No more "muddling through"

When I learned 40 years ago from Milan Škampa himself, the violist of the world-famous Smetana Quartet, that he had to take antidepressants before every concert, and had been doing so for 20 years, I was deeply shocked. Then I found out about hearing loss among musicians here in Switzerland, which led to some of them giving up their profession - and there was hardly any institution that was committed to such occupational illnesses, even the SUVA hardly offered any help at the time. Today, music training institutions have recognized the problem areas and offer direct assistance and courses, and a wealth of literature is available to raise awareness of the dangers of intensive music practice.

Or so one might think: In the informative concluding observations of this book, however, it must be noted that much is still in its infancy at the conservatoires, that the efforts to bring music physiology and musician's medicine together are based on personal initiatives that are still trying to build networks. Individual universities, including Zurich and Basel, appear to be at the forefront of developments in some areas.

All of the contributions in this book are the results of an interdisciplinary symposium held in Graz in 2013, which focused on music-making by both amateurs and professionals. Practicing techniques, dealing with "stage fright", problems of posture, liberation from rigid rules and many other problem areas are discussed. It should come as no surprise that some contributions are burdened by scientific jargon, as fundamentally new findings had to be linguistically named and systematized in order to be open to interdisciplinary discourse. Only in passing is a comparison drawn with elite sport, because "just like athletes, musicians often push themselves to the limits of their individual sensorimotor and biomechanical capabilities". The "overall physical demands of instrumental playing and singing are generally significantly underestimated. The cardiovascular system shows distinctly 'sporty' reactions when making music ... which is why good physical condition is of great importance".

Young people aiming for a career in music will no longer stumble unsuspectingly into these problem areas, but middle-aged musicians might be shocked to realize how many situations they have somehow "muddled through" themselves.

This anthology Practicing & making music - Texts on instrumental pedagogy offers a wide range of guidance on the current state of research, all possible risks, as well as suggestions for self-monitoring and self-help. However, the recorded round table discussion on the current situation reveals that many places are still a long way from being able to offer sufficient professional advice.

Healthy and motivated music-making. For a lifetime. Musicians' health between dream and reality, edited by Barbara Borovnjak and Silke Kruse-Weber, 297 p., € 16.95, Schott, Mainz 2015, ISBN 978-3-7957-0867-2