You are enjoying spending hours playing your favorite song on the piano, but those great moments are often interrupted by a painful backache that forces you to stop?

I been here and done it, and trust me, if you don’t want to end up 35 years old having to apply patches to release your back pain every day, then here are some tips that would definitely help you.

Pick the right position

If the worst enemy of the pianist is back pain, his best ally is the bench.

Picking the right one would help you to find the right position whatever your height and the one from the piano as modern piano benches are adjustable.

To ensure your position at the piano is optimally positioned, you need to make sure that all of these factors are met:

• Your head is upright and aligned with your spine.
• Your back and spine are straight but without tense muscles.
• Your elbows are slightly higher than the keyboard.
• You are sitting on the front of your bench.
• You have nothing in your back pockets nor on the bench.
• Your feet are on the ground.

That way you will be able to lean forward more easily and not strain your back.

Make some pauses

While this might seem like obvious advice to some of us, I am forced to admit that I did not always have the habit of taking breaks inside my piano sessions.

You might be thinking that being at the piano requires little physical activity, but in reality it does just as driving a car, and there is a reason why we advise drivers to take regular breaks.

While sitting, your back muscles and abs are working at keeping you balanced on the chair.

They are the main reason for the back pain you may be experiencing while sitting too long, but there is a simple explanation to this: You didn’t give them time to rest properly.

A break of fifteen minutes each hour or each half an hour should be enough to reduce your back pain on the long run.

Do some yoga

Would even you imagine an athlete starting their training without a proper warm-up?

No? So why are you inflicting that on your body?

Your mind and body need some preparation before actually playing the piano, and yoga is a great way to achieve this.

For that I would advise you to focus on exercises that awake your spine, upper body, shoulders and arms as they will be the ones working while playing piano.

• Gentle spinal twists exercise is great for having a good posture while sitting at the piano.
• The king cobra pose helps you to work on your shoulders and arms.

Also, as you are preparing your mind by relaxing it, you can also play the music you plan to play during practice.

This will help you memorize them better and make it easier to recall the information later.

Use a stair back to keep your spine straight

Any office worker can attest to the fact if you want to sit for long periods of time, a stair back is not an option.

There is no reason why this would not apply to pianists as well as your back also getting tired while playing piano.

For that kind of scenario a bench is probably not the best choice, but you could be instead looking for a piano chair.

I agree a bench looks a lot better than a chair in front of the piano. However, if you are used to long sessions of playing piano, then your body would thank you as it is a real game changer.