Three weeks ago, I was forced to make the difficult decision to put my violin playing on hold. I am now looking forward to next week so that I can start up my practice again. I had no idea that it was possible to have a physical ailment that could stop you from playing an instrument. In my case both my shoulders were going through a lot of pain and I needed to give them time to recover.
This meant I had to put my violin down. But now that my shoulders are almost 100%, I’m rethinking the way I will approach my violin practices. During my break, I looked into various insights that helped me understand a little more on how I should relieve tension while playing. It is one the most important aspects of violin playing because it prevents injury and allows for more efficiency. I know my shoulder health was not at tip top shape when I first approached the violin, but practicing with tension for long periods of time didn’t help my condition at all.
I’m now prepared (mentally) to be aware of tension, AND I will add physical warm ups/stretches for neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fingers that help prevent injury to my everyday practice.
Another topic I think I need to address is the amount of practice per day. Before my mandatory rest, I had a good flow of long and short practice sessions. It is very difficult for me to not practice everyday. The violin has literally changed my life and I find it mentally therapeutic to play my strings everyday. So I have decided to limit my practice sessions to a maximum of 1 hour/day – at least for the first month that I start. If my shoulders behave, I will be free to add a half hour more the month after.
I’m looking forward to picking up my violin once again and see how rusty I have become. I missed my my violin so much!!! It is time to put my new practice tips that I learned during my rest to use.
