A Musicians’ Health National Curriculum Initiative

1. A Musicians’ Health National Curriculum Initiative Dr Bronwen Ackermann Associate Professor Suzanne Wijsman

2. The act of making music • Making music involves a complex interaction between the body of the performer and the instrument • Physical and psychological demands are correspondingly high and place great loads on the performer. • Injuries and other health issues have become commonplace.

3. Health in the curriculum • The World Health Organisation recognises that better occupational health models need to be incorporated into educational curriculum to reduce risks and prevent injury in discrete occupational groups. • No such focus on health education currently exists in tertiary music institutions – the training grounds of future music performers and teachers.

4. Project goals • To improve the teaching of healthy music performance at primary through secondary levels long-term by augmenting the curriculum at the tertiary level with a health education component • Promote awareness of how a healthy approach to music performance can benefit performance quality • To reduce risks of injury to performing musicians in Australia through promotion of health awareness • To make the curriculum materials available to the wider Australian community: in particular, to music teachers and students outside of the tertiary environment.

5. Curriculum structure • Focus will be on healthy habits both in terms of optimising performance and preventing injury. • The initial trial will be run completely on-line to allow any national institution to participate • A series of illustrated lectures will be delivered and supported by practical sessions so that theory is put into practice.

6. Curriculum content • Subjects will be delivered at a functional level and applied to musical performance. • These include: anatomy and physiology of performance, playing posture, moving well to play well, managing anxiety, healthy practice habits, managing diet, and principles of injury prevention and management. Wilcox Sydney Morning Herald

7. Example of curriculum content Moving with the music • Lecture component learning objectives • Understand the concepts behind natural body movement • Discuss how bone shapes and joint design leads to certain movement possibilities with action created by groups of muscles • Describe basic structure and function of soft tissues including muscles and ligaments • Outline the way nerves function • Video component • Demonstration of body movements indicating where muscles are that are involved in certain movements • Applications to performance throughout using a variety of instruments to show the movements involved in technique and how changing the position of body parts (e.g. slouching) changes which way movements can happen and hence technique and sound production.

8. Being involved… • All tertiary institutions are invited to participate in the trial phase in second semester 2010. • Following the trial phase the final curriculum can be incorporated within performance units, or available as an independent learning option within the tertiary music curriculum. • Contact: swijsman@cyllene.uwa.edu.au • Web address: www.health.music.uwa.edu.au ALTC DISCLAIMER Support for this project has been provided by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Ltd, an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. The views expressed in this project do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council.