Sore shoulders?

[Claiken]

do any of you ever get a sore left shoulder from playing flute on a regular basis?

btw im new!

[fluttiegurl]

Welcome!

I attended a master class with Gary Schocker a few weeks ago, and he touched on this. Generally, soreness is caused by tension while playing. You may be tensing your left arm or even the left side of your neck. Other causes could include pulling the flute back to far, holding your shoulder too high, etc. Poor posture can contribute as well. Sometimes, students who sit in band and practice standing have difficulty maintaining correct posture while practicing (this can go the other way).

Without actually seeing you play, it is difficult to tell, but I would suggest trying to relax your left arm more. When it begins to hurt, put the flute down, relax, take a few deep breaths (don't forget to exhale), and then put the flute back up . . . here's the hard part . . . while maintaining the same relaxed feeling.

I had a student complain of the same thing. We worked on relaxing and correct posture. After one lesson spent diagnosing and experimenting with possible solutions, it was fixed.

[Claiken]

maybe i should try that, is hasnt been as bad the past few days, and i havent played... but it has been there a little. i think work partially contributes to it too...

[Symphony]

I used to, but I think that's because I was switching from flute/picc to bassoon and the weight difference was causing a strain.

There's new chairs designed for musicians, which give you perfect posture (you practice sitting in them so when you go to a gig or whatever, you sit naturally) - I'll look them up and get back to you :0

[Claiken]

^ thanks