If you want to make your heart work, you can bike for an hourgo for a run play a Bach fugue or play a football match. No, the Bach thing is not a joke. This is absolutely true. In fact, according to a study published in 2008. average heart rate of classical musicians during concerts is comparable to that of many athletes during competitions.
This is very interesting, because athletes know that they must train to meet your job requirements. But musicians do not often receive such recommendations, although they need them no less than now.
And the fact is that, in fact, the works before 2008, in which the work of musicians was studied, did not lead to such extreme conclusions. But they were not carried out with the exhaustive methodology with which this study was conducted, which began as a thesis Claudia IniestaSpanish physician specializing in sports medicine.
When the pulse of the musicians quickens
For this study, we had 62 classical musicians volunteers. Most of them belonged to Symphony Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias, although there were both teachers and students of the conservatory. Ages have been included from 15 to 71 years oldbut most of them were between 20 and 30 years old. As for tools, there was a very wide representation, with interpreters clarinet, bassoon, flute, oboe, trombone, horn, trumpet, double bass, viola, violin, cello, harp, piano, percussion and two Indian instruments: sitar and tabla.
All musicians put on sensors to measure heart rateboth in rehearsals and in concert. In this way, they were able to analyze what their efforts were and distinguish situations in which they pushed their body to the limit.
They saw that heart rate was more in concert than in rehearsals, and, in addition, it increased much more when they performed solo performancescompared to the same musicians playing in the band. On the other hand, as is logical, the emotional component of the play also clearly influenced the strengthening or weakening of the pulsations.
Variations between instruments
In the early manuals, those that mention musicians in passing and conclude that they don’t put in much effort, playing the instrument was equated with walking at 3 kilometers per hour or typing. Only battery it was considered a more demanding instrument in terms of heart rate.
However, the findings of this study with more detailed methodology conflict with these recommendations. In fact, they find great hearty demand not only in percussion, but in all instruments of the orchestra. There are no big differences. although the maximum averages were from 137 beats per minute for string players to 167 beats per minute for pianists. Only 30 beats per minute. All instruments are included in this range.
A particularly striking example is the case of a 41-year-old pianist who maintained an average of 136 beats per minute during a two-hour concert. In addition, peaks 167 and even 180 beats per minute in the most demanding parts of his scores. This is 101% of your resting heart rate.
Another curious case, which was not included in the study, was reported by the author of the dissertation in an article for Trade, 2007 He talked about a bassoonist who, out of curiosity, weighed himself before and after a concert. saw difference 1.5 kg, with the peculiarity that the second weighing was carried out after lunch. Thus, this heart request was accompanied by energy consumption, which even led to weight loss. Curious, although it would be worth exploring whether other factors may be at play.
Blurred line between musicians and athletes
In his dissertation, this doctor focuses on musicians, not comparing them to athletes. However, it is not difficult to find resemblance. In fact, as he explained Trade, the heart rate of musicians during concerts can be compared to the pulse rate of many football players during an important match. In addition, in the same article, the supervisor of his dissertation, Nicholas TerradosHe said he showed the heart rate charts of one of the musicians to a cyclist friend without telling him what their origin was. His answer was: “What a difficult stage.”
I didn’t think it could be the meaning musician’s pulse. And it may seem that the musicians are sedentary people. But a good musician puts his soul into every piece he plays, and this, as Claudia Iniesta has convincingly demonstrated, shows.
Source: Hiper Textual
