Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master’s Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / Background: Professional orchestral string musicians are exposed to many physical and psychological stressors due to demands placed on them from playing their instruments. The prevalence of performance-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMD’s) in this highly skilled group of individuals has been investigated internationally, consistently showing a high injury rate. There is however, a paucity of literature documenting the prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries in South African professional orchestral string players. It is hypothesized that South African trained orchestral string musicians may be at a greater risk for PRMD development due to the unique training and performance environments encountered in this country. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the demographic and injury profile; prevalence rate of current injury and risk factors for musculoskeletal injury in South African professional orchestral string musicians. Method: The study utilized a self administered quantitative questionnaire distributed to all string players in the three professional orchestras in South African in a semi-supervised fashion. SPSS version 15.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA) was used to analyze the data. A p value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. iv v Results: There were 27 respondents, with the average participant being a Caucasian, right handed, non-smoking female, 37.11 years of age, 1.5631 meters tall, with a weight of 62.96 kilograms (BMI = 25.768) who exercised regularly (primarily in the gym). A bachelors degree in Music was the most commonly awarded qualification, obtained between the years 2000 and 2009, from a University outside of the Republic of South Africa. The prevalence of PRMD’s in the sample was 63% (n = 17), with a 95% confidence interval of 42.4% to 80.6%.In this study there was a high rate of injury (6.53 PRMD’s per player over a 12 month period), equating to 111 reported injuries in a population of 27 string players. The upper back (defined as the area between the shoulder blades) was the most commonly injured part of the body (77.8%, n = 21), followed by the upper extremity, mainly the shoulder (70.4%, n = 19). No statistically significant relationships were found in determining and confirming expected risk factors in the string players. Conclusion: Professional orchestral string musicians in South Africa suffer from a high rate of injury which is comparable to international studies of the same nature

<p>I denna uppsats behandlar jag orkestermusikers syn på sitt eget lärande. Hur de studerar in verk och om de har liknande strukturer och lärstilar i sin övning. Undersökningen utfördes med hjälp av att intervjua fem altviolinister ur Stavangers symfoniorkester.Jag har i undersökningen kommit fram till att de fem orkestermedlemmarna har väldigt olika inlärningssätt vad gäller sin egen övning. De visade sig också vara en viss skillnad mellan de som på något sätt ägnat sig åt undervisning mot de som inte har någon koppling till det alls.</p> / <p>This study will deal with how orchestra musicians view their own learning. How they study, and if they have similar structures and learning styles in their practice. The survey is based on the interviews of five viola players from the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. Through the survey, I discovered that the five musicians from the orchestra had very different ways of learning. There seems to be a certain difference between those that have studied teaching, and those that haven’t</p>

I denna uppsats behandlar jag orkestermusikers syn på sitt eget lärande. Hur de studerar in verk och om de har liknande strukturer och lärstilar i sin övning. Undersökningen utfördes med hjälp av att intervjua fem altviolinister ur Stavangers symfoniorkester.Jag har i undersökningen kommit fram till att de fem orkestermedlemmarna har väldigt olika inlärningssätt vad gäller sin egen övning. De visade sig också vara en viss skillnad mellan de som på något sätt ägnat sig åt undervisning mot de som inte har någon koppling till det alls. / This study will deal with how orchestra musicians view their own learning. How they study, and if they have similar structures and learning styles in their practice. The survey is based on the interviews of five viola players from the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. Through the survey, I discovered that the five musicians from the orchestra had very different ways of learning. There seems to be a certain difference between those that have studied teaching, and those that haven’t

Det här examensarbetet handlar om orkestermusiker tillika instrumentallärare, och hur de ser på samspelet mellan yrkena. Arbetet har två vinklingar; hur musikern påverkas av läraren, och hur läraren påverkas av musikern. Jag har använt mig av kvalitativa intervjuer med sex informanter som alla jobbar både som stråkmusiker och pedagoger. De har olika bakgrund, och olika erfarenhet av undervisning. Som teoretisk bakgrund använder jag ett förhållningssätt där mästarläran, och läraren som coach står i centrum. Mitt resultat är bland annat att musikern blir mer medveten och analytisk till sitt eget och andras spel och att läraren blir en utövande mästare som håller hög spelnivå. Jag diskuterar vilka olika roller mina informanter kan ha, hur deras svar kan relateras till mästarläran kontra coachning samt förmedlad kontra konstruerad kunskap. Det jag kommit fram till är att mina informanter ser jobbkombinationen som värdefull och berikande för båda yrkena, men att tiden ofta inte räcker till. / This study focuses on orchestral musicians who also are instrumental teachers, and how they approach the interrelationship between the two professions. The study presents two views: how the teacher influences the musician, and how the musician influences the teacher. I have based the study on qualitative interviews with six interviewees, all of whom work as string players and pedagogues. They all have different backgrounds, with various experiences of teaching. As a theoretical background, I have used an approach where master teaching, or the teacher as a coach, is central. Among my findings, I have discovered that the musician becomes more conscious and analytic toward his/her own style of playing, but also towards others as well. The teachers are masters and they possess a high technical level in their playing. Further, I discuss what roles the interviewees may have, and how I can relate their answers to my theoretical background. The interviewees make clear that working as both a teacher and a musician is valuable, but the issue of time can be a problem.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master’s Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / Background: Professional orchestral string musicians are exposed to many physical and psychological stressors due to demands placed on them from playing their instruments. The prevalence of performance-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMD’s) in this highly skilled group of individuals has been investigated internationally, consistently showing a high injury rate. There is however, a paucity of literature documenting the prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries in South African professional orchestral string players. It is hypothesized that South African trained orchestral string musicians may be at a greater risk for PRMD development due to the unique training and performance environments encountered in this country. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the demographic and injury profile; prevalence rate of current injury and risk factors for musculoskeletal injury in South African professional orchestral string musicians. Method: The study utilized a self administered quantitative questionnaire distributed to all string players in the three professional orchestras in South African in a semi-supervised fashion. SPSS version 15.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA) was used to analyze the data. A p value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. iv v Results: There were 27 respondents, with the average participant being a Caucasian, right handed, non-smoking female, 37.11 years of age, 1.5631 meters tall, with a weight of 62.96 kilograms (BMI = 25.768) who exercised regularly (primarily in the gym). A bachelors degree in Music was the most commonly awarded qualification, obtained between the years 2000 and 2009, from a University outside of the Republic of South Africa. The prevalence of PRMD’s in the sample was 63% (n = 17), with a 95% confidence interval of 42.4% to 80.6%.In this study there was a high rate of injury (6.53 PRMD’s per player over a 12 month period), equating to 111 reported injuries in a population of 27 string players. The upper back (defined as the area between the shoulder blades) was the most commonly injured part of the body (77.8%, n = 21), followed by the upper extremity, mainly the shoulder (70.4%, n = 19). No statistically significant relationships were found in determining and confirming expected risk factors in the string players. Conclusion: Professional orchestral string musicians in South Africa suffer from a high rate of injury which is comparable to international studies of the same nature