This book provides a manual for musicians to reach their artistic peak through an awareness of the physical and mental strains placed upon them as performing musicians. Dr Jaume Rosset's specialist medical knowledge of treating performing artists complements that of George Odam, who is experienced in training musicians to professional standard at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Their collaboration provides a detailed account of the physical and environmental demands on a musician's body and offers advice on how to minimise negative effects.

The book opens with a lesson on basic biological functions, such as breathing, muscle movement and the nervous system, that allow us to create music. Subsequent chapters look in detail at the idiosyncrasies of musical instruments and the difficulties their performers are likely to encounter. Specifically, this is addressed in terms of posture, and areas of the body that are likely to be affected by the demands of instrumental playing. More general issues of working environment and psychological issues known to affect musicians are tackled thoroughly. The book ends with a chapter on troubleshooting medical problems commonly faced by musicians. Throughout the book are text boxes with commonly asked questions from performers, greater detail on how to achieve techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing, and the end of each chapter sees a quiz to test the reader's knowledge. Illustrations are provided by Axel Oliveres i Gili.

This volume has a unique visual style, and in first picking it up I was overwhelmed by the number of coloured boxes and cartoon style illustrations, which appeared at odds with the technical language of the main text in the first chapter. I was also unsure of how successful a wide target audience of ‘students, practising musicians and teachers’ could be, but as I read on I became increasingly impressed with the comprehensive nature of this resource. I found myself with my flautist's hat on searching for a solution to the pain I experience in my right thumb; from a peripatetic teacher's perspective noting a method of instructing breathing from the diaphragm; and as a lecturer finding material that could be used to teach undergraduates about performance anxiety. A great deal of technical information is disseminated, but the tone of the book remains relaxed. Subheadings are used to divide the text clearly into sections, making it easy to return to an area of interest. The book has an informal style that makes it accessible, yet the pitch of the information is not compromised and this gives The Musician's Body the unusual distinction of being ideal for educating both children and adults.

One of the great strengths of this book is its honest account of the problems facing practising musicians. In Chapter 2 (‘Situations that place musicians at risk’) the authors highlight potentially harmful situations for performers such as long rehearsals without breaks. They acknowledge that avoiding these situations is just not an option for many musicians and I was encouraged by the alternative advice they provided as compensation. Similarly, I was impressed with the reassuring and frank tone of the chapter dealing with performance anxiety. Physiological symptoms were dealt with in a factual manner, such that a hypothesis of optimum physical arousal for musical performance (Fazey & Hardy, Reference FAZEY and HARDY1988) made stage fright appear as a series of biological reactions that many musicians experience rather than a weakness of character. The suggested relaxation exercises were extremely positive, and the inclusion of additional information on available medication made for a commendably balanced view.

This volume provides a holistic approach to dealing with the physical and mental concerns of musicians. As a performer and a music educator, I would heartily recommend The Musician's Body as a useful resource and an interesting read.