November 7th, 2009
This summer I attended a fantastic master class with Ben Verdery. In addition to Ben’s boundless energy, there were lots of terrific performers, great music, and a very fun ensemble performance. I also got one exceptionally handy little handout: a copy of a little pamphlet titled Don’t cramp your style by the British Association for the Performing Arts Medicine.
The pamphlet consists of 12 simple stretches to be used during practice and performance. One of the key ideas is that musicians rely heavily upon their entire bodies; they should take the same care to warm up and prepare that any other athlete would. In addition to improving my warm up routine, I’ve started trying to incorporate these easy stretches into periodic breaks I take during longer practice sessions.
It would be fantastic to have this kind of organization in the US. In the meantime the BAPAM has a number of other useful factsheets for performers on their website. As they say, “Think of yourself as a performance athlete,” and treat your body accordingly.