I find that when i'm in my lessons when I come out my neck is killing me and it travels up my head and I end up with a headache all night, and i'm starting to notice this with practise too.
Does anyone else get this?
I'm guessing strongly it's my posture hehe
Any tips?
Thanks PSL

Sometimes! We use a chair at our piano, which is too high, so I always have to slouch over the keys, which is probably not good! But we're being a bit too stingy to buy a piano stool... maybe one day I'll actually go and get one. But for now there's not much point, as I can't take the piano with me anyway!

~Wobby~

Other than height of the bench, could you be sitting too close to the piano, such that you have to constantly bend your neck 90 degrees to see the keyboard, as the music is so close to your eyes?

Or maybe you are sitting too far from the piano, such that you have to stick your neck out to see the music, and bend your back forward to reach the keyboard?

I say that because at work, I have to write software codes with a laptop. My back and neck ached, so I got myself a large external monitor. With my eyes looking ahead instead of down, I found that my neck and back-aches are greatly alleviated.

Just my guesses. I realised that the tension is reduced when I don't sit too close to the keyboard. The freedom of movement is made possible by sitting on the front half of the bench, such that I can pivot the upper half of my body, and move more easily when my LH has to reach the higher notes, and when the foot has to pedal.

My own problem is tension in the forearms, partially caused by ergonomical issues at work (another posture problem!!!), and also anxiety (yes I am always easily excited and agitated). My wrists hurt with huge stretches I have to regularly massage my arms to relax them. I still haven't mastered the arm drops, which I suspect has got a little to do with the limitations of my digital piano.

I've had this problem and agree with what is said about posture. In addition I have found specific exercises help -
holding head and shoulders up - not spending all day slouched
standing in a doorway, placing hands on the side posts at shoulder height and then leaning forward
standing upright, hands at shoulder height - move hands from centre as far out as possible - start with a few resps and build up.

Either that or tension/stress. Ask your teacher about it as they will be in the best position to watch you as you play and make suggestions. If you have any spare money, some Alexander lessons with someone who specialises in musicians would be very beneficial.

Val

Glad this topic has come up as I'm also having this problem at the moment and so am also interested to hear from anybody else who has tips that would help.
I've got a digital piano (Yamaha CLP280) that came with a stool. I used to be OK using the stool in my first year, probably because I wasn't practicing for as long as I do now. In the past few months I have found it very uncomfortable using the stool as I was getting a sore neck after about an hour of playing and felt I was sitting too high so I've replaced the stool with a chair...but unfortunately the chair is somewhat too low. I've tried to put a cushion on it but my balance is just not right when using it. So At the moment I'm playing with the chair and no cushion (slightly too low). I can feel it is wrong and am thinking of treating myself to a proper stool very soon!!! Has anybody else also found that the stool that comes with the digital piano too high?

Has anybody else also found that the stool that comes with the digital piano too high?

too high for a few but too low for many.

It's a case of one size not fitting all, I think.

It really is worth getting a stool that adjusts.

Thanks MaggieMay. Agree, I'm going to start looking for one asap. I think it will make my practice much more enjoyable. I guess I was trying to save a bit of money by using what I had already but It's got to the point where I realise it is silly as it will affect my playing in the long run!

:-(

Could you be a little more specific when you say neck?

It is almost certainly tension - mental tension leads to physical tension leads to mental tension... This is why things like the Alexander Technique or tai chi are good. They help you recognise and release tension in your body. Break the cycle. Especially at times of stress!

Personally I find my mental stress manifests in my trapezius, between my shoulder blades. I used to get it a lot when I started driving on motorways (and I'd get cold hands from the tension). After more experience driving and concious relaxation I've managed to drive for hours without that particular ache.

More recently I've have a stiff neck when running a long way. I realised that I have a new tendency to stick my chin up and out a bit (I think because that's the position my head is in when I'm cycling). I'm wondering if you do the same?

It's really interesting how almost all physical tension has a related emotional element. I have a friend who is quite defensive. She takes things a little too personally and seems to be looking for a fight. Her big postural problem? She pushes her chin out far to far. It's almost a "come and have a go if you think your hard enough". Unsurprisingly to me, she gets bad migraines.

Another friend from university was a very shy guy. He used to be bullied at school. Now he was a tall guy, 6' 2" at best guess. But you'd never know it. He slouches, haunches his back, folds his arms across himself in awkward ways. Anything to make himself look smaller.

Not wanting to get pseudo-psycho-analyst on you, but do you feel you have anything to prove in your piano classes?

Hopefully it's just a physical posture issue, and you can fix it with a bit of awareness - ask your piano teacher to observe your posture and tell you if they see any tension. Maybe go and get a decent massage - if you are practising every day then you're probably compounding the problem, and a massage may help to reset things.

If it is emotional/mental, then fixing the physical problem will help, and may be a great step in resolving the mental problem. But if the root cause goes un-resolved, then you can expect the problem to manifest itself again, possibly in a bigger badder way.

Hope that is some food for thought!

Thanks for the replies! Headache is away now thank god.
I'm noticing the other 2 people before me who are the same height as me have the piano stool alot lower, then when I go in I find it too low so my teacher has to adust it, then moving it forward and back, they are aware of my neck being sore and he is trying different ways of moving the stool and stuff so I'm gussing it is posture.
Although I get exremely nervous in my lessons so I don't know if it is also tension?
When I say neck, I mean the bottom of my head where the spine starts I think lol?
I hope everyone finds a solution. My own piano is fine, so I suppose it's the stool in the college one.
I want to invest in a decent piano chair anyway that goes with my piano.
Thanks alot everyone!!
PSL