Playing (Less) Hurt: An Injury Prevention Guide for Musicians

Overview

Making music at any level is a powerful gift. While musicians have endless resources for learning the basics of their instruments and the theory of music, few books have explored the other subtleties and complexities that musicians face in their quest to play with ease and skill. The demands of solitary practice, hectic rehearsal schedules, challenging repertoire, performance pressures, awkward postures, and other physical strains have left a trail of injured, hearing-impaired, and frustrated musicians who have had few resources to guide them.

Playing (Less) Hurt addresses this need with specific tools to avoid and alleviate injury. Impressively researched, the book is invaluable not only to musicians, but also to the coaches and medical professionals who work with them. Everyone from dentists to orthopedists, audiologists to neurologists, massage therapists and trainers will benefit from Janet Horvath’s coherent account of the physiology and psyche of a practicing musician. Writing with knowledge, sympathetic insight, humor, and aplomb, Horvath has created an essential resource for all musicians who want to play better and feel better.

For more information about Janet’s seminars please visit www.playinglesshurt.com and click on the info tab.

Press

“I have just finished reading this magnificent book. Amazing! I am so impressed by the incredible work that Ms. Horvath has done on the issues that plague many musicians. This book has invaluable advice on how all musicians, young and older, can avoid repetitive stress injury entirely. In spite of world class training, I’ve had lower back surgery, hearing loss, and both reconstructive hand and shoulder surgery in the course of my 30 year career. It took me these injuries and years of thinking and experimenting to arrive at the conclusions contained within the book; the book is an incredibly valuable wealth of knowledge and information that will educate musicians to practice and play smarter, healthier and happier! I plan to make it required reading for all of my students at my university. I also recommend it highly to my colleagues! Thank you on behalf of all of us.”

–Stephen Balderston
Former Section Cello, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Former Assistant Principal, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Professor of Cello, DePaul University School of Music
Cellist, The American Chamber Players

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“As someone who has been teaching instrumental playing principles for well nigh seven decades, I find Ms. Horvath s book rife with helpful, valuable, and entertaining data. The ground she covers is immense, written with knowledge, understanding, style, aplomb and humor. No reader can put it down without some beneficial learning.”

–Janos Starker
Distinguished Professor of Music Indiana University

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“Musicians too often suffer pain and dysfunction strikingly at odds with their extraordinary skill and the perceived ease of their achievements. Janet Horvath s eloquent guide provides a much-needed reference for diagnosing, treating, and avoiding these potentially devastating conditions. Her book comes to the rescue of even the most brilliant teachers and their equally brilliant students.”

–Garrick Ohlsson
Concert Pianist

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“We thank you so much for the book. It certainly is full of terrific information and beautifully organized … also very readable! It must be truly helpful to every musician who has a physical problem of some kind (i.e. just about everybody!)”

From Amazon

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