This is a special episode! Jared Borkowski invited me to speak with him on his YouTube Channel, Sound Guitar Lessons, about guitar-related aches and pains, recovery strategies, why guitar-related injuries happen, and more. Jared creates incredibly valuable FREE resources for guitarists everywhere and releases a new lesson video every week! And you can also check out his courses for more in-depth information.

Abby met Jared years ago when he was helping her and Mr. Forte prepare for their "first song" at their wedding. He is wonderfully talented, kind, and thorough. If you are looking for guitar-related content, look no further!

Abby is the owner of Forte Performance & Physical Therapy, where she works with musicians, artists, and performers to help them feel and sound their best.

Website
Instagram
Facebook

Disclaimer: This podcast episode is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice.

The hardest part of anything is getting started. Let's discuss how to make a doable and forgiving plan to get started.

7 Steps to Starting Your Workouts:
1. Reflect on what has worked or not worked before this
2. Set your duration: How long of a workout can you reasonably expect for yourself right now?
3. Set your frequency: How many days a week would you like to plan on?
4. Determine your non-negotiables: Which days are "nos" and which are "yesses"?
5. Write down the schedule somewhere.
6. Pick a "push it" and a "light" day weekly.
7. Track how you're feeling.

Advice: 
Start when you get the nudge to start. Don't wait until everything is "ready".
Your schedule is a scaffolding. Be ok changing the plans.
Build self-trust by delivering on your promises to yourself.

Abby is the owner of Forte Performance & Physical Therapy, where she works with musicians, artists, and performers to help them feel and sound their best.

Website
Instagram
Facebook

Disclaimer: This podcast episode is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice.

Abby talks about simple strategies piano teachers can use to reduce discomfort while teaching students from an article she wrote for the Vermont Music Teachers Association's newsletter.

Major takeaways:

1. Over 42% of pianists report pain, discomfort, and injury.
2. Increased time spent playing piano, years of experience, and regularity contribute to higher reports of pain.
3. Make your teaching set-up (aka ergonomics) do more work for you.
4. Change up what you're asking of your body while you teach.
5. Individualize your day of teaching based on your body's (and brain's) needs.

Abby is the owner of Forte Performance & Physical Therapy, where she works with musicians, artists, and performers to help them feel and sound their best.

Website
Instagram
Facebook

Disclaimer: This podcast episode is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice.

Abby talks about the concept of "good posture" for pianists, a review of the workshop she led for the Vermont Music Teachers Association last weekend.

Major takeaways:

1. There is no such thing as good or bad posture. Instilling that idea only makes a musician have to choose a body position and stick with it all the time in order to be good.
2. Problems arise from a lack of variety more than the actual body position itself.
3. Muscles are happiest when they are in their middle range, so whatever feels easiest, is probably right.
4. Whenever talking about posture, use sensation cues rather than action cues whenever possible to avoid a rigid strategy
5. Encourage the use of body position as a means of communication. It will allow for the variety the body needs to stay healthy at the piano for longer.

Abby is the owner of Forte Performance & Physical Therapy, where she works with musicians, artists, and performers to help them feel and sound their best.

Website
Instagram
Facebook

Disclaimer: This podcast episode is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice.

Being strategic and intentional about rest and recovery is imperative for a long, happy life of music-making.

Topics Covered:
1. The reasons singers and instrumentalists need rest.
2. Active vs passive recovery.
3. Strategies for scheduling rest while still working toward your music goals.
4. Strategies for quick recovery between takes or rehearsals.
5. How recovery looks different from person to person.
6. How recovery can feel like something you're adding into your routine rather than taking away from it.

Other episodes to listen to related to this one:
1. Why Do Injuries Happen?
2. How to Build a Starter Strength Routine

Abby is the owner of Forte Performance & Physical Therapy, where she works with musicians, artists, and performers to help them feel and sound their best.

Website
Instagram
Facebook

Disclaimer: This podcast episode is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice.

Today's topic is about how important it is for musicians to work with coaches and providers who will actively seek out activities and conversations that are specific to their goals and activities.

Take-aways:
1. Abby has lunch with her elementary and middle school orchestra teacher. Reminisces about how much her music teachers have meant to her.
2. Physical therapists and healthcare providers need to be watching their musician patients play their instruments.
3. Musicians need to find PTs who know the requirements of being a musician and who can watch you play or sing in your session. 

Go tell your music teacher how they changed your life!

Abby is the owner of Forte Performance & Physical Therapy, where she works with musicians, artists, and performers to help them feel and sound their best.

Website
Instagram
Facebook

Disclaimer: This podcast episode is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice.

Abby Halpin reviews the Disobedient Singing discussion she and Liz Frazer (aka the Salty Voice Teacher) led at the NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) conference.

She takes you through step-by-step the demonstration they did with singer and voice teacher Anna Diemer as well as their upcoming workshop for voice teachers in August.

Abby is the owner of Forte Performance & Physical Therapy, where she works with musicians, artists, and performers to help them feel and sound their best.

Website
Instagram
Facebook

Disclaimer: This podcast episode is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice.

Just wanted to update you on what's coming up. Abby is attending the 57th National Conference for the National Association of Teachers and Singing (NATS). She and her dear friend and colleague Liz Frazer, aka The Salty Voice Teacher, will be leading a demonstration and discussion about how Physical therapists and voice teachers can partner up and break all the posture and breathing rules.

Abby is also looking forward to chatting with Christine Schneider on her podcast, The Visceral Voice, about in-network vs. out-of-network care for singers.

Abby is the owner of Forte Performance & Physical Therapy, where she works with musicians, artists, and performers to help them feel and sound their best.

Website
Instagram
Facebook

Disclaimer: This podcast episode is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice.

Abby talks about what to do if you're stuck in a state of over-inflation. She talks about the impacts of breathing patterns on musicianship and singing and how to train your exhalation to change patterns.

Key Points:
1. Quick review of hyperinflation, but make sure you listen to Episode 10 first!
2. The reasons for training exhalation for musicians
3. Three example exercises to improve exhalation range of motion for singing and playing music. 
4. Practice your instrument or vocalize in those positions
5. Reach out with questions!

Abby is the owner of Forte Performance & Physical Therapy, where she works with musicians, artists, and performers to help them feel and sound their best.

Website
Instagram
Facebook

Disclaimer: This podcast episode is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice.

Stacking your breaths and using postural habits that put you in a state of hyperinflation makes breathing, singing, and playing harder.

If you have these patterns you might feel some of the following:
1. You can’t last as long through a phrase or need more catch breaths than you used to.

2. You can’t get enough air in.

3. You have a lot of shoulder and neck tension that does not change no matter how much you stretch.

4.  Your back is stiff if you stand for too long.

5. You feel that making music is harder than it used to…, and you miss the sense of ease you might have had in the past. 

6. You feel exhausted, and your body aches on the ride home. 

7. You have been told you look stiff or keep hearing people around you telling you to relax.

Abby is the owner of Forte Performance & Physical Therapy, where she works with musicians, artists, and performers to help them feel and sound their best.

Website
Instagram
Facebook

Disclaimer: This podcast episode is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice.