Until recently, musicians seeking relief had only limited opportunity for expert care. But methods of relaxation and balancing, such as yoga, tai chi and the very popular Alexander technique are offered in most cities and at many festivals. And some solo practitioners have developed impressive reputations for healing. In an apartment in New York's Carnegie Hall, a Lithuanian-born physical therapist named Shmuel Tatz, who bills himself as a "body tuner," has garnered endorsements from such celebrity musicians as Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, Rosalyn Tureck and Christa Ludwig. A session with Mr. Tatz, who prods and massages and puts you through a rigorous routine of movement and posture adjustment, does amount to a tuning of sorts, and his admirers are legion.
Classical Musicians Suffer for Their Art by Stuart Isacoff, January 31, 2007.
body tuning: for healthy, tension-free creativity!
by Shmuel Tatz, P.T., Ph.D.
For musicians, professionally related physical trauma can be one of the worst kinds of trauma because working musicians can repetitively, step-by-step, hour-by-hour continue to damage their bodies.
Musicians' injuries usually don't happen overnight, and healing doesn't happen in one day. It takes time. Injuries related to the music profession can become aggravated because they are generally related to overuse and are difficult to avoid.
Continue reading.
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF CHAMBER MUSIC AMERICA
by Barry Lenson
With this column Chamber Music introduces a series of short articles about the ways by which various musicians are trying to overcome the problems that came between them and their audience, ranging from the many manifestations of performance anxiety to the actual physical pathologies that can affect them with pain, debility,, and even atrophy.
Here, Barry Lenson talks with Shmuel Tatz, a New York City resident who calls that he does, Body Tuning.
Continue reading.
by Richard L. Simon and Adam C. Fisher
The physical problems of musicians, particularly injuries due to misuse of the body, have received considerable attention in recent years. Most of the interest has been focused on resolving injuries that already exist, rather than on preventing these injuries. A recent discussion with Shmuel Tatz – a rather remarkable Manhattan-based physical therapist and physical education specialist – provided some important perspectives on these subjects.
Continue reading.
