Why Play Vertically?
I awoke one morning to find that I could barely move my head. And when I did move it, there was a searing pain on my left side from the shoulder blade to my neck. I had an audition in 2 days, so I had to do something fast. Several hours and muscle relaxers later, I was back in front of my music stand, pounding away at my excerpts. When this happened, I was completing my DMA at Stony Brook. Somehow, I managed to continue to play for the next year and a half, but always with pain. I went through traditional physical therapy, worked with an Alexander Technician for several years, and ended up with a chiropractor who was finally able to take away the daily pain – as long as I didn’t play. Now I am finally playing full time again, thanks to Sandy Drelinger and his UpRite headjoint. Some people might say I didn’t exhaust all the options. They would be right. There are a lot of therapies out there for those of us with injuries, and you will find links to many of them at the bottom of this pag
