Coordinating Mind and Body: A Comparison of Three Somatic Approaches for Improving Wellness and Performance of Pianists

Among all barriers to a professional pianist’s performance, hand injuries can be the most traumatic. Chronic pain and other debilitating problems can cause not only physical suffering, but severe and emotional turmoil. When discouraged by countless cancellations due to physical problems, many pianists consider themselves failures. Throughout history, celebrated pianists such as Robert Schumann, Alexander Scriabin, Gary Graffman, Leon Fleisher, and Glenn Gould fell victim to hand injuries, in some cases even causing permanent damage that sidelined, or even terminated, their performing careers. Often traditional medicine is not the most ideal solution for effectively curing a pianist’s hand injuries, as most problems are more likely related to improper movement and use of the body while playing. The purpose of this essay is to introduce three effective somatic approaches to piano playing, offering not only possibilities for the treatment of physical problems, but also preventive methods in obtaining a pain-free experience for performing pianists.