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Show Musicians need a break By MICHELLE EMERY Davis County musicians, listen up. The no pain, no gain theory applies to musicians also, according j lo a Brigham Young University J music professor. j "All kinds of injuries and physical problems result from overplaying an instrument and abusing the body," said Rosalie Pratt. The professor believes that the 'culprit' in most cases is long, uninterrupted practice sessions, often 2 hours or longer, mandated by overzealous and uninformed teachers, conductors and sometimes even the performers themselves. If you as musicians have felt the effects of over-rehearsing and hesitated to discuss it, you are not alone. Often musicians fear rejection rejec-tion of their peers or that a conductor conduc-tor or director will not hire them again. The medical profession has been slow to recognize the existence and scope of such injuries, but the idea is quickly catching on, said Pratt. But Pratt feels that while research continues, the best way to reverse damage of over-practicing is early intervention. Early in their training, students must learn proper performance perfor-mance techniques as well as respect their bodies, said Pratt. Using the hand as an example, j people realize how delicate their j hands are, but often continue rehearsing beyond the threshold of pain. They need to allow their j muscles to relax. Hunter Fry, an j Australian plastic surgeon recom- .: mends stopping every 25 minutes ; for at least a five-minute break so : the muscles have a chance to i regenerate. Pratt also said that an understan- j ding of the trauma potential in per- 1 formance must extend from per- formers to teachers and directors as j well. So the next time you're prac- tic in g and your body tells you to ' stop, do it. |