Cello Video Lesson: How to Prevent Injuries on the Cello

Now, I wanted to talk a little bit about one other issue. Actually, how to prevent injuries on the cello or on any stringed instrument for that matter. This is something I'm very passionate about. I think it's terrible that some players end up using strategies that in order to play, that are unhealthy for them. And then they end up practicing these strategies, over-practicing them to the point where they actually cause some type of, in some cases, unfortunately, serious injuries. So there's a couple of rules to follow when it comes to pain.

First of all, I can't emphasize this enough: the rule of "no pain, no gain" does not apply to us, at all. We are not really athletes. I know that gets said a lot, that we're athletes. We're really not athletes. You see, an athlete needs to build up their body to a certain extent, in order to achieve a certain level. For example, a body builder, of course, needs to get really huge muscles to win competitions. Or, a power lifter needs to develop an incredible lower body in order to lift those really, really heavy weights. In terms of muscle development, as you can see, probably here in the video, I don't have enormous arms or anything like that, and yet I can get a pretty powerful tone. You don't need a lot of energy if you're doing it correctly. You don't need a lot of energy or a lot of strength to play the cello well. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't go out and be healthy and exercise. I try to exercise a little bit by doing various things. And certainly, having muscles doesn't hurt or help your cello playing in any particular way. But I find that that is the number one cause actually of injuries: most people ignore their bodies. They think that "well, okay, I'm doing something. I could feel a tingling sensation in my pinky, that means I must be working it pretty well." No, this is bad. Always, pain, any kind of pain, is something to be avoided, with the possible exception of when you're first learning cello you can develop calluses that can be painful. And also when you're first learning, you're trying to get through a lot of information, sometimes you may hurt a little bit here or there. The problem is chronic pain. This is the issue.

So, once you've got that straightened out, then we start talking about strategies. Now strategies, a good strategy for being able to play well and also for your whole life, I think is really important to develop. Now, the number one rule that I've found that's important to observe is that every single joint in your... in everything that you use to play the cello, so we're talking about primarily the arms here, and the hands, and the fingers. Every single joint has... either it's free or either it's locked. A free joint is basically what you want. A locked joint is something that you don't want. With some little exceptions, but they're very, very minor exceptions. I won't even... they're not even worth it to go into. But that's the thing: if there's something that's locked, then that's something that can either potentially at some point cause you to have difficulty playing or may actually cause you difficulty now in terms of just being able to play expressively and all that. So that's the basic rule: if you keep every single joint that you're using unlocked and free, for example, that's the secret to a really free vibrato, is not having any joints locked. It's the secret to developing this really nice, free, bow arm, and nice free sound. And you'll notice this in all the great players. All the great players don't really have too many locked joints.

Now, some of them do, and the reason why some of these players can play their whole lives with these locked joints, is some players just have a little bit stronger physiology, just naturally. Their tendons are a little bit stronger. Their overall structure is just geared a little bit towards that level of endurance. But, since these things are so hard to tell genetically, we might as well develop the strategy that's going to help you to play your best and the longest for you as possible. But then, that number one rule is the most important. If you're feeling pain when you play, it means you're doing something wrong. Right? Like anything else. It doesn't mean that you're building muscle. It doesn't mean that you're working the right things. No. It doesn't mean that at all. It really means that you need to address whatever it is that's causing the problem and please tell your teacher. And your teacher will help you through this thing.

So, anyway, this has been Joseph Mendoes with virtualsheetmusic.com. Hope you've enjoyed this video. Please leave comments down below and I'll see you next time. Bye, bye.

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