Playing-Related Injuries Among Pianists and What to Do About It

by Tyler Smith

“Playing the piano is an athletic event that requires precise coordination between multiple muscle groups across the whole body. A pianist’s muscles can strain and become injured just as easily as an athlete’s. When a muscular-skeletal injury occurs, it can be debilitating for the musician and challenging for medical professionals to diagnose and treat. Using an oral history approach, this study explores the experiences of pianists who have been injured, how their injury developed, and what they did about it…”

Mourning Dove Sonnet – A Case in Extended Vibraphone Techniques

by Anna Tran

“Mourning Dove Sonnet is a musical work for solo vibraphone composed by Christopher Deane in 1983.  Traditionally, the vibraphone is played with a single person holding two to four mallets.  This piece however utilizes non-traditional extended percussion techniques to take advantage of the wide range of tones and timbres the vibraphone has to offer.  Mourning Dove Sonnet is one of many experimental pieces in percussion literature that contributes to the constant evolution of the percussion artform.  It is necessary for composers to continue pushing boundaries in the world of music.  In this way, expression has new opportunities to be displayed and ideas are brought into reality…”