Advice for muscular and technical redevelopment after long-time injury
Long story short: I was a semi-professional violinist for almost 30 years, and then I went fully pro (teaching and performing) for ten years after that. Then, in 2017, I blew out my left arm, and the doctor (a specialist in treating musicians) said that it was likely my arm would never fully heal given that I am also left-handed, and that if I continued to play, it would have to be only at a basic level. Naturally, I was devastated and made a series of emotional and bad decisions after that. I moved all of my students to different teachers, moved to another state, donated probably $12,000 - $15,000 worth of sheet music, and sold everything related to my playing, teaching, and chamber music, and lastly, I sold my violin. Selling my violin was the dumbest thing I have ever done, and I've regretted it every day since.Fast forward to now, and a different doctor (equally skilled) has said that my arm is fully healed and that I can play again - possibly at a much higher level than originally expected. So I started trialing violins and bows, and I think that I have settled on a very nice 19th turn the century French violin and a light German bow.
I expected my technique would be close to non-existent after so many years of not playing, but I'm happy to say that I have retained more technique than I expected i.e. intonation, accurate shifting, hand vibrato, high position work, etc. I should also say that what I don't have at all is speed. Fast shifting, runs, trills/turns, left and right hand coordination, etc. The speed is just not there, and my fingers are fumbling. Muscularly, every part of my body is weak and out of practice, and I'm feeling it the most in my neck, lower back, and in all of my left arm and shoulder. No concerning pain - just muscles unused to playing again. I have played limited amounts of classical music so far, and stuck with simpler "church" type music since it is easier technically.
And that is my question for which I'd appreciate advice. I'm not sure how to get my body back in shape. I started playing when I was four, and my body naturally adjusted to playing, and I don't remember ever having issues with muscle development and such. And on top of that, the only sheet music I have on hand are the last solos I performed, both on stage and at the last recital I gave, along with one scale book and an etude book. I'm not sure if I should use passages out of those pieces to build up my skills again. Because I am still able to play technique at a higher level, is it still necessary to go back to basic pieces like I'm beginning again? I am very open to purchasing music that will benefit me right now but I want to have a plan before I run out and buy more music. I feel stupid asking this question because I was a former teacher, and it seems like I should know the answer, but right now I'm just not sure and seriously overthinking every possibility.
If it would be helpful to know, the only music I have on hand right now is:
Kreutzer
Mozart Rondo in C
Beethoven Romances
Beethoven Violin Concerto
Dvorak Sonatina in G
Paganini Caprices
Paganini Moses Fantasy
Mozart Concerto No. 4
Weieniawski Legende
Bruch Concerto
Barber Violin Concerto
Handel Six Sonatas
Paganini Cantabile
Hrimaly Scales
Bach Unaccompanied
Bloch Nigun
Any advice on getting back in musical shape would be much appreciated.
Replies (6)
I’m sorry to hear about your difficulties.
It seems you are addressing two area: 1) general rehabilitation and 2) violinistic rehabilitation.
One of the best solutions for the violin might well be to get a copy of Simon Fischer’s Basics and work through from beginning to end, selecting the exercises that directly affect areas where you feel there is a problem.
A free book on IMSLP is Dounis Fundametal exercises for beginners which covers. A lot of great stuff in a very powerful way. I would recommend this book even to adavanced players. The Dounis Daily Dozen is also useful.
Working on Kreutzer etudes , especially the trill studies is certainly worthwhile. Schradieck is also invaluable.
For general rehabilitation a good trampoline like the Bellicon is a very powerful tool. I would also recommend, irrespective of your age, Will Harlows YouTube videos. They contain a huge variety of safe exercises for helping older people with Sarcopenia and loss of mobility.
In particular i would pick out the ones that use resistance bands. It is quite likely that a few basic exercises with such bands can solve a lot of your problems without having to recourse to weight training. Also resistance bands are really cheap…..
For overall rebalancing of the body you might give Alexander technique a serious look.
Best of Luck,
Buri
I haven't been at your previous level, but I've been working through an injury the last two years, and if you're in the clear to do anything, I've been finding a few studies pretty key in at least maintaining and slowly building back.
I might just make sure to take it slow and focus on whatever you can do while staying totally relaxed, since it can be easy to force things when we have old memories of how we used to be able to do it.
-Kreutzer 11 is always great for shifting, and it's a nice study that I find always keeps me relaxed, and encourages relaxation
-Schradieck is great in general (and in small and consistent doses). If you can be patient, this is a great place to start building your speed back up.
-You can kind of take your pick of Kreutzer trill etudes, but I like number 15 a lot. I like to practice it at a pretty leisurely pace and see if can have a nice relaxed vibrato on every non-trill note, which is a nice exercise in really emphasizing relaxation throughout but also building a linked feeling of lightness in the hand when trilling and when doing vibrato. I haven't run across anyone explicitly using it that way, but I think it's there in the etude.
-Kreutzer 14 (and 29) is a nice and very charming etude where you can really build the coordination between the hands, and it's one of the more pleasurable Kreutzer etudes to play.
-I might hold off on Kreutzer 9, or at least be very careful. In small doses, it can strengthen the fingers, but it's maybe the Kreutzer etude with the most potential for injury
-I would get an edition of the Rode etudes. They're pretty indispensable, and once you're feeling ready for stuff that puts it all together, they are such a great place to make music of all the technique, and they are so much more satisfying to play than Kreutzer
Anyway, hope this helps! Cheers!
another book that is awesome and not so well known is Sammons Secrets of Violin technique. Aside from the unfortunate name it is one of the best collections of practical exercises around.
Wanting to go back to basic pieces sounds a little bit like loss of confidence, but if you have most of your skilss then build on them. I think a greta place to strat is the Presto from the Bach g minor unaccompied sonata. It's got so much hidden technique in it. You can focus on bowing patterns (without left hand and then together), playing slowly with the fastest possible raising of the fingers (an essentila aspect of techniqe) and finger preparation across strings with double stops. Practice the catchand release bowing technique on the akward string crossings . This is a piece you can play daily for the rest of your life. Don't worry about getting it up top tempo, whatever the heck that means...
Cheers,
Buri
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Congratulations on your comeback, and your new violin and bow..
Your brain remembers what to do. The rest of your body probably doesn’t.
As a nurse with three injuries that prevented me from playing, I think I’d recommend that you treat your body as though you’re a brand new violinist. Give it time, it has to start over. Leave the difficult music pieces for later, like they’re dessert.
There are some good videos on YouTube about preventing injuries. I watched one today, and took notes.
And you are not stupid to ask. I’d call it smart.
Best wishes.