Understanding the Musician’s Performing Body is a topic that warrants more discussion space into the music students’ training. The goal of this blog or web page is to start a repository of students’ papers on topics related to the musician’s body, and its healthy and optimal use. The page will be active on a regular basis during specific periods where students are available to manage it (when graduate seminars on related topics are offered by the instructor). Its interactive section seeks to create a discussion board on these important topics with the music community and to break barriers between researchers and practitioners.
Through the term, students have acquired knowledge on the anatomy, physiology and mechanics of the body as it relates to music performance. They became familiar with some of the existing literature on the topic. One way to make things evolve is through knowledge transfer. Through this page, students will present their work on various issues related to the body during music playing and hope to communicate and exchange with their peers who have common interests. This page is an active work-in-progress page. It will evolve over the years.
This page is the outcomes of winter 2015-2018 and 2021 seminars on Understanding the Performing Body offered at McGill University, Schulich School of Music. The instructor of this course is Isabelle Cossette. She is the administrator of this site. The posts have been done by the graduate students enrolled in these seminars.
Authors and articles
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[tab title=”Fall 2022 “]
Stressed?
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[tr] [td] Pinchas Antal – [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Sebastian Gonzales Mora –Beta blockers: The performance pills [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Zhuying Li – [/td][/tr]
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Brainstorm!
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[tr] [td] Shan Jing – [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Kyle Jones – Dopamine and Rewarding Yourself [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Christopher Keach – Enhanced Learning and Retention Through Combined Practice [/td][/tr]
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Life changes…
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[tr] [td] Bronwyn Schuman – I’m pregnant. How will this affect my ability to play the piano? [/td][/tr]
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Out of breath?
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[tr] [td] Ziyue Piao – Neck tension in singing? Learn about muscle tension dysphonia (MTD)[/td][/tr]
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[tab title=”Winter 2021 “]
Stressed?
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[tr] [td] Julia Laporte Bomfim – Go with the flow! [/td][/tr]
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Brainstorm!
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[tr] [td] Ariadne Lih – All minds can make music: Understanding depression [/td][/tr]
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Life changes…
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[tr] [td] Jacqueline Woodley – Hormonal? [/td][/tr]
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[tab title=”Winter 2018 “]
Stressed?
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[tr] [td] Naomi Schrank – The many moods of a musician [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Georgia Vögeli – Learning self love for our playing [/td][/tr]
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Brainstorm!
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[tr] [td] Félix Dupont-Foisy – Mind over matter: The power of imagination in music [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Zainen Suzuki – Music and memory [/td][/tr]
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No pain no gain
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[tr] [td] Renaud Boucher-Browning – Strengthening and stretching for string bassists [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Florence Rousseau – Tune up! [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Samuel Shreves – Musculoskeletal problems among orchestral musicians, exercise, and recovery [/td][/tr]
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[tab title=”Winter 2017 “]
Stressed?
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[tr] [td] Jean-Nicolas Trottier – Stress and jazz improvisation [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Alexander Freund – OMMMm…Meditation? Why?…How? [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Jason Biel – Sleep and stress – an unstoppable wheel[/td][/tr]
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Brainstorm!
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[tr] [td] Margaret di Castro – Help! My hands have brain cramps?! Could I have focal dystonia?[/td][/tr]
[tr] [td]Daniel Karrasch – Music research in the psychedelic Renaissance [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Claire Motyer – Injured? Or is it all in your head? [/td][/tr]
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No pain no gain
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[tr] [td] Angela Chen – Optimal posture for violists [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Kenneth Kwan – Injuries of an alternate athlete [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Hannah MacLean – The search for ease: Violin set-up guide [/td][/tr]
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Out of breath?
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[tr] [td] Hannah Darroch – Breathing myths debunked [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Damon Davies – VPI – The big leak [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td] Kristy Tucker – Can the way you breathe make smarter?[/td][/tr]
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[tab title=”Winter 2016 “]
Stressed?
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[tr] [td]Eat well. Play well! – Naomi Dumas[/td][/tr]
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Brainstorm!
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[tr] [td]Focal dystonia in the hands: A symptom and solution guide – Ryan Gallagher[/td][/tr]
[tr] [td]Take the brain train – Francisco L. Reyes Peguero[/td][/tr]
[tr] [td]Is an image worth a thousand notes? – Kirsten Leblanc[/td][/tr]
[tr] [td]The brain game: practice strategies – MacKenzie Stone[/td][/tr]
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No pain no gain. Is this concept hurting you?
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[tr] [td]Our hands are not transformers – Jared Tehse[/td][/tr]
[tr] [td]Practicing and playing-related injuries in pianists: Is there a link? – Magdalena VonEccher[/td][/tr]
[tr] [td]Is my embouchure just tired or is it something more serious? – Anna Dickey[/td][/tr]
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[tab title=”Winter 2015“]
Stressed?
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[tr] [td]Deal with it! – Émilie Fortin[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]The art of Zen music playing – Marina Thibeault[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Don’t worry, breathe happy! – Suh Hyeamin[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Take it or leave it! Anxiety in performance situations – Brian Rice[/td][/tr]
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Brainstorm!
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[tr] [td]Whole sense – Nathan Murphy[/td][/tr]
[tr] [td]Will a drink help me think? – Gabriele Thielmann[/td][/tr]
[tr] [td]The deaf musician: an oxymoron? – Jesse Luimes [/td][/tr]
[tr] [td]Music neuroscience, what do you think? Kelly Craig[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Know your instrument: The simplicity of extended techniques – Noam Bierstone[/td][/tr]
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No pain no gain. Is this concept hurting you?
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[tr] [td]Do you feel pain when you play? – Sarah Campbell[/td][/tr]
[tr] [td]Musicians, how do you keep your hands singing? – Jean-François Hamel[/td][/tr]
[tr] [td]Guidelines for teachers: Specific injury prevention methods – Steven Cowan[/td][/tr]
[tr][td] My hand/wrist seems injured? Is it De Quervain? What should I do? –Zhenni Li [/td][/tr]
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