challenges. Performances in orchestras are likely to be particularly intense - not least due to the need to catch up. This can mean that the weight of your own instrument, for example, can cause unfamiliar physical problems. Increased tension can accentuate pain that could previously be kept below a threshold of disability with regular therapy, music-specific exercises or sporting activity. Uncertainty about technical and motor skills on the instrument can create performance anxiety and thus stress, which in turn significantly increases the risk of tension and cramps.

We know the risk from a comparable situation: students tend to increase their practice times considerably in the short term before exams. This shock to the body can then lead to the body going on strike at the very moment when maximum presence, top physical condition, precision and virtuosity are required for an exam. In addition, the lack of a concert routine - which many of you otherwise take for granted - can also lead to performance anxiety and nervousness after a long break.

In sports circles today, it is taken for granted that individual "fitness" must also be carefully planned and maintained outside of everyday competition. Making music at a professional level is comparable to top-class sport, especially when it comes to physical demands. However, musicians still lack an awareness of problems comparable to that in the world of sport.

Naturopath Samuel Büchel works in Spiez and at the Wallner practice in Bern, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the Bern Symphony Orchestra's concert venue. He is familiar with the worries and needs of orchestra musicians and advises them to use the time as calmly as possible in order to be ready for the restart of concert life. Anyone who is already undergoing therapy or regular physical exercises should not discontinue them under any circumstances. After a break, pain can occur when resuming a concert that would not occur under normal conditions.

Perhaps you would like to use your forced break to start a new over-routine? Try out new fitness and movement exercises or musician-specific activities and physical exercises and integrate them into your everyday life as a musician? Perhaps you've been meaning to work intensively on your sound, breath or embouchure for a while? Bring more ease into your fine motor movements or finally tackle your stage fright?

Alone or with professional support - now would be the time to realize such plans and to treat yourself to these development opportunities. We look forward to hopefully seeing and hearing you live on stage again soon, dear musicians!