Watch Your Posture
When it comes time to practice or perform, one of the most important things to think about is posture. “Posture isn’t just standing up straight,” says Judith Palac, a professor at Michigan State University. “It’s more like dynamic balance, and teens don’t have it. Their legs grow faster than their arms, and their trunk muscles are the last to develop, so they have less trunk strength. Very often they’re hunched over. The best way to contend with this is to be very conscious of your posture every time you work with your instrument. Before you pick up that violin or cello, though, you need to warm up and stretch, which are two different things.

“With my students,” says Palac, “we warm up every day by doing the hokey-pokey or walking in a circle or something that will get the blood flowing and warm up the muscles away from the instrument. If you’re starting cold, you need to warm up before you stretch the muscles. Then stretch for a few minutes before rehearsal, and you should also stretch a little in the middle or at the end of rehearsal, because muscle fibers shorten up and get thicker when they’re fatigued; if we stretch them out at the end of rehearsal, they’ll be less likely to cramp the next day.”

Palac and string teacher Lisa Britsch know perfectly well that you might think this is burdensome, tedious, or terminally uncool. But paying attention to techniques that will keep you from getting injured will pay off, and not just in music.

Smooth and Easy
OK, so you’re ready to sit down and play. You’ve warmed up and you’re thinking about your posture. You have your instrument and bow in hand. Now what?

“First, move smoothly,” Palac advises. “When you throw a baseball, you wind up, then throw, and then follow through. When you play an instrument, you have to maintain good movement patterns and think about preparation; if you don’t you can injure your muscles and soft tissues and joints.

“Then there’s leverage. Use as much muscular force as necessary, but as little as possible. Some kids get into pushing down on the string and pushing down on the bow rather than using muscles to produce weight, not force. And never pound your fingers on the fingerboard.

“Stay in the middle range of motion, which is the healthiest place for every joint,” Palac continues. “That means the wrist is practically straight out from the arm, not bent too much. You should play so your body looks like arcs and spirals, not squares and trapezoids.

“Balance. Spread your weight evenly across the base of your body, whether you’re sitting or standing. And don’t hike one shoulder higher than the other. Since we all go forward all the time in string playing, because we’re reaching around something, it’s good to stretch your arms and back backward when you’re finished playing to counteract that forward motion.”