When art meets science: the hidden risks of musical expression

In 5 seconds A study carried out at UdeM by Craig Turner and his doctoral supervisor Felipe Verdugo shows how pianists' "expressive intentions" may heighten their risk of long-term injury.

Playing the piano involves much more than striking the keyboard. The pianist's entire body is in movement, from the torso to the fingers. But how does the musical expression generated by this choreography heighten the risk of self-inflicted, long-term injury?

Seeking to answer that very question, Ph.D. candidate Craig Turner and his research director, Felipe Verdugo, of the UdeM's School of Kinesiology and Physical Activity Sciences, set out to deconstruct the performance biomechanics of two professional pianists.

Their research is all the more relevant given that 72 per cent of pianists suffer from musculoskeletal disorders, according to statistics cited in their article published in January in Frontiers in Psychology.

Embodied cognition

Felipe Verdugo

To determine how embodied cognition – that is, when there is a mutual influence between ones’ thoughts and one’s bodily reactions – manifested itself in the two pianists, the researchers fitted each of them with 17 movement sensors.

The musicians then played six excerpts from classical and romantic works under two very different sets of performance conditions: an expressive reading, comparable to a live concert, and a more "neutral" one, in which the musicians were told to play strictly what was written in the sheet music, with no personal interpretation allowed.

The sensors (known as inertial units) were used to analyze three specific criteria: the amplitude of the pianists' joint movements, the postures they adopted and the smoothness of their wrist movements.

The goal was to study joint movements in the context of two performance styles that the pianists actually use in their work.

In doing so, we went beyond previous studies, which typically settled for measuring linear bodily movements, rather than the angles of each joint movement,” said Verdugo, who specializes in movement analysis and biomechanics.

Amplified movement but contradictory risks

Craig Turner

As expected, the results indicate that when pianists play expressively, their bodies are also in greater motion, not only the core joints (shoulders, neck, torso), but the outer joints as well (elbows, wrists). This amplification affects nearly all joint movements measured by the researchers, illustrating how musical expression manifests itself physically throughout the body.

However, this excess of expression has contradictory effects in terms of potential risks to the physical health of musicians. On the one hand, the core is engaged in more dynamic and neutral postures, which could reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in this region. On the other, the wrists – particularly vulnerable in pianists – spend more time in non-neutral and static positions, potentially increasing the risk of injury.

“We also found that the wrist movements become jerkier and less smooth when pianists play expressively, especially in more lyrical passages," the researchers note in their study. “This may constitute an additional risk factor because jerkiness involves quicker changes in the forces exerted on the joints.”

In the researchers' view, these risks are not insignificant given that excessive or improper wrist use may lead to pathologies such as tendinitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. “These disorders, which are so common among musicians, could undermine a pianist's career if these factors are not taken into account in practice routines and prevention measures,” they warn.

Musical context is decisive

The study also reveals that the type of music significantly influences the impact of expression on joint movements. In very fast virtuoso passages, differences in the smoothness of joint movements associated with the two performance styles tend to diminish.

“It's as if the technical constraints of these passages leave less room for the variations in movement associated with more expressive playing,” said Turner.

The following example illustrates this paradox: when the pianists played a virtuoso passage with rapid detached left-hand notes, no differences were observed in the smoothness of the wrist movements between the two performance styles.

This finding may provide potential insight into interactions between technical and expressive performance requirements, the researchers believe.

Better injury prevention

In sharing their data, Craig Turner and Felipe Verdugo hope to underscore the importance of taking a holistic approach to pianistic practice, reflecting the conflicting demands of musical expression and physical health.

Their research could also have major implications for piano instruction and injury prevention.

“Traditionally, certain schools of piano teaching approached musical expression and technique separately,” they explain in their paper. “Our study suggests, however, that both aspects are intrinsically linked, biomechanically speaking.

"So piano teachers could modify their approach by avoiding disassociating those aspects while monitoring how students manage their body mechanics, depending on the type of music being played.”

The data also show that efforts to take a more ergonomic approach to pianistic training in order to minimize body tension should be tailored to students' need for musical expression. Exercises aimed at ensuring correct posture and smooth wrist movements could be used to reduce musculoskeletal risks.

“Pianists seeking to reconcile high-level performance and good health should be made aware of how important it is to manage movements properly," the researchers conclude. "Integrating mobility exercises, adapted stretching and body awareness into practice routines could make a real difference. Calling on experts specializing in biomechanics or musical ergonomics could also help to prevent acute and chronic injuries.”

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