Pianotech

Recently I took issue with the originator of an instructional video about posture when tuning.

The instructor was demonstrating tuning and doing so standing up. Instead, generally I advocate sitting down and specifically resting my arm over the front of the frame of the instrument and by doing so limit movement to what is made possible by wrist and fingers.

If standing up with one's arm not anchored, one's relying on all muscles further back in the chain of hinges that the body represents and balance right down to the feet.

With the elbow wedged upon the frame of the instrument, the only possible forces are horizontal

Here the only possible forces arise from wrist and fingers, there being no other muscles involved.

Here the wrest pins were stiff so I wasn't worried about leverage from the top of the tuning shank onto the pin but in other positions often I'll hold the handle differently and apply an opposing force at the front of the lever to that at the back so as to enhance the rotational vs lateral force ratio.

When teaching students who come to me I'm advocating this tight control of the lever and care to adopt posture to achieve it. How many others give importance to this?

Best wishes

David P

Hi David:

I nearly always tune standing, either verticals or grands.  I feel I have more control and it seems more ergonomic.  If I use an impact hammer on verticals, then of course I'll be sitting.  I will often use my thumb on a strut while I'm tuning, maybe pulling on it to provide more control.  Since I usually tune with the tuning lever handle parallel to the strings and facing towards the back of the piano, it would be nearly impossible from a sitting position.  In the higher sections of a grand with the capo, I switch to a 1:30-2:00 angle, so I could easier sit and do that section. 

As we get older, it's more important to pay attention to what our body is telling us.  If it doesn't feel right, make some changes.  A lot of us are having back problems, so if you're getting sore take a little break and straighten your back out.  Sometimes we arch our back for long periods of time, and the nerves coming out of our spine get pinched.  I'll often change sitting for standing, to give some relief if I'm not feeling comfortable.  The shoulder is another problem for us, and reaching out and turning tight pins can create extra strain.  Gotta be mindful..

Recently I took issue with the originator of an instructional video about posture when tuning.

The instructor was demonstrating tuning and doing so standing up. Instead, generally I advocate sitting down and specifically resting my arm over the front of the frame of the instrument and by doing so limit movement to what is made possible by wrist and fingers.

If standing up with one's arm not anchored, one's relying on all muscles further back in the chain of hinges that the body represents and balance right down to the feet.

With the elbow wedged upon the frame of the instrument, the only possible forces are horizontal

Here the only possible forces arise from wrist and fingers, there being no other muscles involved.

Here the wrest pins were stiff so I wasn't worried about leverage from the top of the tuning shank onto the pin but in other positions often I'll hold the handle differently and apply an opposing force at the front of the lever to that at the back so as to enhance the rotational vs lateral force ratio.

When teaching students who come to me I'm advocating this tight control of the lever and care to adopt posture to achieve it. How many others give importance to this?

Best wishes

David P

Hi David:

I nearly always tune standing, either verticals or grands.  I feel I have more control and it seems more ergonomic.  If I use an impact hammer on verticals, then of course I'll be sitting.  I will often use my thumb on a strut while I'm tuning, maybe pulling on it to provide more control.  Since I usually tune with the tuning lever handle parallel to the strings and facing towards the back of the piano, it would be nearly impossible from a sitting position.  In the higher sections of a grand with the capo, I switch to a 1:30-2:00 angle, so I could easier sit and do that section. 

As we get older, it's more important to pay attention to what our body is telling us.  If it doesn't feel right, make some changes.  A lot of us are having back problems, so if you're getting sore take a little break and straighten your back out.  Sometimes we arch our back for long periods of time, and the nerves coming out of our spine get pinched.  I'll often change sitting for standing, to give some relief if I'm not feeling comfortable.  The shoulder is another problem for us, and reaching out and turning tight pins can create extra strain.  Gotta be mindful..

Recently I took issue with the originator of an instructional video about posture when tuning.

The instructor was demonstrating tuning and doing so standing up. Instead, generally I advocate sitting down and specifically resting my arm over the front of the frame of the instrument and by doing so limit movement to what is made possible by wrist and fingers.

If standing up with one's arm not anchored, one's relying on all muscles further back in the chain of hinges that the body represents and balance right down to the feet.

With the elbow wedged upon the frame of the instrument, the only possible forces are horizontal

Here the only possible forces arise from wrist and fingers, there being no other muscles involved.

Here the wrest pins were stiff so I wasn't worried about leverage from the top of the tuning shank onto the pin but in other positions often I'll hold the handle differently and apply an opposing force at the front of the lever to that at the back so as to enhance the rotational vs lateral force ratio.

When teaching students who come to me I'm advocating this tight control of the lever and care to adopt posture to achieve it. How many others give importance to this?

Best wishes

David P

Recently I took issue with the originator of an instructional video about posture when tuning.

The instructor was demonstrating tuning and doing so standing up. Instead, generally I advocate sitting down and specifically resting my arm over the front of the frame of the instrument and by doing so limit movement to what is made possible by wrist and fingers.

If standing up with one's arm not anchored, one's relying on all muscles further back in the chain of hinges that the body represents and balance right down to the feet.

With the elbow wedged upon the frame of the instrument, the only possible forces are horizontal

Here the only possible forces arise from wrist and fingers, there being no other muscles involved.

Here the wrest pins were stiff so I wasn't worried about leverage from the top of the tuning shank onto the pin but in other positions often I'll hold the handle differently and apply an opposing force at the front of the lever to that at the back so as to enhance the rotational vs lateral force ratio.

When teaching students who come to me I'm advocating this tight control of the lever and care to adopt posture to achieve it. How many others give importance to this?

Best wishes

David P

Recently I took issue with the originator of an instructional video about posture when tuning.

The instructor was demonstrating tuning and doing so standing up. Instead, generally I advocate sitting down and specifically resting my arm over the front of the frame of the instrument and by doing so limit movement to what is made possible by wrist and fingers.

If standing up with one's arm not anchored, one's relying on all muscles further back in the chain of hinges that the body represents and balance right down to the feet.

With the elbow wedged upon the frame of the instrument, the only possible forces are horizontal

Here the only possible forces arise from wrist and fingers, there being no other muscles involved.

Here the wrest pins were stiff so I wasn't worried about leverage from the top of the tuning shank onto the pin but in other positions often I'll hold the handle differently and apply an opposing force at the front of the lever to that at the back so as to enhance the rotational vs lateral force ratio.

When teaching students who come to me I'm advocating this tight control of the lever and care to adopt posture to achieve it. How many others give importance to this?

Best wishes

David P

I have a strong and personal opinion on this subject.

Many years ago I developed sciatica.  It was quit painful and debilitating.  At the time I was teaching, spending as much as 6 to 8 hours sitting at a desk grading papers and writing course materials, but also tuning and doing a lot of bike training for an up-coming long ride.

When every book in the bookstores prescribed similar advice, advice that seemed to be making my problem worse I took it upon myself to find the problem and fix it.

I was teaching medical physiology, so I decided to look at the problem logically.  Sitting at a spinet, sitting at a desk and sitting on a bike all put your back in a similar bent posture.  With the spine curved forward in a typical sitting position your disks are stressed into a wedge shape.  In that position and shape they eventully bulge outward... and into your spinal cord (the cauda equina in the lower lumbar area).  Any stretching exercises in the forward direction tends to increase the stress on disks; and this is just what almost every back book (written by distinguished medical professionals) was recommending.

I stopped sitting. I bought several ergonomic kneeling chairs, set my car seat back a couple of notches, learned to sleep straight, redesigned my bike to be more upright and started tuning standing whenever possible (I try to avoid spinets).

This was about 27 years ago, and since then I have not had any serious back trouble.  I do occasionally feel a twinge of sciatica, but this is always due to too many spinets or spending time in regular chairs.

I am not saying that this is the magic cure for all back problems, but I still can't find many medical books recommending that you avoid sitting (the Mayo Clinic did recommend not sitting, but mostly because of inactivity) and most of the people with serious back trouble I know have spent careers sitting in chairs.

I have been very lucky not to have any repetive stress issues with tuning (I regularly use my own artificial finger/thumper/key pounder) and I believe that most problems can be reasoned out and solved with a bit of common sense.

And PLEASE, use ear protection!

Recently I took issue with the originator of an instructional video about posture when tuning.

The instructor was demonstrating tuning and doing so standing up. Instead, generally I advocate sitting down and specifically resting my arm over the front of the frame of the instrument and by doing so limit movement to what is made possible by wrist and fingers.

If standing up with one's arm not anchored, one's relying on all muscles further back in the chain of hinges that the body represents and balance right down to the feet.

With the elbow wedged upon the frame of the instrument, the only possible forces are horizontal

Here the only possible forces arise from wrist and fingers, there being no other muscles involved.

Here the wrest pins were stiff so I wasn't worried about leverage from the top of the tuning shank onto the pin but in other positions often I'll hold the handle differently and apply an opposing force at the front of the lever to that at the back so as to enhance the rotational vs lateral force ratio.

When teaching students who come to me I'm advocating this tight control of the lever and care to adopt posture to achieve it. How many others give importance to this?

Best wishes

David P

I have a strong and personal opinion on this subject.

Many years ago I developed sciatica.  It was quit painful and debilitating.  At the time I was teaching, spending as much as 6 to 8 hours sitting at a desk grading papers and writing course materials, but also tuning and doing a lot of bike training for an up-coming long ride.

When every book in the bookstores prescribed similar advice, advice that seemed to be making my problem worse I took it upon myself to find the problem and fix it.

I was teaching medical physiology, so I decided to look at the problem logically.  Sitting at a spinet, sitting at a desk and sitting on a bike all put your back in a similar bent posture.  With the spine curved forward in a typical sitting position your disks are stressed into a wedge shape.  In that position and shape they eventully bulge outward... and into your spinal cord (the cauda equina in the lower lumbar area).  Any stretching exercises in the forward direction tends to increase the stress on disks; and this is just what almost every back book (written by distinguished medical professionals) was recommending.

I stopped sitting. I bought several ergonomic kneeling chairs, set my car seat back a couple of notches, learned to sleep straight, redesigned my bike to be more upright and started tuning standing whenever possible (I try to avoid spinets).

This was about 27 years ago, and since then I have not had any serious back trouble.  I do occasionally feel a twinge of sciatica, but this is always due to too many spinets or spending time in regular chairs.

I am not saying that this is the magic cure for all back problems, but I still can't find many medical books recommending that you avoid sitting (the Mayo Clinic did recommend not sitting, but mostly because of inactivity) and most of the people with serious back trouble I know have spent careers sitting in chairs.

I have been very lucky not to have any repetive stress issues with tuning (I regularly use my own artificial finger/thumper/key pounder) and I believe that most problems can be reasoned out and solved with a bit of common sense.

And PLEASE, use ear protection!

Recently I took issue with the originator of an instructional video about posture when tuning.

The instructor was demonstrating tuning and doing so standing up. Instead, generally I advocate sitting down and specifically resting my arm over the front of the frame of the instrument and by doing so limit movement to what is made possible by wrist and fingers.

If standing up with one's arm not anchored, one's relying on all muscles further back in the chain of hinges that the body represents and balance right down to the feet.

With the elbow wedged upon the frame of the instrument, the only possible forces are horizontal

Here the only possible forces arise from wrist and fingers, there being no other muscles involved.

Here the wrest pins were stiff so I wasn't worried about leverage from the top of the tuning shank onto the pin but in other positions often I'll hold the handle differently and apply an opposing force at the front of the lever to that at the back so as to enhance the rotational vs lateral force ratio.

When teaching students who come to me I'm advocating this tight control of the lever and care to adopt posture to achieve it. How many others give importance to this?

Best wishes

David P

I have a strong and personal opinion on this subject.

Many years ago I developed sciatica.  It was quit painful and debilitating.  At the time I was teaching, spending as much as 6 to 8 hours sitting at a desk grading papers and writing course materials, but also tuning and doing a lot of bike training for an up-coming long ride.

When every book in the bookstores prescribed similar advice, advice that seemed to be making my problem worse I took it upon myself to find the problem and fix it.

I was teaching medical physiology, so I decided to look at the problem logically.  Sitting at a spinet, sitting at a desk and sitting on a bike all put your back in a similar bent posture.  With the spine curved forward in a typical sitting position your disks are stressed into a wedge shape.  In that position and shape they eventully bulge outward... and into your spinal cord (the cauda equina in the lower lumbar area).  Any stretching exercises in the forward direction tends to increase the stress on disks; and this is just what almost every back book (written by distinguished medical professionals) was recommending.

I stopped sitting. I bought several ergonomic kneeling chairs, set my car seat back a couple of notches, learned to sleep straight, redesigned my bike to be more upright and started tuning standing whenever possible (I try to avoid spinets).

This was about 27 years ago, and since then I have not had any serious back trouble.  I do occasionally feel a twinge of sciatica, but this is always due to too many spinets or spending time in regular chairs.

I am not saying that this is the magic cure for all back problems, but I still can't find many medical books recommending that you avoid sitting (the Mayo Clinic did recommend not sitting, but mostly because of inactivity) and most of the people with serious back trouble I know have spent careers sitting in chairs.

I have been very lucky not to have any repetive stress issues with tuning (I regularly use my own artificial finger/thumper/key pounder) and I believe that most problems can be reasoned out and solved with a bit of common sense.

And PLEASE, use ear protection!

Recently I took issue with the originator of an instructional video about posture when tuning.

The instructor was demonstrating tuning and doing so standing up. Instead, generally I advocate sitting down and specifically resting my arm over the front of the frame of the instrument and by doing so limit movement to what is made possible by wrist and fingers.

If standing up with one's arm not anchored, one's relying on all muscles further back in the chain of hinges that the body represents and balance right down to the feet.

With the elbow wedged upon the frame of the instrument, the only possible forces are horizontal

Here the only possible forces arise from wrist and fingers, there being no other muscles involved.

Here the wrest pins were stiff so I wasn't worried about leverage from the top of the tuning shank onto the pin but in other positions often I'll hold the handle differently and apply an opposing force at the front of the lever to that at the back so as to enhance the rotational vs lateral force ratio.

When teaching students who come to me I'm advocating this tight control of the lever and care to adopt posture to achieve it. How many others give importance to this?

Best wishes

David P