In recent years the availability of information on the subject of musicians’ well being is far greater than ever before.  Countless books, video programs, and websites have appeared.  In addition, several journals have added a section on musicians’ health care.  Educating musicians regarding prevention of occupational hazards is one of the general focuses of these publications.

In July 2002, Dr. Erzsébet Gaál in cooperation with Dr. Zsuzsa Pásztor released a DVD program entitled Harp Playing for Life addressing harp players’ needs, which have arisen in conjunction with the latest developments of the harp profession.  The video is based on Dr. Gaál’s doctoral research related to harpists’ physical wellness and on her study of the program The Care of Musicians’ Work Capacity or the Kovács Method.  The seventy-minute video is a practical application of Dr. Gaál’s research findings and her implementation of the Kovács Method in harp teaching.

A summary of the results of Dr. Gaál’s research findings were published in an article entitled Harpists’ Health and Fitness in the Summer 1998 issue of the American Harp Journal.  In addition, the Kovács Method is introduced by Dr. Gaál in an article entitled Harp Playing for Life; The Kovács Method in Harp Pedagogy, to be published in the American String Teachers August 2003 issue.  In this current article, Excellent Physical Well-Being – Excellent Music Making, Dr. Zsuzsa Pásztor, Director of the Kovács Method Studio, answers some questions regarding the DVD program Harp Playing for Life.  

Dr. Zsuzsa Pásztor is a pianist, and a teacher, and has been a researcher for forty years in the area of physical wellness for musicians.  During that time, working with countless musicians of various instruments including harp, she acquired an expertise in the field of preventing and treating occupational related problems.  Currently, she is teaching at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music and the Eötvös Lóránd University in Budapest, Hungary and publishing literature about the Kovács Method.

Dr. Gaál worked with Dr. Pásztor for over twenty years.  The DVD program Harp Playing for Life originated from this working relationship and became a source for performers, teachers, and students of harp to help them achieve and maintain their highest possible level of professional development.

The content of the DVD program presents five different areas of development.  The first section introduces the overall program.  The second section talks about Preparation for and Correction of Movements Used in Playing the Harp.  Regarding this topic, Dr. Pásztor gives details as follows:

Dr. Gaál - Why is it important to prepare physical movements used in harp playing away from the instrument? 
Dr. Pásztor – The movements used in playing the harp are very fine, small, and condensed.  Therefore, the physiological effects of these movements in the brain are insignificant.  When preparing these fine, small, condensed movements away from the instrument by using full body movements, more neural centers are affected thus making more significant physiological effects in the brain.  This method of preparation lays a good foundation for the fine, small, condensed physical movements used in harp playing.

G. – How do the physical movements that are established away from the instrument benefit harp players?
P. – While musicians prepare physical movements away from the instrument by using, for example, special exercises with balloons or balls, neuron connections in the brain are being developed that will become the foundation for the movements used in instrumental playing.  In my forty years of using the Kovács Method in teaching, I found that building on this foundation technical skills progress much faster and more precisely on any musical instrument.

G. – Once these refined movements are established and developed, how do they affect musical expressions?
P. – There is a close connection between physical movements and musical expressions because musical expressions cannot be projected without appropriate movements.  More specifically, a desired musical expression cannot be realized without adequate physical movements.  For example, proper rotation movement determines correct accents in harp playing.  The DVD program provides methods to help to develop proper physical movements that are crucial in realizing musical expressions on the harp.

The third section of the DVD Harp Playing for Life demonstrates Basic Physical Skills and Functions in Harp Playing.  At this point, Dr. Pásztor further defines the development between physical movements and music making:

G. – Talking about musical expressions, what is ‘Strength Proportionment’ and how does it affect, for example, dynamics in music?
P. – Dynamics play a dominant role in music making.  When a dynamic level is being changed in music, every musical note that is involved need to be played with different strength or controlled by strength proportionment.  In order to be able to apply adequate strength proportionment at the right time and place in the music to produce the desired dynamic level, a well-trained muscular and nervous system is required.  The DVD program provides a variety of appropriate exercises to achieve this goal.

G – What is the purpose of the ‘Economical Use of an Instrument’ in music making?
P. – The use of an instrument is economical when every muscles works at the moment and with as much strength as the music demands.  This is important not only in how it affects musical expression but also preventing over strain.  In order to facilitate this purpose, this skill can be established away from the instrument for example with jump rope exercises.

G. – Is there any other physical skill that can affect both musical expression and over strain?
P. – Yes, for example ‘Micro Rest’.  The activity and inactivity in muscles constantly change according to the music being played.  There are times when the change between activity and inactivity is so quick that the inactive part lasts only a one hundredth of a second.  For this reason, this very short inactive moment is called a micro rest.  It is important, for example after playing a chord with forte dynamic level, that the muscles relax and de-contract for a fragment of a time in preparation for the following musical task, for example, playing a contrasting subito piano.  Developing the skill of being able to apply ‘Micro Rest’ at a given time and place in music helps harp players for example, to make sudden changes in music, and to stay relaxed while playing.

G. – What does ‘Sense of Time’ mean according to the Kovács Method?
P. – One hundredth of a second in instrumental playing can determine, for example, the accuracy of rhythm or musical phrasing.  The player must imagine in advance the moment when every note is played in the music and must anticipate the series of physical movements, with the strength, speed, direction, and the size necessary to create each note. Therefore, the sense of time in music is a skill that synchronizes musical moment with physical movement to get the desired rhythm or phrasing.  A well-trained nervous system can conduct these complex movements properly.  Part of the DVD program explains how the Kovács Method trains the nervous system for various musical tasks.

G. – Do you think that playing the harp is more difficult than playing any other instrument from a physical wellness standpoint?
P. – Every musical instrument places great physical demands upon its player.  However, while playing the harp, there is no muscle in the body of a harp player that is not in use.  For example, harp players’ arms are suspended in mid air without support; the feet touch the ground only with the heel and are continuously in motion preventing stability.  The harp itself is also in constant motion while in use so that the balance of the instrument is constantly changing.  In addition, there are two dimensions with which harp players must contend simultaneously while playing.  The pedals work on a horizontal dimension while the strings work on a vertical dimension.  Therefore, the harp places undue physical demands upon harp players.

G. – How about coordination as one of the difficulties of harp playing?
P. – Since all muscles are involved in harp playing, muscle movement coordination is crucial in playing a harp.  For example, there are muscles that keep the posture of a player stable such as some of the back muscles.  Other muscles conduct movements such as the thirty-nine muscles of the different parts of the hands and arms.  Therefore, proper training in coordination prevents unneeded tension that would disturb muscle work and consequently provides the feeling of comfortable playing for musicians.  The freedom of tension while playing enables musicians to bring out their true musicianship, more specifically; it enables harp players to produce a beautiful tone quality. 

The fourth section of the DVD program deals with Efficiency Maintenance While Practicing.  It answers some basic concerns of harp players with respect to relaxation:

G. – What is the meaning of the term ‘Active Rest’?
P. – During a practice session, it is necessary to take short breaks.  These breaks should contain activity of a different nature from the practice activity.  They can use, for example, full body exercises to increase blood flow that relaxes the body thus prolonging effective work on the harp and delaying the onset of tiredness.  The DVD program provides examples of such exercises, which can be done at different age levels.

G. – Why is it important to prepare the body for rest after a working session?
P. – In preparing the body for rest, we normalize the functions of the body organs.  This can be accomplished with exercises that help the oxygen intake that normalizes the circulation and breathing through proper metabolism.  If prepared, the rest will be more effective.

The fifth section of the DVD is a do-along Short Exercise Procedure for the Development of Basic Conditioning for Instrumental Playing.

G. – What advice would you give for everyday physical conditioning for harp players?
P. – Harp players need not only special training in developing basic physical skills that are used in harp playing and improving for example coordination or the kinesthetic movements but they also need everyday physical training that builds physical strength, stamina, and stability of the nervous system.  Many different training methods are available for physical education.  However, I recommend the Kovács Method to all musicians because it was created especially for musicians.  It serves musicians in strengthening and relaxing hands, improving posture, breathing, speed, stamina and maintaining all that is necessary for the playing of any instrument including the harp.
 
 
Reference
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Copyright © 2003, American Harp Society, Inc.
Printed originally in the Summer 2003 issue of the AHS Teachers Forum.
Used by permission.