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A pain in the neck

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Home Forums Forum Archives Amateur Harpists A pain in the neck

Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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  • #161366
    unknown-user
    Participant

    Hi people.

    I am finding myself beset with neck pain when I play for more than about ten minutes. It is still bugging me now at the computer. At the harp (Troubadour)

    #161367
    Audrey Nickel
    Participant

    Could you be hunching that shoulder?

    I had such a shoulder-hunching problem that I wore a figure-8 brace for a while (the kind of brace they give you when you break your collarbone) to help me remember to keep my shoulders down.

    #161368

    I have a Troubadour and had the same problem. I am very tall. I could NOT get comfortable at the Troub. I still can’t really. I went almost immediately to pedal harp and find it much more comfortable (not to mention more to my taste musically), but I still play the Troub. I find now if I sit a little lower and get the harp more on my shoulder like a pedal harp it’s not quite so bad. I had to get in an odd angle to play that thing sitting in my normal harp chair. Also, if you are new at the harp, it seemed to me that I had to develop “harp muscles” — that is my body had to adjust to having the harp on my body with my arms working in the position they need to in order to play. I had some odd aches and pains for the first 6 months or so……they are, for the most part gone.

    Briggs

    #161369

    The weight of the harp shouldn’t be resting on your shoulders!

    #161370

    Jennifer, you are so right. I didn’t actually mean weighing it on your shoulder, I just meant to put more of the knee block up higher than to have it at your collarbone. Yes, it should be balanced so that when it tips back, it is balanced correctly and not weighing your shoulder down.

    Briggs

    #161371
    andy-b
    Participant

    I had a terrible time with my neck quite a few years ago, and it turned out to be caused by sitting on a stool that was the incorrect height for my harp. I had to have chiropractic treatment for several months. My teacher at the time was unaware of the problem, because at lessons, I played her harp and sat on her chair, so she didn’t see how I was practicing at home. If you haven’t already, you might want to have your teacher evaluate how you sit at your harp on the stool or chair you normally use. Hope this helps!

    Andy

    #161372
    sherry-lenox
    Participant

    The relationship of the height of my harp to the height of my chair was a huge problem for me. When the Thormahlens added “tall feet” to the Serenade, my problem was immediately solved. You really can’t decide about the proportions in terms of your height. I’m “short” (5’4″) but still need a taller harp.

    This does take a little experimentation, but I think it’s definitely the first thing to consider.

    #161373
    unknown-user
    Participant

    Thanks and warm regards to everybody for the info. I will check into it, probably my height may be an issue, where the Troub is tall, and, although I am 5’4, (high-medium) my torso is short for my legs.

    Again, many thanks

    Christine

    #161374
    Katrina Saroyan
    Participant

    Sorry to post a year later, but I just joined and noticed your post. I hope you are not still having this problem, but for you or anyone else, I’d like to share my experience.

    I started with alot of pain at first, too. I think in my case it was a tightness from having to use certain muscles and trying to play precisely. Since I have worked steadily and played ALOT over the years (sometimes as much as 40-50 hours a week) I can say that the larger the instrument, the bigger the problems. You are certainly on the right track doing exercise. I’ve completely overcome this issue, and I find that the only trace I notice is when I tighten up – so keep as loose as you can! I also notice that some music I play tends to make me tighten up more than other less demanding music. It might not be a bad idea to stick to music that is a little less demanding

Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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