A 40-year-old professional Saxophonist came to see me because he was experiencing increasing pain and discomfort in his neck and shoulders when he was playing – especially when performing with his band. A secondary issue was his fiancée’s irritation with what she said was him ‘having no neck’. He was of average height and stocky build.
At his initial appointment, his shoulders were so raised and tight that they almost touched his ears and his arms were so tense that they were nowhere near his sides when he was standing. The whole of his torso and upper body looked fixed and rigid and there was little movement in his ribcage.
Watching him move, I could see that he was using excessive tension to sit down, stand up, move his head and raise and lower his arms. His left shoulder was much tighter than his right shoulder – the so-called ‘attitude’ shoulder, which many saxophone players move constantly when they are playing and which they habitually tighten depending on the mood and pitch of the music being played.
After my initial assessment, I guided him into the simple movements he had just been through and he was surprised to find that he quickly became more aware of what he was doing and the amount of effort he was using: in most cases, far more than was actually needed. We worked with getting him moving more efficiently, by making changes to his usual, habitual way of moving and I could see his shoulders beginning to release away from his neck and his ribcage opening out.
Work on ‘the table’ followed the movements. This is where the client lays on their back with their knees bent and head supported by blocks and is one of the easiest ways of releasing stress. After only 5 minutes, he was so relaxed he almost fell asleep.
We had weekly sessions for 3-4 months and during this time, his upper back and shoulders became less held, with a corresponding release of his ribcage. One result of this was he could hear that his tone when he played his saxophone was becoming fuller and more rounded. The ‘attitude’ shoulder, although still active, was under far more control and because of this any build-up of tension was avoided through the tools he had learnt and was practising at home.
His fiancée was also delighted with the results as his neck had finally appeared again.
If you are a musician in Basingstoke with tension affecting your playing – contact me.
