The tittle of this blog says it all, today’s subject is a pain in the rear. This is a topic not enough talked about, maybe because most of the literature is geared towards beginners the kind of people who do not know yet the joys of aching vertebrae’s.
I practice every day. Sometimes 1 hour and a half, sometimes I push it to 3 or 4 hours. The time can be passed on the piano or the drums, depending on the agenda. And I am always surprised when I notice that my back is sending alarm signals. Why surprised? Because I concentrate on other things, including my body like a relaxed wrists or curved fingers. That’s on top of the music I play, which also requires quite a bit of attention. Yes, I know, I am Superman, I have the cape, the red one, all that.
I’ve got some material that shows how to stretch and work out to strengthen the back, make it more resistant but who’s got time to do it? I do. I don’t. Yes, you guessed it, I am on a hit or miss diet for exercise. More often than not, I miss. That’s bad.
I divulge my own shortcoming not because I have no shame, but because I want people to know that even a veteran of practice can be negligent towards his own body. And meanwhile, lingering, my back sometimes hurts. I am among the lucky musicians, though, I have reached middle age without to much damage. My wrists, hands and fingers have no problem. My ears are still working fine and my shoulders are not hunched, and yet I spent most of my life sitting down.
You have musicians that follow a very strict routine to avoid back problems. Sting practices yoga. Tommy Aldridge (A heavy metal drummer) works out every day, so does Jonathan Moffett (Drummer for Michael Jackson). I chose to walk. It makes me get out of the house and see a bit of nature. This is good, but not enough. All right, this is it, you can stop me, I’m going to work out and stretch.
