This ebook, An Alexander Technique Approach to Lute Technique, is published on this website in a PDF format. It is very detailed and practical, and it will give you the physical tools you need to take the limits off of your ability to create the accurate lute technique you want without sacrificing your body.
This ebook is also for sale on all AMAZON websites in a KINDLE format.
Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. (MOVEMENT THERAPY)
How does a performing lutenist do the minimum with high dynamic? DOING THE MINIMUM WITH HIGH DYNAMIC is a concept that I coined in my ebooks and other writings. It means that you create a very powerful musical performance and simultaneously do the least amount of work muscularly. What do I mean?
When you practice or perform on the lute, and you expressively with inspiration play without any more muscular effort than is necessary, this is doing the minimum with high dynamic. What are the elements that need to come together for this to happen?
Let’s start with the expressively inspired piece first. When you practice or perform on the lute as a GIFT to yourself, to others listening, to someone you love and/or God, then even if you have poor technique you will touch the hearts of those listening, For me, this is the primary reason to play the lute – to give performed music as a gift. All else, technique and interpretation, is in support of playing the lute, making music, as a gift.
There are only two things that can get in the way of giving the gift of your lute playing effortlessly. They are, you withhold performing the lute with an open heart, because you are afraid your gift won’t be accepted unconditionally. The second is a poor lute technique doesn’t let come out of your fingers and whole body what’s in your heart.
When you perform on the lute as an unconditional gift to yourself, then there is no problem. What I mean, is that as long as you accept your own gift, then you can feel safe to offer it to an audience, someone you love, and God. I assume performing for someone you love is also someone who loves you, and they will accept your gift. I put God in this category.
Now, technique. Lute technique is whole body. Everything every part of your body is doing as you play the lute is either contributing to the performance or interfering with you creating what you want from the lute. This means, the closer your lute playing is to the ideal performance in your mind, consistently, the closer your whole body technique is to a beautiful balanced posture and your specific lute technique is to playing consistently effortlessly, even as you play incredibly expressively.
A lute technique that makes absolute control of the instrument as near as you can get to effortlessly realizing what you want, is by definition DOING THE MINIMUM WITH HIGH DYNAMIC.
What does this feel like and look like? As you sit on the chair or stand, you feel and appear and are effortlessly upright, mobile from the top of a head lengthening away from your sit bones with free hip joints.
This means that there is rarely, if ever, a place in a lute work that you can’t create your ideal, so you ideally never need to tense and hope your body will give you what you want. The ideal absolutely effortless practice or performance may be rare, but close counts as long as it is created with you being gentle to yourself.
