Does playing piano really burn that many calories?

pianistpotter

According to MFP, music playing burns 150 per 1 hour. I sometimes play the piano 5 hours a day, but never feel tired. Maybe it is standing for playing the trumpet, since it needs more physical effort but all you do while playing the piano is pretty much sitting and moving your arms. So should I lower "calories burned per minute"?

Please give me your opinions, I really need them!

freddi11e

... i wouldnt log piano playing. i sit at my desk for 8 hours typing and i dont log it it's like the same thing.

krispy1982

MFP can be way out of wack sometimes. It told me I burned 750 calories golfing for three hours WITH a cart. Now unless raising a cooler to my mouth every two minutes counts as weight lifting, I think it may have been off. ???? I wouldn't track music playing if I were but if you're trying to be extremely precise you could wear a heart monitor?

wilsoje74

You shouldn't count it

neandermagnon

It's mainly sitting. YOur arms are moving, you're probably burning a few more calories than typing because only your fingers are moving when you type, but not enough more to log it

also, look at some rock musicians as they play guitar, e.g. dancing, headbanging, walking around etc... that's going to burn more calories than sitting mostly still to play most musical instruments... and there's marching bands too.... so you can't really put a single figure on how many calories you burn playing a musical instrument... if you're walking, dancing or marching while playing a musical instrument, then log it as walking, marching or dancing. If you're sitting, then it's not going to burn significantly more calories than any other activity that involves sitting. So don't log it.

Alissakae

It never occurred to me to log when I play piano. And I still won't. I don't log housework either. We could get kind of silly with this stuff.

lintyui

I wouldn't completely discount 5 hours of playing some pretty intense pieces. Unlike typing or just sitting, playing piano actually requires quite a bit of strength. After 15, 20 minutes, I'm already breaking into a sweat in a room air conditioned at 78 degree. If you're playing a polonaise or concerto or even a sonata, some of the more intense parts, I think, bears resemblance to an exercise. And anyone who plays piano knows that for the more intense chords, the strength is generated throughout your upper body, transmitted through your spine, down your arms & into your hands, i.e. a lot of muscles in your upper body are actually at work.
I would say playing the piano demands more than maintaining a sitting posture, but whether you choose to log that as "exercise" is still quite debatable.

ameliaindraa

I think it depends on the difficulty of the piece and tempo. Pieces with more difficulty can be quiet tiring to play. The tempo of the piece can also affect how many calories that are burned. Fast tempo pieces require more vigorous movements while slow tempo piece doesn't really need a lot of movements. By only playing an intemediate-level piece with a fast tempo, I could break into sweats in just a few minutes without turning the air conditioner on.

ClaireLHM2018

I am a pianist for a living, and depending on the piece you are playing or the level you are playing at, I can definitely tell when I am burning more calories than normal. Some pieces are physically demanding, and it never involves just moving your arms. Your core, back, arm, and shoulder muscles are all engaged at all times. When I am preparing a particularly strenuous program, I develop what I call "piano muscles" - muscles in my shoulders, arms, and forearms that I do not normally have. A pianist friend has also commented that when she has been at the piano five or more hours a day, she has noticed a huge increase in her hunger throughout the day.

Having said all that, when I am trying to lose weight, I do not put my piano playing into the app. If I want to put exercise into the app, I exercise in other ways. I do not lose weight if I put all my piano playing in. 😊

LAT1963

Maybe they mean for people in a marching band, rock group, or playing an hour of Rachmaninoff or Liszt.

BrianSharpe

pianistpotter wrote: »

According to MFP, music playing burns 150 per 1 hour. I sometimes play the piano 5 hours a day, but never feel tired. Maybe it is standing for playing the trumpet, since it needs more physical effort but all you do while playing the piano is pretty much sitting and moving your arms. So should I lower "calories burned per minute"?

Please give me your opinions, I really need them!

That probably includes your BMR unless you're Jerry Lee Lewis or Little Richard!

jestog63

Maybe if you play like Jerry Lee Lewis.

apullum

ClaireLHM2018 wrote: »

I am a pianist for a living, and depending on the piece you are playing or the level you are playing at, I can definitely tell when I am burning more calories than normal. Some pieces are physically demanding, and it never involves just moving your arms. Your core, back, arm, and shoulder muscles are all engaged at all times. When I am preparing a particularly strenuous program, I develop what I call "piano muscles" - muscles in my shoulders, arms, and forearms that I do not normally have. A pianist friend has also commented that when she has been at the piano five or more hours a day, she has noticed a huge increase in her hunger throughout the day.

Having said all that, when I am trying to lose weight, I do not put my piano playing into the app. If I want to put exercise into the app, I exercise in other ways. I do not lose weight if I put all my piano playing in. 😊

Your normal daily routine should be included in your MFP activity level setting. So if your normal work is physically strenuous, your MFP settings should reflect that. Your work would not be logged as separate exercise.

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