Posture is undoubtedly important to musicians since bad postures make musicians prone to injuries. For this reason, many music teachers urge their students to keep their back straight.[1] However, straight back is becoming a rarity when people are staring more and more at their phones; posture problems, such as “text neck” and slouching, are on the rise.[2]
Is there any systematic way to address these issues and obtain a good spine? Congruent to many opinions online, I find planking the simplest and the most effective way. One can find numerous resources online about how to do planking correctly and here I want to focus on one thing that is of paramount importance to musicians.
In order to do planking correctly, you have to hold your belly button up – there is a certain tension in your abs. However, in spite of this tension in the abs, you can still breathe to your lower back and maintain a straight back at the same time. This subtle coordination between the tension in the abs and the release of the lower back, experienced through correct planking, is what I find extremely helpful to musicians.
When I watch Arthur Rubinstein played the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 at the age of 86 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsgWF406ti4) , I cannot imagine that his abs were not working to keep his spine straight. I have the same feeling watching Piero Cappuccilli (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA_00WTmaU0), whose back is so straight, but not tense, all the way to the crown of his head.
To summarize what a musician can learn from doing planking correctly:
1) a straight back does not mean a tight lower back, as you can experience it yourself by trying to breathe into the lower back and let it expand and contract accordingly while planking
2) without some tension in the abs, a straight back would not be possible.
[1] Renowned pianist Jeremy Denk mentioned how his teacher urged him to “keep back straight” in his formative years. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/04/08/every-good-boy-does-fine
[2] “Text neck” https://multimedia.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2183329/text-neck/index.html