By Dave Babbitt – Special to the Sydenham Current
It is pretty much the standard greeting when we come upon a friend or acquaintance. “How are you?” we ask. It has been my standard response for quite a while now to say, “take a good look, you’re looking at a physical specimen.” I say that jokingly, of course. In my smart-aleck answer, I never thought that I would actually become a specimen!
This past weekend, out of the blue, I received an invitation to participate in a research project led by University of Windsor Kinesiology graduate student Jessica Flammia. Jessica is currently working on her Master of Human Kinetics under the leadership of faculty supervisor Dr. Nadia Azar from the Department of Human Kinetics at the University.
Taken directly from correspondence with Jessica: “The goal of this study is to describe the movement patterns exhibited by experienced conductors throughout a series of songs. Specifically, this study will examine the movements at the trunk, neck, shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints within each song across all songs. The data will provide a starting base of information to help others make research-based suggestions for improvements on conducting posture, practice, technique, and education while highlighting the need for future research.”
I was quite fascinated by her request and have agreed to be part of her thesis study. Written correspondence quickly turned to a phone call, and much more detailed information was shared. Ultimately, by identifying potential bad techniques, this study may assist future conductors to be both more efficient and healthy.
Regular readers may recall a column from a few years ago in which I discussed performance-related injuries associated with musicians. Repetitive-strain injuries have become an increasing concern, especially among professional musicians.
For many years now, most workplaces have engaged in studies of how their workers perform on the job. Ergonomics, posture, workstation set-up, safety equipment, and other factors can often be improved, resulting in significantly improved efficiencies, reducing the number and severity of injuries, and overall better health, which of course will result in less lost time by workers. But often overlooked have been professional musicians.
Think about how many times a violin player, for instance, might draw and push their bow across the strings over a lifetime of work! What about the baritone saxophone player who has a 30-pound instrument hanging from their neck for hours at a time? Think of how many millions of times a drummer will beat the skins on the drums over a lifetime. There are countless examples of the dangers of playing musical instruments. I did read several years ago about a clinic at McMaster University that dealt specifically with performance-related injuries for musicians, but Jessica said that it largely dealt with vocal cord injuries for singers. And now, this research is looking specifically at my profession, conducting.
Much like a violin player that I just mentioned, I cannot even begin to imagine how many millions of times I’ve waved my baton in different directions, in different time signatures, with varying sizes of conducting patterns, and at widely varying tempos. Over 40 years of doing this, the number would be staggering. My baton is always held in my right hand, which does most of the work, but like most conductors, I also employ my left hand for things such as indicating entries, upcoming changes in tempo, and emphasizing dynamic changes. Laugh if you will, but at the end of a busy two-hour rehearsal, I’m spent.
I am fascinated with this research project and anxiously await an opportunity to read Jessica’s thesis when her research is completed and analyzed.
At our rehearsal on May 16th, Jessica and her assistant will arrive early to “wire me up” by having me don a Lycra shirt, gloves, and a headband, all equipped with motion-tracking sensors that will send data to a computer for collection and analysis.
Once I have the chance to read her conclusions and recommendations, I will share them here.
In October 2020, I had a bicycle incident while camping at the Pinery. While no one needs to know the details, the main result, other than a major case of road rash, was that in breaking my fall, I put out my arm to help break the fall and protect my head.
The result has been a rotator cuff injury that has caused me significant distress, especially since returning to conducting after the two-year COVID layoff. Getting proper medical care during the COVID lockdowns was virtually impossible, so I had to manage my injury myself.
I began with physiotherapy before moving to laser and SAS therapy in an effort to conduct without pain. For several months last year, I sought physiotherapy on Tuesdays, where I would have my right shoulder taped for the rehearsal that night. By the end of rehearsal, I was in great pain, holding my right arm with my left and icing it every day. The pain was excruciating.
I honestly thought that perhaps my conducting days were over, but I am happy to say that, while my shoulder will never be 100% again, I am now conducting without pain again, but it was a two-year journey. It will be most interesting to find out if the results of Jessica’s thesis might suggest ways to adapt my conducting style to help me further. I can’t wait to “get wired.”
