Ergonomic Musical Instruments

By Angela Babin, M.S.

 

Recently, the New York Times had an article describing the Pellegrina viola, an ergonmically designed instrument.  The Pellegrina was designed by David Rivinus, a Vermont violin maker.  While it is notoriously difficult to place innovatively or alternatively designed instruments in a classical setting, the Pellegrina is the first viola to be played in a major orchestra.  Don Erlich, the assistant principal violist for the San Francisco Symphony purchased the viola after unsuccessfully battling with chronic tendinitis in his left elbow.  He said that he adapted to the Pellegrina almost immediately, and was finally able to sleep through the night without waking from pain. 

The viola looks like a "Salvador Dali" viola.  It is shorter from the top to the bottom than a conventional viola. This smaller length makes it easier to play and also eliminates awkward arm positions.  To maintain the bigger sound of a viola, the diagonal axis is extended.  One corner is removed for freer bowing.  The most radical difference is that the neck, bridge and tailpiece are shifted to the right, thus reducing the distance the fretting hand and arm must reach, and allowing the elbow and wrist to fret in a less extended and torqued position. 

The viola, and also the flute, are particularly difficult to physically play.  Violas vary widely in size, and while the larger ones are harder to play, their fuller sound can stand up to the modern repertoire that require this bigger tone.

Ergonomic innovations for the flute include an instrument that is held vertically rather than horizontally.  It is rare to see either of these instruments in the classical professional setting, because of the conservative nature of the musicians' world. 

On the other hand, the electric guitar has been modified and elaborated on ever since its inception.  Recently, N. Maramas and N. Zarboutis published an article in Applied Ergonomics about the redesign of the electric guitar, considering ergonomic criteria.  The authors identified characteristics of existing electric guitar models which add to musician's fatigue or difficulty.  They then derived a number of ergonomic requirements.  The redesign process tried to satisfy these requirements considering at the same time musical requirements, and technical constraints.  A comparative evaluation of the designed ergonomic guitar with three existing electric guitar models, showed that although the designed electric guitar preserves the main features of the instrument, it achieves better user fit ergonmically.  The ergonomic designs were created to meet difficulties met by both novice musicians as well as occupational diseases occurring to professional guitarists. 

Other innovations have included such things as a larger thumb rest for clarinetists, thus increasing the surface area that the weight of the clarinet rests on, and elastic straps for guitars and electric basses.  There are a variety of adaptations that have been made for use in music therapy, however, most of these clinical adaptations are not useful for the professional musician. 

 

Art Hazard News, Volume 20, No. 3, 1997

This article was originally printed for Art Hazard News, © copyright Center for Safety in the Arts 1997. It appears on CAR courtesy of the Health in the Arts Program, University of Illinois at Chicago, who have curated a collection of these articles from their archive which are still relevant to artists today.