Posts Tagged ‘Conducting Technique’

This ebook, An Alexander Technique Approach to Conducting (Conductors’) 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 conducting 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)

For the last six weeks I worked with a young very talented violist who came from Europe with severe left shoulder pain. Over the six week period we did 83 hours of Alexander Technique sessions.

He is an extremely talented violist who’s viola teacher had tried to help him but couldn’t. In a master class with other violists he heard about the Alexander Technique from a Brazilian violist. Mark went on a web search for an Alexander Technique teacher and found my website, and saw where I did intensives for performing musicians to get them out of physical trouble.

He came to Albuquerque and did we work!

I TRANSFORMED HIS POSTURE FROM A SLUMPED LEANING BACKWARD AND FORWARD VIOLA POSTURE INTO A FULLY UPRIGHT RELEASED POSTURE.

I CHANGED THE TILT OF HIS CHIN REST, SO THAT IT WAS EASY TO WEDGE THE VIOLA BETWEEN HIS TILTED HEAD AND JAW AND SHOULDER.

WE WENT ON A SEARCH FOR A SHOULDER REST THAT WOULD ALLOW HIM TO FULLY SUPPORT THE VIOLA AND NOT HAVE TO RAISE HIS SHOULDER. What we found was pretty good but far from perfect. So, I modified, re-engineered the shoulder rest so that the viola was fully supported on his shoulder and had a place of support on Mark’s chest. Now he could change left hand positions on the viola without the viola dropping on the shift.

For six weeks we did incredibly intense and transformative postural and technique work, so that Mark could play the viola with the least amount of muscle, the best possible posture, and a technique that allowed him to play the most difficult viola repertoire without stress and strain and shoulder pain.

HE LEFT ALBUQUERQUE WITH SOME OF THE BEST VIOLA POSTURE AND TECHNIQUE I HAD EVER SEEN. MARK ALSO LEFT WITH THE ABILITY TO TROUBLESHOOT ANY TIME SOMETHING WASN’T RIGHT. HE LEARNED HOW TO BRING HIMSELF BACK INTO THE ZONE. HE ALSO LEARNED TO EXPAND HIS ZONE AND BE ABLE TO PLAY MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT VIOLA REPERTOIRE WITHOUT GETTING INTO PHYSICAL AND MUSICAL TROUBLE.

About three weeks into the six weeks we were almost there in terms of having what he came for. Here’s why I say almost. Around three weeks he would show up for his sessions and everything about his playing was working or almost working. But what was happening that caused him problems was he would go from playing great to expressing fear and incredible self doubt. The viola didn’t feel like it was in a great playing position, he would start hurting, and express his fear that he would leave here without the tools to sustain all of the great work we were doing.

For me this was difficult to work with at times. I couldn’t understand why he kept collapsing and feeling so off balance on the viola. It didn’t make sense to me. So, we talked and talked and what emerged was: HE WAS TRYING TO FIND THE PERFECT PLACE TO PLACE THE INSTRUMENT, THE PERFECT PLACE FOR HIS LEFT ARM, THE PERFECT PLACE FOR HIS HEAD’S POSITION ON THE VIOLA, THE PERFECT WAY TO USE THE BOW, ETC., ETC., ETC.

For me as an Alexander Technique teacher who had applied the Alexander Technique to my being a concert guitarist, this was very disconcerting. Why?

BECAUSE FOR THREE WEEKS I HAD BEEN FOCUSING ON HELPING MARK CREATE HIS OWN PERSONAL VIOLA TECHNIQUE. WHAT I WAS TEACHING HIM WAS BASED ON WHAT WORKS ON THE VIOLA FUSED WITH WHAT WORKS WHEN ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE PRINCIPLES OF GREAT POSTURE AND GREAT BODY USE ARE APPLIED TO THE PLAYING THE VIOLA.

I didn’t see that his viola training, that had taught him that there was an exact place to place his arms and hands on the instrument, was overriding what I was teaching him.

This was Mark’s version of the sweet spot. The sweet spot is when everything, every part of the body, is in THE perfect relationship to the viola, and you can’t help but perform amazingly. This doesn’t work. Why?

BECAUSE IF YOU TRY TO DEFINE YOUR BODY’S RELATIONSHIP TO YOUR INSTRUMENT IN TERMS OF EXACT HELD POSITIONS OF POSTURE AND TECHNIQUE YOU WILL HURT. Why? Because when you try to hold onto that magical SWEET SPOT you immobilize your body, and YOU’VE MADE YOUR SWEET SPOT TOO SMALL. What do I mean?

The sweet spot is a great concept that ought to be applied to performing on your instrument. BUT THE SWEET SPOT NEEDS TO BE BIG ENOUGH THAT IT DOESN’T PLACE YOU IN A PAINFUL STRAITJACKET.

Here’s an example that I ran into with Mark. He began looking for THE perfect position for the viola, whether the instrument should be more to the side of his body or more to the front. I said let’s try both extremes and find a compromise place for the instrument. We did this and he was pleased. Now, I said let’s look at the possibility of the instrument slightly shifting backward or forward on his shoulder depending on whether he was playing on the first string or fourth string.

What he found was that if he made small changes to the placement of the viola, depending on the string, that it made the instrument easier to play. This is something I’ve seen violists do all of the time, but when I’ve worked with them, they weren’t even aware they were doing it.

In fact most performing musicians ARE at least unconsciously looking for that sweet spot, the place where they believe that the instrument and their body in that one special position will magically create the best performance. It ain’t going to happen. Why?

Because if you live by the belief there is one perfect universal place for the parts of your body in relationship to your instrument, you will be hurt by that belief. The belief alone will cause you to search for perfect posture and perfect technique, which means placement, and you will try to find and HOLD that perfect place. THE HOLDING OF THE PERFECT PLACEMENT WILL HURT BECAUSE OF THE EXCESS TENSION OF FEARFULLY TRYING TO HOLD ONTO A VERY SMALL SWEET SPOT.

It may work for a while but eventually it won’t. Most performing musicians get hurt at some point in their career, and it is because of poor posture and excess tension.

Here is my definition of the SWEET SPOT on your instrument.

THE SWEET SPOT IS THE PLACEMENT OF YOUR WHOLE BODY IN A RELATIONSHIP TO THE INSTRUMENT THAT ALLOWS FOR CONTINUOUS INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL MOVEMENT. THIS INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL MOVEMENT ISN’T EXTREME, AND IT’S THE RESULT OF ALLOWING YOURSELF TO CONTINUOUSLY PHYSICALLY AND GENTLY ADJUST YOUR POSTURE AND TECHNIQUE TO WHAT IS BEING PERFORMED MOMENT TO MOMENT.

THE LARGER SWEET SPOT FOUND IS A TRUE ACT OF PERFORMING KINDNESS.