“Is It Tendinitis?”

This chapter presents the causes, strategies for prevention, and the process of rehabilitation for the most common injuries suffered by musicians. Basic anatomical structures such as joints, muscles, and the nervous system, are introduced as the foundation of healthy technique and the prevention of injury. The three categories of injuries discussed are musculoskeletal, vocal, and hearing. Causes, types, treatment, and warning signs for each category that might be observed by the instructor are discussed. Guidelines for how to support the student, depending on the severity of the concern, are offered with an emphasis on seeking professional help as early as is possible.

Setting the Foundation

This chapter provides an overview of wellness theories, along with a profile of the challenges facing music students today, and a brief background of performing arts medicine. The multidimensional nature of wellness is introduced as the basis for the explorations that follow in this book. The top impediments to academic performance faced by college students are identified and grounded in national surveys and research. Some of these challenges include stress, anxiety, sleep deprivation, and depression. A discussion specific to music students points to additional challenges, such as performance-related musculoskeletal injuries, isolation, competition, and performance anxiety. The toolkit at the end of the chapter provides eight assessments for each dimension of wellness.

Fueling the Body and Mind

This chapter addresses nutrition and sleep as they relate to music performance and college life. These two topics are presented together because of the significant amount of research demonstrating their interconnectedness. The first part of this chapter discusses the challenges university students face in achieving a balanced diet, the components of proper nutrition, and guidelines for healthy eating habits. Eating disorders, as well as ways to support students who may be dealing with difficulties related to eating, are discussed. The second half of the chapter presents an overview of sleep. Foundational information such as sleep/wake cycles, factors that affect sleep, and the impact of sleep deprivation on nutrition are followed by descriptions of common sleep disorders and strategies for developing good sleep hygiene.

Expressive Performance

This chapter addresses the expressive component of performance as it relates to healthy physical alignment and effective communication using Laban Movement Analysis (LMA). The point of departure for the presentation of the LMA system is the visual element of musical performance and its importance in communicating to the audience. LMA is presented incrementally with movement activities geared toward re-patterning neuromuscular connections. This approach also aims to cultivate a wider movement vocabulary. Exercises and applications of the movements in musical performance are provided for each of the new concepts. At the end of the chapter, a toolkit is provided with two self-observation exercises.

The Power of the Mind

This chapter addresses contributing factors toward mental health challenges, protective practices, and common mental health disorders. Contributing factors include moving away from family for the first time, dealing with new living situations, adjusting to an entirely new schedule, imposter syndrome (the feeling of being a fraud), social isolation, and managing a heavier workload. An overview of common mental health disorders includes information about symptoms and treatment for anxiety, depression, attention deficiency/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum, and bipolar disorder. Guidelines for how the instructor can encourage self-care, as well as how to respond to different levels of distress, are presented. A mental health toolkit at the end of the chapter provides exercises for cultivating mindfulness, developing time-management tools, and coping with imposter syndrome and performance anxiety.

Parent, Teacher, Mentor, or Psychologist?

This chapter explores the multifaceted role of the applied instructor in the music lesson setting, particularly as it applies to the mentorship relationship. Three established mentorship frameworks are discussed within the context of the music teacher–student relationship. The readers are encouraged to examine their own current practices in terms of the level of support and inclusivity they promote in their studios and to recognize their own qualities as mentors. A large portion of this chapter is dedicated to introducing motivational interviewing—a conversation tool that can be used to handle student concerns in a supportive and productive manner through the elicitation of behavioral change based on the student’s internal motivation, values, and beliefs.

Turning Inward

This chapter focuses on the applications of meditation and mindfulness within the higher education music-learning context. It presents the benefits of such practices (based on relevant research studies), particularly for musicians. The foundation for the discussion of mindfulness is based on Jon Kabat-Zinn’s nine attitudes toward mindfulness (non-judgment, patience, beginner’s mind, trust, non-striving, acceptance, letting go, gratitude, and generosity). Practicing mindfulness can occur in small ways (e.g., noticing the inhalation and the exhalation for a few breath cycles) as well as more committed ways of practicing meditation. As such, this chapter provides an extensive practical toolkit with breathing techniques, body awareness, and movement-based practices, as well as meditations that can be applied to music-learning, such as contemplative listening and journaling. Instructors are provided with guidelines for incorporating contemplative practices into their day-to-day teaching.

Stacking the Joints

This chapter presents foundational principles of optimal alignment based on biomechanics and body mapping. This approach to physical alignment moves away from a traditional static posture, toward a model that places the breath at the heart of balanced movement. Key components the music instructor can draw from to support retraining students’ physical alignment include heightening their kinesthetic awareness through body mapping movement explorations and sharing factual information about joint alignment and the breathing mechanism. Guidelines for the instructors’ approach to incorporating these elements are introduced. Such guidelines include use of imagery, prioritizing ease, and using appropriate language.

Protecting the Body

This chapter introduces injury preventive practices for the music student. These include key activities such as warming up, cooling down, exercising, and participating in mind–body practices. The differences between static and dynamic stretching, as well as when to practice each methodology, are discussed. Ideas for cultivating healthful habits, both within students’ musical practice and in their daily life, are provided. The chapter includes descriptions of mind–body practices common among musicians, such as the Alexander technique and Feldenkrais. An injury-prevention toolkit at the end of the chapter provides several practical worksheets and exercises (available on the companion website) for music instructors to use with their students.