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Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

  • 1.  Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Posted 07-24-2018 09:38
    A weird but, for me, effective body hack...

    Bridge work, in the piano...not my usual practice, but necessary sometimes, is hard on the back. Most rebuilders I've seen after a day of bridge work are holding some portion of their painful anatomy. The problem with this particular day long position, for me, is that the adductors, the inside muscles of the thigh, shut down. When this happens  the gluteous medius (outside hips and belt line back muscle) goes into unbalanced hyperdrive, driving the lower spine one into aggressive swayback.

    The hack



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    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Member
    Posted 07-24-2018 13:16
    What is that thing ? it looks like a bean bag or a deflated balloon. I have this air bladder tool that will support up to 300 lbs that can be used under a pedal lyre to remove it and position it for reattachment . that probably will work. I sometimes use it in the small of my back when driving.

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    James Kelly
    Pawleys Island SC
    843-325-4357
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  • 3.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Posted 07-24-2018 14:43
    it a 10" mostly deflated exercise ball...available at sporting goods stores etc

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    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Posted 07-24-2018 19:11
    Do you squeeze it a little higher to stand up straight again?

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    Regards,

    Jon Page
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  • 5.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-25-2018 11:02
    Hi, Jim,

    I would recommend trigger point massage for the overworked muscles. Resources: Clair Davies, THE TRIGGER POINT THERAPY WORKBOOK and THE FROZEN SHOULDER WORKBOOK.

    Bob Anderson, RPT
    Tucson, AZ




  • 6.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Posted 07-25-2018 21:20
    Bob,

    Are these books geared to teaching you how to do the trigger points yourself?

    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-27-2018 10:14
    Yes, they are, Jim. The Trigger Point Workbook addresses all the muscles in the body. Although I began trigger point therapy with the focus on my right arm, I have used it for muscles all over my body, e.g., controlling my sciatica. The Frozen Shoulder Workbook concentrates on the shoulder. About 17 muscles are important to the shoulder. Both books give detailed instructions for self-massage as well as brief medical descriptions of trigger points and how they work. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

    Bob Anderson, RPT
    Tucson, AZ




  • 8.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Posted 07-27-2018 10:15
    ordered the Frozen Shoulder book yesterday...thanks

    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-27-2018 16:03
    Jim, 

    I gotta tell ya, it's from wearing the leather belt with shorts.
    The fashion faux-pas has come back to bite you.

    But seriously, thanks for posting this. For me it's damper
    work that kills. I don't mind it as much as most techs do, but
    the position it requires is really hard for me. The keybed 
    contacts my upper thighs just below the sub-pelvic bend. 
    My thorax is not long enough to allow resting my arms and
    elbows comfortably on the stretcher, so my lumbar region
    is supporting a lot of my upper body weight. Sometimes I
    remove the action and kneel on the keybed, but that's only
    a little better, or sit on the stretcher with my feet on the 
    keybed, but that makes me rotate a lot and it's more work
    to scoot across the scale than just stepping side to side.

    We are clearly not built for piano work.

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    Dave Conte
    Owner
    North Richland Hills TX
    817-581-7321
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  • 10.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Posted 07-27-2018 17:52
    You didn't mention the short shorts. My offspring consider this to be a major problem.

    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-27-2018 18:54
    Jim, 

    You, too, huh? I get flack from my offspring about that very same thing. What's up with that? (as the young people say ;-) 

    Alan

    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Posted 07-27-2018 19:45
    maybe the shear sight of knees gives'em the willies...

    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-27-2018 18:55
    Jim, 

    You, too, huh? I get flack from my offspring about that very same thing. What's up with that? (as the young people say ;-) 

    Alan

    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-27-2018 20:06
    "What's up with that"?!?!?!

    How old are you, man? 😉😁

    Where I live, folks just say 'sup. Keep with the times, bro. 😉

    ------------------------------
    Benjamin Sanchez
    Professional Piano Services
    (805)315-8050
    www.professional-piano-services.com
    BenPianoPro@comcast.net
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Posted 07-27-2018 21:09
    You'll have to excuse us...some of us don't get out much....why once at a convention some guy started playing a Queen tune, which I of course didn't know. I turned to my neighbor and asked "what decade did I miss that in?"

    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Posted 07-27-2018 19:54
    Dave,

    One help there with damper work, in addition to the fine deflated ball trick, is a collateral benefit from proceeding as David Hughes does with dampers. He does, and I do too, now, work the first top 2 bends first, outside the piano, removing the damper to adjust these bends. I really like this technique, working from the top down, but the collateral takeaway is that whole bent over position you describe is practically eliminated. 

    Then I do the lower 2 bends seated on my shop built rolling seat, which is set at a comfortable low sitting height.

    Taking the dampers out for the top 2 bends is slower...but hey, what's the rush.

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    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 17.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-28-2018 08:08
    I have also noticed that David (and some others) elevate the piano on blocks anywhere from 6" - 10". I think Will Truitt's may be closer to 12". That helps (in the shop) 

    Pwg

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    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    603-686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
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  • 18.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-28-2018 08:15
    David demonstrated a lot at the "Stop in Shop" at Lancaster.  Elevating the piano on blocks to eliminate a lot of leaning over the piano (save the back) is a really good move.

    "PTG - Expand your Horizon - Share the Vision. Providing Quality Service for the World's Pianos"

     "Good, Better, Best.  Never let it rest. "till the good is better, and the better, best."


    J
    oin us in Tucson, AZ July 10 - 14, 2019 for the 62nd Annual PTG Convention & Technical Institute.

    Click HERE  to schedule a Piano Service appointment online or contact me directly below.

    Bill Davis, RPT, SERVP  

    2315 Rocky Mountain Rd NE
    Marietta GA 30066-2113
    CP: 770-778-6881
    bill@pianoplace.net  

    www.pianoplace.net








  • 19.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Posted 07-28-2018 09:54
    Same here re elevating the piano. I like the piano high, so it goes on a height adjusted trolly first thing in the shop and stays there throughout the process. This in itself is a biggy in the "body" hack department.

    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 20.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-28-2018 13:11
    Yep.  Great for stringing and damper work is so much more comfortable when you can sit on a short sliding stool.  Also key leveling.  

    Will Truitt

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    William Truitt
    Bridgewater NH
    603-744-2277
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  • 21.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-29-2018 19:51
    I use it for stringing, but only elevate the piano so that the top of the front stretcher is level with my elbows. That's ~6". I figure that anything higher than my elbows, and I'd have to spread and raise them to get my forearms beyond the front stretcher (to where the work is). With the stretcher at elbow height, the top half of my arms can hang by their own weight, and my forearms will be level.

    Damper work (inside the action cavity) doesn't lend itself to such easy solutions. Of course, the bottom 2/3 of the back action can be seen from above, through the strings. But at the mid-treble break, the view is no longer clear, and you've got to look through the the action cavity opening. (Also, with 9' grands, you're not going to reach the back action with forearms alone; the upper arms are also required.)

    Once horizontal viewing (as opposed  to vertical) is required, you want your eyes level with the cavity opening, to look across the keyed at the back action. But you also want the shoulder joint of the upper arm to be level with the keybed.  For me, the vertical distance between the two is roughly equivalent to the cavity opening: ~7". But you really want your eyes lower than the bottom of the stretcher, while keeping the shoulder joint level with the keybed. Tilt your head the side? Tilt it forward (and then raise your eyes to maintain a level line-of-sight)? Threat or Menace? You decide!

    The height of the seat you use is a no brainer, but in any case, it will deliver you to the above ergonomic conflict.

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    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
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  • 22.  RE: Rebuilder's Body Hack #2,473.2

    Posted 08-01-2018 10:11
    Here's another hack: Key Leveling Seat.
    It's a repurposed rowing machine:

    Glides effortlessly across the compass at just the right height.



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    Regards,

    Jon Page
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