| Abstract |
Musicians are entrepreneurs, despite a lack of specific literature treating them thus. Musicians take the risk of launching themselves as performers, often with very little to fall back on if it does not work out. Musicians are not accustomed to creating a business plan for their careers and, more generally, lack an understanding of business models and financial investments, as often the return for hours of individual practice is simply not cost-effective. Many musicians also have careers in teaching, juggling a mix of music-related activities to make ends meet. Music is a life of passion and not one where riches are expected to flow. Additionally, at a time when the pressure to perform well is increasing daily, due also to added competition, and with performing musicians starting their music studies and careers earlier and earlier, at ever more tender ages, the probability of suffering a severe injury during one's career is exceedingly high. This research intends to discuss a process of prolonging careers and minimizing injury, while also maximizing performance, by way of leveraging technology. Research is in fact lacking linking classical music to technology, and this study shows that a biomechanical approach can produce significant changes in the hand position over the violin. All violinists and violists face the difficulties of playing on a non-symmetrical instrument, which makes it quite easy to create wrong postures and techniques. Retroreflective markers were placed on the joints of the left hand, and their movement during violin play captured by a MoCap system (Qualisys AB, Sweden) operating at a sampling frequency of 200 Hz. A violinist was asked to play a score (A1) using his usual playing technique and next to perform the same score using the enhanced technique (A2). The resulting data was analysed in the Visual 3D software (C-Motion, USA) in order to extract relevant parameters and metrics. Very positive and encouraging results were captured. The enhanced technique seems to allow the violinist to play the same score with less tension in the hand, with greater amplitude of the fingers, and a more natural position with angulations closer to the natural ones, allowing to play faster and with smaller pattern deviation, and so with more precision. |