overstrained or overworked?

[andrewjohnsson40]

Have you ever gotten overstrained or overworked when playing the accordion?
If so, what did you do about it?
In what part of the body did you feel the sensation? Or was it more psychological rather than physical?

 

[JerryPH]

Have you ever gotten overstrained or overworked when playing the accordion?
If so, what did you do about it?

Yes. I started at playing in 1964 at the age of 4 and while growing up I had a grueling life as a kid with 6 hours a day on weekdays and 12 hour practice sessions on the weekends and no real rest periods because I had school, hockey and martial arts in there as well. Holidays were not holidays, they were opportunities to practice more hours since I was not in school.

Basically no break in there for a very, very long time. I basically royally burnt out, ended up in a hospital and from that day until decades later, I never touched the accordion. Doing things this drastically is both physically and mentally dangerous.

What did I do? I took a 35 year hiatus from even looking at the accordion... lol

Today I can see the error, it would have been so much better for me to simply back off, but by then, it was a way of life and as unhealthy as it was, like an addict, you do not see that you are slowly killing yourself. It was finally my body that simply shut off and a nice long stay in the hospital brought me back. It takes a long time to come back after a burn out. For some, that can mean months or even years of lingering effects.

Today, I play when I can, still work and enjoy my martial arts when I can. I try to keep the accordion in my life and I find that small projects like the Mild to Wild video series I just recently started, help keep me in the game at least a little bit.

Playing a lot (more than 6 hours a day, more than 5 days a week), is a level that is really pushing it and there are very few people that can live anything close to a balanced life, but those that do, and can survive, reach incredible levels of skill and virtuosity.

Those that cannot, simply burn out if they dont check themselves. Burnout is both a physical and mental deterioration, and can be very dangerous to the person. To prevent this, you simply have to listen to your body and ACT on it. I have noticed that for me, when I push too hard (and yes even today I push hard in my chosen sport, at work and in other things in life), my first warning is that I get elevated temperatures, small fevers. If I dont back off, this quickly leads to high levels of physical fatigue, and then this leads to mental fatigue where even thinking becomes a chore. Today I pay very close attention to my body, and sure, I often push hard to the point that I get elevated temperatures several times a month, but I back down fast and try to add more rest time.

Sleeping a minimum of 8 hours a night is so important, as is having a reasonably good diet, but ultimately, the best thing you can do is balance your life. Too much of anything, no matter what, is not good for you so, diversity is king.

Go for long walks, play lots of accordion, work hard and dont forget to interact with the human race. Pay lots of attention to your wife or girlfriend and be with your friends... often. If you can do all that in small amounts, not only will you never burn out, your quality of life will change drastically for the better.

Its all about balance.

 

[Keymn]

Jerry, I agree with balance. But in today’s society we are thinking we need cable TV, expensive cell Phone packages, large mortgages, new cars and we buy the latest greatest Accordion or arranger! When I got out of the day job market a year ago, I realized how much neglect I had on my body and family. Thinking Working long hours to keep up with bills.
Not so today, collecting Retirement and playing fewer gigs. Cut out cable, do not miss it! Refrained from buying a new car when it gets over 60,000 miles and turned off the alarm clock. Although, Fr4x purchase was to get something lighter.
Scottsdale Shows has been more like fun then a chore, unlike when in Florida last year. I am being more selective in gigs.
3-5 nights gigs before this and holding down a day job, paid a toll on my shoulders and Vocals. Today, Vocals back (although, My singing Sinatra’s “My Way” is not what it used to be). Getting more involved in the technical and programming aspects of my Korg arranger and FR4x. Never read the manuals before. Much information in those books!
Enjoy your accordions. We are a dying breed in many areas. I can see a comeback, but we need to be innovative.

 

[debra]

Have you ever gotten overstrained or overworked when playing the accordion?
If so, what did you do about it?
In what part of the body did you feel the sensation? Or was it more psychological rather than physical?

I only got overstrained when I had just made the switch from PA to CBA and I started practicing a lot, and on a very heavy Hohner Morino Artiste XS (18kg). I was essentially ruining my left shoulder with this thing, even though I had the right posture, right strap adjustment, back strap, and decades of experience with PA.
I did the only thing that felt sensible to me: I bought a lighter accordion (fewer notes and only Stradella bass, but still full size) and the pain went away. I happily used that accordion for a few years. Then I moved back to a slightly bigger and heavier instrument (with more notes and convertor) and kept the amount of practice under control. No more problems since.

 

[JerryPH]

Jerry, I agree with balance. But in today’s society we are thinking we need cable TV, expensive cell Phone packages, large mortgages, new cars and we buy the latest greatest Accordion or arranger!

Well, to be honest, I love my toys, but it is still hard to find balance, I still struggle with it all the time, with work being the #1 biggest time killer and necessary evil.

When I had my own business, I had a wonderful balance, but that was when I was in charge of my time. Now I am at the beck and call of a boss. I am trying to change that but in the meantime, I make it a priority to not let working be the center of my universe as much.

Enjoy your accordions. We are a dying breed in many areas. I can see a comeback, but we need to be innovative.

I agree that we are a kind of dying breed, but the best that I can do is take time each weekend to do something (anything!), accordion related. I know that I really need more practice time, that has suffered a lot, but I do what I can when I can.

There is no lack of projects or things to do with my accordion hobby, but things would be so much better if someone could explain to my boss that having 5 day weekends and 2 day work week (with no change in income amount) would be so much better for me... lol.

 

[Keymn]

Have you ever gotten overstrained or overworked when playing the accordion?
If so, what did you do about it?
In what part of the body did you feel the sensation? Or was it more psychological rather than physical?

I only got overstrained when I had just made the switch from PA to CBA and I started practicing a lot, and on a very heavy Hohner Morino Artiste XS (18kg). I was essentially ruining my left shoulder with this thing, even though I had the right posture, right strap adjustment, back strap, and decades of experience with PA.
I did the only thing that felt sensible to me: I bought a lighter accordion (fewer notes and only Stradella bass, but still full size) and the pain went away. I happily used that accordion for a few years. Then I moved back to a slightly bigger and heavier instrument (with more notes and convertor) and kept the amount of practice under control. No more problems since.

So it is not only me...same problem, with my left shoulder. I did 4 gigs over St. Pats week and shoulder sore again. Now I Had a week off, it feels better. I think the problem is “being old”! Last Year was different, last 8 months Music was my only source of income. That is when I think I ruined my shoulder. Had to hustle gigs to eat! Now, I am paying for it...

 

[debra]

...
So it is not only me...same problem, with my left shoulder. I did 4 gigs over St. Pats week and shoulder sore again. Now I Had a week off, it feels better. I think the problem is “being old”! Last Year was different, last 8 months Music was my only source of income. That is when I think I ruined my shoulder. Had to hustle gigs to eat! Now, I am paying for it...

It can get worse. After a concert a few friends of mine and me went to a bar/restaurant and started to just play some more, standing and walking around, all with concert instruments (always used sitting down). A good friend playing a Hohner Gola could not play for 3 months after that, due to back problems. I have other friends who deliberately use an extra-light instrument for walk-around gigs and a heavier one for concerts sitting down.

 

[Geronimo]

It can get worse. After a concert a few friends of mine and me went to a bar/restaurant and started to just play some more, standing and walking around, all with concert instruments (always used sitting down). A good friend playing a Hohner Gola could not play for 3 months after that, due to back problems. I have other friends who deliberately use an extra-light instrument for walk-around gigs and a heavier one for concerts sitting down.

I find that in the rare sort-of showoff situation where I play something while standing up, I still put up my left foot on a chair or similar where the left leg takes a fair share of the instruments weight off the back. Of course, that can only work between walking around so its not a solution for many situations.

 

[JEBrown]

I normally take about 30 minutes to warm up to decent playing standard, and then if I play for another couple of hours I start to lose ability. I think the warm up is physical, and the poor performance later is mostly mental / psychological tiredness. I did a recording session once where I played far too much early on and when it was my turn to get recorded I could hardly play a note. On the other hand I can play for a 4 hour ceilidh with no problems as there are usually gaps between the dances when I can relax a bit.

Luckily I've note suffered any longer term physical issues other than a bad back one time, which I cured by sorting my straps out.

 

[Geronimo]

I've just come back from a 10-day climbing trip (not exactly easy on arms, fingers, and shoulders either). So I got back on the instrument today. It's actually impressive how much left arm, shoulder, and elbow get taxed by expressive play on a big bellows cross section (requiring large forces to produce pressure) which isn't helped by the large weight of a free-bass bass side (120 reed plates). And that sitting down and with back strap. It gets worse the more you happen to open the bellows: pushing/pulling on a significantly extended bellows is really bad. If it is close to closed, it transfers its weight better to places where it requires less additional support, and acting closer to the body puts a lot less strain on the elbow.

 

[StargazerTony]

This is why I'm considering a lighter accordion. Mine only weights 20 pounds, and is considered light, but a couple of weeks ago, when I picked it up, something strained in the middle of my back and hasn't completely healed yet. Was thinking of the 13 pound Juwel or similar but 30, keys, especially at the low end, is limiting the music I wish to play

Edit: Just looked at a picture of the Juwel and my mistake. It goes down to the G below low C (and up to the C two octaves+ above)

 

[Geronimo]

This is why Im considering a lighter accordion. Mine only weights 20 pounds, and is considered light, but a couple of weeks ago, when I picked it up, something strained in the middle of my back and hasnt completely healed yet. Was thinking of the 13 pound Juwel or similar but 30, keys, especially at the low end, is limiting the music I wish to play

Edit: Just looked at a picture of the Juwel and my mistake. It goes down to the G below low C (and up to the C two octaves+ above)

The back is something that should cause problems last given reasonable exercise and good posture while sitting down and a backstrap. Elbow is more critical Id think. With regard to the limitations imposed by accordion size, CBA poses rather nicer compromises for rather young and rather old people. Since its easier for the rather young to get used to CBA, starting them on it rather than PA is a gift for old age. And it does not delay their progress as much while waiting for the growth spurt. Which may or may not suffice for a concert-size PA. Interestingly enough, I see more women than men in Russia playing PA, maybe because the bayans there are built with blatant disregard to weight, making them still heavier than a somewhat reasonable PA. But once you leave the full-scale bayan area, CBAs tend to be more compact and light given comparable capability.