Category Archives: Musician Health

• NIH and Kennedy Center offer Sound Health initiative

  Posted on July 12, 2017 by Joyce DeFrancesco in Aging, Music Therapy, Musician Health, Pain Management, Relaxation, Sleep.

  Early in 2017, the National Institutes of Health and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts launched the Sound Health initiative (see upcoming events here), which aims to explore the connections between music, the arts, and physical and mental wellness. Check out the initiative’s blog for information about the innovative program!

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• How to practice effectively…for anything!

  Posted on April 25, 2017 by Joyce DeFrancesco in Exercise and Sports, Musician Health.

  Practice is a physical activity but it’s also hard mental work! A video from TED Ed reveals the how and why of good practice, and what it does to your brain. The advice in this video can apply to everything from music to sports. Some of the science-backed tips are: Focus! Shut off all digital distractions. […]

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  From Anxiety to Excitement: Reframing Emotions to Enhance Performance

  Posted on February 16, 2016 by Jessica Ryan in Musician Health.

    Think back to a time when you were nervous about something. Did someone tell you to calm down? Did it work? If you’re like me, it probably didn’t help much. When someone tells me to relax, I typically end up more anxious because I feel like I should be calm but I’m not. The […]

  Post Tagged with Performance Anxiety, Research
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  Healthy Hearing

  Posted on September 17, 2014 by Jessica Ryan in Musician Health.

    Did you know that the level of sound created by a symphony orchestra can reach up to 137 dB?[i] That’s almost as high as the 140 dB generated by a jet engine 100 feet away![ii] Frequent or continuous exposure to an orchestra playing at this volume can actually lead to hearing loss. Even people […]

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  Eight Tips for Healthy Practicing

  Posted on September 5, 2014 by Jessica Ryan in Musician Health.

    In a 1986 survey of over 2,000 professionals belonging to the International Conference of Symphony and Orchestra Musicians (ICSOM), 76% of the musicians surveyed indicated that at some point during their careers, they faced severe injuries that forced them to stop performing.[i] Unfortunately, professionals aren’t the only musicians who experience injuries. Surveys of college […]

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