My shoulders are hurting me!! Help!

[JustinTimberlake]

Help! My shoulders are hurting me. It feels like there are two swollen spots on them. And it really makes my arms stiff, thus making it hard to play fast. Has anyone got any idea what's happening to me? And How can i solve this problem?

[JustinTimberlake]

hello?

[greyrune]

I've had problems with my shoulder when playing too, just one, and only every now and then, but i would reccomend you go and see a chiropractor, or an alexander technique specialist, it could well be bad posture thats causing it.

[anda]

where exactly do your shoulders hurt? if it's lateraly, to the exterior then your hand is tight - try relaxing it. if they hurt towards your back (towards the spine, behind the neck) then your position is wrong - try keeping your back straight.

also, if you practice tons without breaks, that's also an explanation. i take 10 min breaks every 90-120 min, and i move and stretch in these breaks.

[faulty_damper]

It could be that the piano is too high or rather the keyboard is high.

Raise your bench or lower the piano so that your arms are comfortably able to move.  It shouldn't have to be raised to play the notes.  From what I've read, your forearme should be parralel from the ground when the fingers are over the keyboard.

I lowered my keyboard by removing those cups under the legs.  This is after I tried unsuccessfully to raise the bench.  The bench can still be a littly higher but it's good enough for how much I practice on it.  If I practiced 5-7 hours a day, then it could be a problem with shoulder strain.

Keep in mind that everybody's body is different and benches weren't made to fit everyone's body and pianos weren't made to be the perfect height for everyone.  So you must make adjustments to them.

[bernhard]

Have a look at this thread for a problem similar to yours:

https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=stud;action=display;num=1069177099