...when playing. Anyone else find this?

I've been noticing I'm clenching my teeth together when playing. I notice it after the first few bars, but by the end I'm doing it again. Doing a lot of pressurised recording for AS isn't helping...

Anyone know any solutions? Or do you just have to coax yourself off it?

Yes, I do. If you remember that photo of Andrea and I practising En Bateau at Egham last year you can't have failed to notice it.

I think I do sometimes too. I also feel tension in my shoulders sometimes.
Sorry, no solutions.

Hi.

Similar to normal clanching or bruxism whilst sleeping - sometimes just being aware of it can be the first step to solving the problem. My piano teacher notices when my shoulders are tense (before I do.. yet that might be occupational..) so maybe some relaxation exercises before playing?

Hope that helps.

hvl

Yes, I think so too. Consciously relaxing the jaw (or any tense muscle) while playing seems to work, and you quickly learn to aim for that feeling rather than the tense one, and the whole issue retreats back to the subconscious.

On the other hand, this might be a posture issue. Maybe you're sitting in such a way that your body isn't fully supported and you're reacting to that?

Try some slow shoulder circling and some very slow head circling exercises after you have settled down to play. Then try to play with a big smile on your face! If all else fails chew gum.

I used to notice tension in the jaw quite a lot when I was playing (and the worst thing is that you only notice it once it has started hurting, not before!), however I 'm also know to grind my teeth very loudly in my sleep, so I thought it was related to this.

Being conscious of it is half the battle. It became the focus of my practice for a while - I tried to move my jaw from side to side in time to the left hand of whatever I was playing. Sounds ridiculous, looked ridiculous, but I rarely notice tension anymore (usually comes back when I'm lacking energy & probably shouldn't be practising anyway!)

Yes I do!! I've always found I do it, but a pianist friend of mine who is studying at the Royal College of Music (london) does it too, so I figured it can't be that serious! It just hurts after a while. I always seem to do it more when I'm concentrating really hard - and my jaw moves! People always think I'm speaking, but I'm not - I don't even notice I do it really.

As a previous poster suggested, the fact that you have become aware of it is a first step.

It's probably to do with tension so one of the things to do might be to check your breathing. Checking breathing continually is important I think but there might be other reasons why you become tense at the times that you do.

Check also if you become tense elsewhere in the body. Try really slow practice but with the focus on your body and do it as slowly as you need to so that you have plenty of time to really understand what is going on in you at the times when the jar clenches.

Maybe ask yourself what is different in other places in the music that means that you don't do it and then apply that to the places where it happens.

Hope this might help.

I've never thought about it. So I don't think I do it!!!!

Trust me pianoboe, if you do it, you'll notice it. It gets quite painful after a while!!

i used to do it... erm, try adjusting your stool? maybe you should have an alexander technique session..?

Well, I don't get painful jaws!!!