Strengthen Violinist's Artistry and Wellbeing through Body Mapping

Abstract: The master’s thesis explores the importance of our bodies as musicians in establishing the positive impacts of mindfulness on performance, particularly in terms of improving body mapping. Musicians are aware that holding extreme tension in their bodies can affect the quality of the music. Therefore, understanding the complex workings of our bones, muscles, and connective tissues while performing can provide deep explanations on how to reduce pain and tension that can be caused by poor posture, a lack of balance, restricted movement, and other related factors. The approaches taken in this thesis involve developing an awareness of the important joints and bones for violinists and understanding their functions during performances, as well as whether they are well mapped or mis-mapped. For the sounding part, my exam concert included Beethoven's "Kreutzer" violin sonata No. 9, Op. 47, in A minor, and Shostakovich's Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor. The reason for choosing these two pieces to be performed in one concert is because they demand a high level of stamina and muscle strength from the performers.