Latest Event Updates
Eurovision 2022 Turin
It was a pleasure and honour to be part of this great event as osteopath for the performers.
Great energy, friendship and celebration! Ready for the next event!
Workshop on line for singers and actors.
Learn how to sing without tensions on the upper and lower jaw.
With Mauro Banfi – osteopath for performers.
thuersday 13 january zoom platform.
“Prevention techniques for guitar players” Berlin 5 may at “The holygrail guitar show”
Playing instruments often causes significant strains on a musician’s body. To avoid physical problems, it is fundamental to keep good body control throughout the act of playing. This workshop aims to uncover the most important problems in the use of the guitar. The guitarist will learn simple exercises and strategies to treat possible overload and to improve the musical performance starting from a biomechanical approach.
Sorgente: LECTURE: MAURO BANFI “Prevention techniques for guitar players”
Bass and guitar players, preferences and problems
Here the most frequents problems of bass and guitar players, preferences of setup etc. Give your answers and share if you like!
The visceral system, friend and enemy of the singer.
Visceral system, postural system and movement of respiratory bellows are all interconnected and interdependent. Abdominal pressures, pulmonary air pressures are continuously balanced. This generates an airflow suitable to the emission, both spoken or sung.
Different vocal techniques may use these structures differently and they can be applied more to costal mobility or more to that under diaphragm by seeking spaces more in side or anterior-posterior diameters.
The movement is also possible thanks to the adaptation of abdominal visceral structures, which have the power to provide or to limit the space, partially or appreciably, sometimes creating discomfort.
The most common problem, concerning the visceral system of the singer, is the gastroesophageal reflux and sometimes also the hiatal hernia, due to many causes.
The visceral system has a precise biomechanics influenced by costodiaphragmatic mobility, which is capable of altering the normal function, both at rest and during activity of the singer, in case of disease, dysfunctions and scars.
Voice in microgravity
In what way and how much the postural system influences the vocal emission is a mystery that has not yet been fully revealed. Nevertheless, it is interesting to evaluate – under conditions of zero gravity – how the characteristics of the singer can be different with respect to the same action, which is expressed on Planet Earth.
A singer in the space? Well, this is the Col Chris Hadfield who released a music video recorded of the famous “Space Oddity”, by David Bowie.
My doubts about the recording of the vocal track have been clarified by the staff, confirming that the take of the voice track was recorded on the Station,
therefore under conditions of zero gravity and without the commitment of the muscular system with postural antigravity purposes.
Link to the video of “Space Oddity”
Most interestingly, he sings and publishes songs, available on his website http://chrishadfield.ca/music/
It is now up to yourselves to evaluate vocal characteristics under conditions of zero gravity with respect to those on Planet Earth.
Do the characteristics change? Yes, in my view, yes. We need to work on how to objectively assess them.
The postural system, under normal conditions on Earth, acts as structural support and as synergistic element for the vocal emission. Under conditions of zero gravity the support function fails and the postural scheme that is typical of the astronauts prevails, in hip and knee flexion, as can be seen in the video and in the photos. This may cause the modification of vocal characteristics in song.
We move more on the boundaries of knowledge. If the song “feeds on support”, we feed on our curiosity.
Singing and frequent postural problems
What is your frequent problem related to the singing practice?
Vote and share if you like. The results at the bottom of the poll, link “view results”
Thanks and good vibrations!
Mauro Banfi Osteopathy for performers 