04/17/2026
A piano major tried to solve a personal problem. What she uncovered raises a much bigger question: Why are we training pianists on instruments that don’t fit them?
At the Global Summit on Occupational Health in Music, Dr. Eri Yoshimura exposed one of the most uncomfortable truths in our field:
Pain is not the exception for pianists. It’s the expectation.
Her research shows:
• 86% of college piano majors report pain
• 91% of piano teachers report pain
But this didn’t start as a critique of the field. As a graduate student, Yoshimura set out to understand her own experience and the experiences of those around her. She asked: Why does playing hurt so many of us?
Instead of accepting the answer pianists hear all too often, “you’re doing it wrong,” she followed the evidence. That path led her to something the field has largely ignored:
👉 the instrument itself
The modern piano keyboard was never designed for the diversity of human hands.
Which means:
• We are systematically training students on an instrument that does not fit their bodies
• Then holding them responsible for the consequences
This is not pedagogy. This is structural neglect. And it’s happening at scale:
• 50,000–150,000 piano majors globally
• Millions of trained pianists
• Hundreds of millions of people who play piano
Now ask the harder question:
Where is this in accreditation?
In the USA, the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) sets standards for over 600 institutions. But where is the requirement that:
• instruments fit the human body?
• occupational risks are identified and mitigated?
• students are protected from preventable injury?
It isn’t there.
Instead, we continue to:
• normalize pain
• individualize blame
• ignore design
There is, however, a growing movement pushing back.
PASK (Pianists for Alternatively Sized Keyboards) has been advancing the science and advocacy around ergonomically appropriate keyboards, bringing together researchers, performers, and educators committed to aligning instrument design with human variability.
Their work makes one thing undeniable. This problem is solvable.
What’s missing is not knowledge. It’s accountability.
And Yoshimura’s journey, from graduate student asking uncomfortable questions to a leading voice challenging the status quo, is exactly what this field needs.
If occupational health in music is to be taken seriously, then this must become a standard, not an option. Because the issue is no longer whether pianists are at risk. It’s whether institutions are willing to acknowledge their role in creating that risk.
🎥 Watch Dr. Yoshimura’s presentation:
https://www.occupationalhealthinmusic.org/2025globalsummitvideos/v/eriyoshimura?categoryId=690127a90a462562b9699e87
