Jonathan O'Neill’s Reviews > What Every Pianist Needs to Know About the Body > Status Update

Interesting. I too can't sit at the piano for too long before my back protests. Adding to my list... pending review by the "guinea pig" ;) Have to know if the book is useful before buying it.

It also could be that the muscles are weak. So, maybe work on muscles too(?)

I marked the book as TBR since the title caught my eyes, but who are the writers? GR doesn’t really say anything except that there are weird books on this “Thomas Mark”’s page. Makes me doubt if they’re musicians 🤔

Elentarri wrote: "Interesting. I too can't sit at the piano for too long before my back protests. Adding to my list... pending review by the "guinea pig" ;) Have to know if the book is useful before buying it."

Happy to be the guinea pig here, El! 😁

Have to know if the book is useful before buying it.
See, you'd think I would know that by now! 😂

Chadi wrote: "It also could be that the muscles are weak. So, maybe work on muscles too(?)"

Possibly, but I don't think so. It's not a smaller part of my body that's experiencing the pain but right in the centre of my upper back which is not a weaker part of the body for me as I exercise regularly. I'd almost certainly say it's from hunching but it would be handy if this book has recommendations for positioning, height, distance from keys etc. All that sort of stuff. I'll hopefully be able to tell you if it's any good when I'm done :)

Chadi wrote: "I marked the book as TBR since the title caught my eyes, but who are the writers? GR doesn’t really say anything except that there are weird books on this “Thomas Mark”’s page. Makes me doubt if th..."

Regarding the author's credentials, I knew as little as you but I just found this:

Thomas Mark holds AB, MA and PhD degrees from Columbia University. He studied piano in New York with David Bar-Illan and Jeannette Haien, taught philosophy for several years at various colleges and universities, then returned to the piano. From 1992 to 2001 he organized and performed in the Newport Coffee Concerts, a chamber music series in Newport, Oregon. He attended the Taubman Institute of Piano from 1994 to 1999, where he served for three years as a practice assistant. He has studied the Taubman technique with Robert Durso, and studies Alexander Technique and body mapping with Barbara Conable, founder of Andover Educators. He is a certified Andover Educator, an adjunct faculty member of Marylhurst University and a member of the committee on musicians’ wellness of the Oregon Music Teachers Association. He is the author of the book What Every Pianist Needs to Know about the Body, published by GIA Publications, Inc.

Tom teaches piano and Body Mapping in Portland, Oregon where he offers the 6-hour course “What Every Pianist Needs to Know about the Body” on a regular basis. He is available to teach the course and offer lectures, workshops, and lessons throughout the United States and Canada.

Thomas Mark has taught and lectured in various locations, including:
- Oregon Music Teachers Association state conference (1999, 2000)
- Piano Wellness Seminar (2000-2002)
- Raleigh Conservatory of Music
- Conservatorio Superiour de Musica, Las palmas, Canary Islands
- National Association of Pastoral Musicians
- Cincinnati Conservatory of Music
- Duquense University
- Creston, British Columbia, Canada

:)

Huh! Thanks! Would be good to read from a philosopher-pianist, then. I’ll give it a go ^^

About the distance from the keys:
The only useful tip my so-called tutor gave me was to put the chair where you can easily walk in the space between the chair and the piano.
I did find that sitting at this right spot has made it easier to play longer