pain in my right shoulder/neck muscle

[Tash]

ok this mainly happens when i'm learning new pieces towards the end of my practice. the muscle around my neck/shoulder area on my right side starts to get rather sore and doesn't go away til a bit after i stop playing. it doesn't really affect me in any way but it's been happening for numerous years now and i find it kind of annoying.

does anyone know why this is happening or how to get rid of it?  thanks

[xvimbi]

ok this mainly happens when i'm learning new pieces towards the end of my practice. the muscle around my neck/shoulder area on my right side starts to get rather sore and doesn't go away til a bit after i stop playing. it doesn't really affect me in any way but it's been happening for numerous years now and i find it kind of annoying.

does anyone know why this is happening or how to get rid of it?  thanks

Are you saying that it does not happen when you play familiar pieces? Assuming that the motions are the same, that sounds like a mental problem. Learning a new piece puts certain burdens on our brain, which can cause tensions. If that is really the case, I would assume that you either have an injury that only shows up when you do have additional tension, or you have a bad habit (e.g. posture) that reaches a state of pain only when you are tense. It may be completely unrelated to piano playing. Learning how to relax and stay cool under stressful circumstances may help.

[abe]

I've recently been feeling pain around my upper vertebrae, particularly after a long practicing session, and I've linked the start of this pain to a few months ago when I really started playing and practicing much more than before. I dont know what it is, maybe just a bad sitting posture while playing, or overall tension and stress.

[in_love_with_liszt]

I reacall a similar experience while I was learning a section of Liszt's 12th. Rhap. with alot of fast thirds. I think it was because the notes were up high, so my body was in a somewhat awkward position, and on top of that I was very tense, causing pain in my shoulder. I think the main problem if you are having pain in your shoulders or upper back is being too tense. Look at the way you are playing and make sure you are not tensing up your upper body too much. Try shrugging/rotating your shoulders to loosen up before practice.

[Tash]

ok it's generally worse when i'm learning stuff, but can also happen with known pieces towards the end of my practice. i don't have bad posture (if you've read half my posts to do with posture you'll know i'm a posture nazi) or maybe it's cos i sit too straight? actually i sit kinda far away from the piano so have to lean forward which could be making me roll my shoulders forward? i dunno...it's probably just tense. i'll try relax more see if that helps. thanks heaps

[ahmedito]

Some of my students experienced the same thing. Ive found out that its from bad eyesight or sightreading. When learning a new piece you squint and put tension on your neck, usually bending your head forwards unconsiouslly towards your dominant eye (usually the right one).... check yourself, are you leaning to read the music... do you have bad eyesight?

[Tash]

haha yeah i'm shortsighted but never have any trouble reading the music. and when it gets to a bit later i'm not reading the music anyway...

[maxy]

Hum...

Most of the time, the cause of the pain is not the area that feels the "pain".  Some pianists raise their shoulders because their fingers can't suport the weight of the arms.  It is useless  to tell them to lower their shoulders, first they must work on their fingers. I am not saying it is the case in the present situation, but just don't focus only on what is happening with your shoulder.  The problem may be elsewhere.

Good luck.

[Tash]

yes i was thinking that. but raising my shoulders is not the problem, as i semi learnt today, i tend to more pull my shoulders down when i'm playing, so maybe it's straining the muslce? i should probably just go see a physio about it

[rph108]

During a masterclass with some pianist from Japan she said that pain in the upper back usually has something to do the way your neck is positioned when you look at the music. While you learn new music you look at the sheet most often, but I bet when you play familiar music you usually look somewhere else the majority of the time(your hands would be my guess).