Alexander Technique
Hello fellow violinists!
I’m turning 34 on the 13th of March and want to buy myself something that will help me with my playing and “aging body” Hahaha!!
I’ve heard many good things about the Alexander technique and I think I am ready for it! Actually, I really need it. The many hours of practicing and playing are getting to me as I am starting to feel some minor aches and pains, especially in my back and sometimes in my left hand. I get this after long days or after many hours of playing. I am also in need of losing some weight but I believe the Alexander technique could really help also.
Can anyone tell me about their experience with it and recommend any good books for me to learn about it?
Thank you in advance.
Regards
Peter
Replies (50)
The Strad magazine back from August had a really interesting article on the Alexander Technique. I never did get to read the article, and would offer to send it to you, but I left it on an airplane when switching flights and can't purchase the Strad where I live. *sigh*
I belive you can order back-orders from orhpeus publications.
Indirect Procedures: A Musician's Guide to the Alexander Technique
by Pedro De Alcantara
... I bought it but I haven't read it yet
You can find many books on the online bookstores on the Alexander Technique. I am planning on ordering the one Christina recommended in the post above. (Indirect Procedures).
Kevin
Great, I also found is web site at www.pedrodealcantara.com and I'm going to contact him. I think he is Portuguese like me! I'll keep you posted.
Peter
Greetings,
Peter if you go through the archives you can find more boring articles about AT by me than you have probably had prune soufflés. However, I am never loath to repeat myself…
Through a long and tortuous route I have made the rather simple discovery that any time you play the violin (or do anything else for that matter) it is not just a question of getting the job done but feeling such a sense of ease your body is literally giving you the feedback `Oh man, I love this.` This condition is rarely present among professional musicians who are curiously resistant to the idea of playing the instrument with the whole body in harmony with itself and the world.
I am very fortunate in that I began AT with one of the best teachers in the world within an organization that is headed by many of similar caliber. Thus, I attend open classes on a regular basis where I see twisted bodies and psyches unfolded (?) like butterflies emerging from a cocoon, professional pianists faint after producing sounds on the piano they had never dreamt possible and watched others cry as I played in ways I had fantasized about as child but never been able to aspire to. Incidentally, in my first class I challenged this teacher to `fix` my flat feet which crippled my childhood physically and emotionally as I was dragged from specialist to specialist with agonizing plastic inserts in my `special` shoes. `Who says you have flat feet? It’s just your weight distribution through your skeleton.` Ten seconds later. Bang! No more flat feet Scared the heck out of me. ;)
Alas, my good luck is not completely true for everyone and as you are doubtless well aware, slightly less mainstream (AT is actually –very- mainstream these days) practices attract some flakes and incompetents. So I am now aware of others who have not been given the same joyful gift I have received. Nonetheless, going through the right organization and contacts you can find a teacher who has done the necessary thousands of hours training and continued to study and progress even as they help others. Of course it costs…
The definition I like best is that AT simply puts you into the most integrated and coordinated condition to perform –any- activity. Thus it can be studied through –any- activity.
The technique itself is so simple it can cause initially immense confusion. It is different from everything else because it allows you to discard bad habits rather than learn new ones. Learning new habits is the traditional base of violin pedagogy which is why you meet so many players who say `Sure , I used to have that problem but I practiced exercise XYZ for one year on open strings and that fixed it. Of course, when I am tired it creeps back….`
In order to do the above one simply learns the correct relationship between the head , neck and shoulders through the help of the teacher’s hands. His basic procedure may take about ten lessons to get the hang of or longer. It something you spend your whole life learning about, and it’s really fun when for the first time your body shoots up to its correct height without any muscular effort at all. Learning not to do things is called inhibition. That is the other basic concept one learns and applies.
Because AT is so simple and allows access to so many things it has become fashionable in recent years to combine Tai chi lessons with Alexander technique. I am personally opposed to this though some fine teachers do it. Tai Chi is like everything else, get the body coordinated and the do good Tai chi. I know because I studied Tai chi for many years with poor coordination and it was really hard for me. Frankly, if AT is not the primary focus then why not combine AT and rugby?
There are tw o streams of AT these days. In Alexander’s lessons he used the simple action of sitting and standing o help people find other options and possibilities in their movements. This is a lot more fun than it sounds and after hundreds of lessons and seminars I am still happy to spend half an hour sitting and standing with a top teacher’s guidance. However this traditional approach was rejected by some of Alexander’s top students who found that the use of `activities` was equally effective and kept people interest more. In essence onc goes and performs an action such as brushing your hair or playing the violin and the teacher helps you to find the most coordinated options available. It is good to be aware that both kinds of lessons exist.
Another alarm signal is if the teacher does a lot of what is called `table work.` That is actually just lying on a raised bed and being helped to explore the body. Alexander did not actually approve of this and although such sessions are –extremely- relaxing the session takes the responsibility away form the students too much and the whole things takes on the flavor of a nice massage. Good teachers have told me that they primarily use this technique when they need to talk to the student more than usual or the student is in some genuine physical distress.
Anyway, the best introductory books I know are `The Alexander Technique` by Barbara and William Conable (check out the web site) and a small book by Jeremy Chance which you can find on Amazon by searching for the name and Alexander Technique. The book `Indirect Procedures` is a classic and contains more depth per square inch than just about anything in te literature. Nonetheless, for a clearer and simpel introduciton that will also help you fidn and evalaute a teacher I cannot help feeling you would be better with my suggestions....Buy them all!
All the best,
Buri
Teehee, I thought you might have something to say about it, Buri!
I took my first lesson with the teacher you recommended today. It's going to be an interesting journey. Though I had no direct problem with vision, I knew that something wasn't right in the co-ordination between my eyes, brain and movements, because I keep making the dumbest mistakes when reading music. He discovered this immediately and we're working on my movement problems via vision and brain.
Peter, I've found all the reading I've done on it extremely useful, so just grab everything you can from the library, and then perhaps buy copies of the most useful ones. I loved Dr Wilfred Barlow's AT book, full of quite medical pictures really showing what years of cramped posture and bad use (of the body) can do to you. You start realising that poor old ladies hunched over and with their necks forced back to be able to look forward started exactly the way we tend to be: a bit slouched and with a collapsed neck.
Greetings,
Susan, I am so glad you are oign to Peter G. The man is soemthig of a genius. Could you tell him hello and I was sorry to not see him last time in Japan. But, I have not worn glasses for a year...
Cheers,
Buri
Hi everyone, and thank you for your help, thank you Buri for your help also. I've contacted Pedro De Alcantara via email to schedule a few classes with him next month in NYC.
Buri, prune soufflés I never had, but prunes are part of my every day diet, just got a big bag of them and they are cooling in the refrigerator.
regards,
Peter
Wow, you're meeting Pedro de Alcantara! You must tell us about it on this forum, pleeease.
Buri, I'm really intrigued by Peter G's approach. I mentioned that you had recommended him, and he was pleased.
Greetings,
Susan, I am so happy you like Peter. He trained with my teacher so it is all one big happy family... I think one of the difficult points of the simple Alexander Technique is to have a genuine mental construct of where the skull balances on the top of the spine. It can take people years to suddenly click on this even of they understand the theory backwards and are good at vizualization. Peter has discovered how to `do` AT following a different path, through the optic nerve, around the brain stem etc etc. It is nothing short of brillaint and his work with vision is famous all over the world. Quite a bit of his time is spent training archirtects to `see` depth and colors in order to be more effective in their work. I don`t know if he told you his life story but he trained his visual cortex and all the rest inorder to go from near blind ness to what he is today. Extraordnary.
But at the end of the day he is also one of the most perceptive AT teachers in the book How many other people do you know who can touch a muscle and tell you what you are thinking?
You are in for a great time I think.
I envy you,
Buri
PS If Lord of the Rings is anythng to go by you will also be able to see all that beautiful scenery much betterthan everyone else.
Hello,
I'll keep you all up to date, I'll be meeting with him for private classes next month. He is in Brazil now, but will be teaching in NYC in April and end of june to july. I went to his site and sent him an email, the fun thing is that I am Portuguese and he is Brazilian so we can actually have some of this in Portuguese. We will defenately be able to comunicate! I think he lives in France.
I'll keep you posted,
Peter
I am an Alexander Teacher working in Birmingham, UK............(well, someone has to............). The best way to learn the Technique as I'm sure you've picked up by now, is to find a good teacher. That is someone who makes some sense to you (that sounds daft but there are A. teachers who talk "cobblers" to put it politely - what the teacher says should make logical/intellectual sense to you even if what the yare saying is not (yet) your experience), who doesn't work on you the whole time lying down on a table (feels nice perhaps but isn't about real life) and doesn't pull you around and make you feel as if you've been "mauled" or "worked over". AGain, there are teachers who do all of these things. If you are in the UK then I can recommend a PAAT teacher and as I've said before on this website (sorry chaps) buy "Towards perfect posture" by Brian Door (see www.paat.org.uk) or Amazon. It's the only book I know of which doesn't make fundamental mistakes in it's explanations apart from those of Alexander himself (if you are going to read one make it "The Use of the Self". The others are all v. turgid unless you are very determined). In fact, it's a pretty excellent book in every respect and I can hear Brian speaking when I read it but pupils of some of my colleagues who've read it say they can hear their teacher speaking, which is a good sign - means it's the AT not the author ..... but then I'm biased because Brian trained me. He is one of the the best teachers in the world however and has taken understanding of the AT to a new level particuarly in terms of anatomy & physiology. Anyway, reason for choosing his book if that is how you prefer to learn, is that its important to get the right ideas from the start because once you get a wrong idea about something, then you are stuck with it for a long time. As to weight loss, well the technique is about making changes - about applying conscious control to your life. If part of that control involves learning a different relationship with food then it can help with that. If you eat because of other problems in your life (as I did when I was younger) then if the AT helps you to deal with those problems, then it will also help the eating) I have in fact lost more than 3 stones since I became involved in the AT, most of that, quite early on....... So I don't know if that helps. Learning the AT is a long process not a quick fix. There are no quick fixes - but my experience is that people who really stick at the AT do so because it helps them in ways that they never imagined possible. A
I have been practicing the Alexander Technique for the past four years (my viola proffessor is also an instructor), and I couldn't imagine learning it efficiently without a teacher (I.E. just with a book.) It's a very physical thing; and having a teacher guide you into the right positions and aiding you in pin-pointing your tension/ problem areas would be extremely difficult. If there is no alexander technique teachers close to where you live, then I suggest Tai-chi. My teacher often accompanies my alexander lesson with tai-chi- both are remarkably successful in releiving tension in the body/mind. Please keep in mind, though, that it will take awhile to truly get yourself in tune with the alexander technique. The first few lessons may not give you and your body the tension releif and progress it desires, but it will come. Just be sure to do it daily, before AND after you practice and in the morning and at night before bedtime!
Peter, don't be discouraged by tales of years and years of lessons. Good body use is our birthright - small children and animals have it naturally. Reading will help you understand that.
I had some AT lessons years ago, and they involved simply lying or sitting and the teacher moving my head around. I didn't understand (nor did she explain) what I was meant to feel or what we were aiming at. This did not help me much.
Reading about 6 books (whatever I could get hold of) on AT recently taught me so much more! I have now started lessons again with a much better understanding, and my teacher at the first lesson said 'you're upright enough, I don't need to straighten you up'. While he thinks I'm rather too stiff still and we're working on that, I'm 100% sure that before I did that reading I was slumped, pulling my head back, breathing less efficiently, and unable to play without a shoulder rest.
I think, with all due respect, that some people get a bit precious about AT. It's not some magical secret, just a rediscovery of our best natural function. A lot of cultures have developed skills that simply could not be achieved without good body use. They didn't all have AT lessons. Watch small children, the way their heads and spines work together.
A good teacher can help you a lot, but I think reading and experimenting on your own can also help. At least reading a lot will take you to lessons with a better basis. As for some authors making 'fundamental errors', it's like any topic: I like to read as much as I can and draw my own conclusions.
Greetings,
hear hear to both of you...
I think all this reflects differences in lesrning styles and conditions at the time. But the bottom line is that the more you knowabout somehting the better you are going to be able to work on it.
Cheers,
Buri
The Alexander Technique is as you say Sue, based on how our system works. Our system (and by that I mean body and brain) only works in one way i.e. according to the "laws" if you like, of anatomy and physiology. This is in part what I am referring to when I talk about fundamental errors (where the head pivots on the neck since Steve mentions it, is one example). The writings of some authors makes it fairly apparent that they have not even read Alexander carefully, much less studied any anatomy or physiology. IF they had, they wouldn't write what they write. Making up one's own mind is all very well and one must be careful not to "throw the baby out with the bathwater", but if conclusions are based on incorrect information, they're as erroneous as the information itself. If what a teacher is saying to a pupil isn't making any sense to the pupil, then it's because it is nonsense, not because the pupil needs to go away and read some books. If a teacher isn't explaining anything, then they're not teaching. The AT is definitely something that you learn and simply being recoordinated through the work with the hands isn't enough - in fact, it's detrimental beucase the pupil doesn't know how to put that new improved coordination into operation in their everyday lives. A teacher working with their hands should be talking to the pupil and explaining the principles of the technique to the pupil at the same time. These principles are based on fact rather than fiction. They are very straightforward and not magical or mystical or based on some ethereal mantra therefore, should make some sort of sense even if they are not yet the pupil's experience.
Greetings,
I cannot imagine having Alexnder lessons without a preliminry session discussing the process , looking at pictures and or a skeleton.
As my more or less, final word on the topic9from me, no way...), I find that the more AT you do the more things click into place and some amazing shifts in perspective occur. The big shift for me has been actually taking away and using what wa s in the lesson rather than coming home feeling great, lokking taller and more alert and planning when to have the next lesson...
After I began taking responisbility for myself I began to see violin practice as AT in action. From this perspective I now see practicing as having two components: the mechanics of playing itself and having the body in a sufficeintly coordinated/integrated state that the mechanics can work toexpress my musical thoughts. In order to work in this way I find that practicing more often than not consists of simply asking the question"What am I doing with my body that is stopping me achieving this music at this point?"
For me, this was a whole new perspective on playing that never ceases to amaze me. For example, a week or so back somebody asked for hints on the double trill opening ofthe Paginini 3rd caprice and recieved some excellent 'mechanical' advice presumably to the satifaction of all concerned. But, thebottom line was practice it.
I used this example to experiment with making a choice in appraoch. From a mechanical perspective the advice is essentially relax, practice discrete compnents and so on. be patient.
Nothing wrong with that but it seemed to me that that the technique itself is combination of actions that the body is perfectly familiar with. (vertical finger action, fingered octave intervalsand so on) so instead I opted to ask myself the fundamental question "What is my body doing at this point?" Sure enough my head was drop[ping backwards slighly in expectation of difficulty. After inhibiting that small movement pow! Out came the double trill at a reasonable speed and in tune. How many hours -practicing in- tension did I save myslef I wonder?
Cheers,
Buri
My (more or less) final word on the subject too. You are right Steve (of course!), the AT is indeed something you learn and is therefore something YOU as the student take responsibility for. It's not a question of our bodies "learning the right thing" as a result of being worked on by a teacher or as a result of us practising. After all, were direct all our activities with our own brains, mental and physical, conscious or unconscious, right or wrong, therefore it is only us who can make changes. The teacher can give us the info (through work with the hands/talking to us etc) but ultimately it's up to us whether we use it or not - choose to put what we've learned into practise. Yes, we need to know as much as possible, but also those the information we have needs to be accurate. Our sensory appreciation (sense of feeling if you like) is invariable "up the spout" therefore we have to rely on observation/information from others (our teachers/fellow students) and then go through whatever procedure we know to be the best to improve whatever it is we are trying to improve (oh, did I say means whereby there?). And that includes our habitual reactions of thought. Some of this is not included in the view of some teachers/schools of thought in the AT. In this is Alexanders fault. He was reluctant to take opportunities provided by some of his acquaintances to research the technique in case it was explained away - so he didn't. If he had taken those opportunities, the AT wouldn't be in the mess it's in today i.e. having many different approaches, many of which aren't based on anatomy and physiology, and being classed frequently as an alternative therapy of some description, which it most definitely isn't. I rest my case................for now.
I had several sessions years ago. Read Alexander's books. Worked extensively for a very long time. Goal was to relearn how to walk and to release tension from having been injured and adapting to that. Revolutionized my piano technique as a side effect. Built on that awareness with Rolfing, yoga, chiropractic, and Core structural Integration. Good stuff.
Please don't call me Sue (if you're referring to me). I'm definitely a Susan.
Thanks.
Well...there are no AT teachers within 100 miles (160 Kilometers for the rest of the world) from where I live, so I will have to go with the books. I will read "Indirect Procedures" carefully and try to apply it myself. I think its worth a try. Or if its not, I could always sell the book on ebay...heehee.
Kevin
Peter, if you're really going it alone to start with, Indirect Procedures won't teach you the basics (though it's an interesting book). Read: The Alexander Principle by Dr Wilfred Barlow, The AT Manual by Richard Brennan and get the DVD The Alexander Technique by Jane Kosminsky, Deborah Caplan, et al. These will teach you the basic principles and show you some 'exercises' you can try yourself to begin to get the right feeling. I found the DVD and the Brennan book the most encouraging to DIY people, though both stress that you need lessons too.
Hi Susan;
(I think you meant to say Kevin instead of Peter in your post above).
Thanks for the info. I went to amazon.com and they have the DVD. One person who reviewed said that a beginner should take at least 10 lessons, preferably 30 or more. This person said that it was unwise to try to teach yourself, unless you absolutely had no choice. Their advice was to follow the DVD very closely.
So, I dont know what I will do. I will have to think about it, but I may give it a try.
Thanks;
Kevin
Sorry, Kevin.
Anyway, I'd recommend that anyone starting out doesn't just follow the DVD but also read those books, to get a more in-depth understanding. Jane Kosminski talks a lot about maintaining the curves in the back all the time, whereas reading the books I recommended you'll realise that it is natural for the lumbar curve to flatten out quite a bit (but without slumping) and in lyng in the 'semi-supine' position. I had been forcing myself into a 'sway back' while sitting on the advice of occupational health information. Little discrepancies like these are the reason why reading several books will give you a clearer picture. Pleeease read the Barlow book, it is full of fascinating information and pictures.
You could just read the books and watch the DVD to get an understanding without doing the exercises if you're that worried about doing some kind of harm. But there is nothing in the 'exercises' that is more difficult than sitting in a chair or lifting a light object - the kinds of things any occupational health worksite training will show you how to do in a 1 hr session or even just the little pamphlets or wall charts workplaces display. It's not like suddenly starting a vigorous exercise programme without proper instruction.
Hi Susan;
I ordered the books and DVD that you recommended. I also ordered this other book, "Awareness through Movement" by Moshe Feldenkrais. From what I understand, he was a teacher of the AT.
I will see if I can do anything with these books and DVD.
Thanks for your help!
Kevin
Greetings,
I have had a very nice three days of alexander work this week so I feel like meandering about again, just a tad.
First of all, I don`t think it is such a good idea to start messing around with both Feldenkreis and Alexander at the same time until you have a good grip on one or the other. Feldenkreis is an offshoot of Alexande rtechnique (no less valid for that) but it approaches problems differently. You would be bette roff learnng Tai Chi and Alexander?Ain my opinion
My last word (maybe) on whether At can be learnt without a teacher is the following queston: To what extent can the violin or yoga be learnt from a book?
I have lost count of the hundeds of hours I have now spent being Alexandered (as opposed to vacuumed by my wife who is very hygenic) but whenver I meet a new teacher I am alway amazed by the new ways of looking at the same simple principle of `primary control` is offered. This teacher told me that since I wa sbeyond a beginner stage I could use more delicate programming to lengthen and expand and it worked like magic for me. That is a bit abstruse but what he also told me which I think is worth knowing , is thta of all the hundreds of violnists he has worked with over the yeras, almost all of them twist their right shoulder in veyr slightly as a result of all this bowing at the heel and stuff. It is possible to have the lungs working at full capacity, the ribs expanding and contracting freely , the shoulder joint open to its natural state and then bow at the heel. But it feels different, and yep, it took some delicate touches to direct my muscles into that zone.
Another great lesson I learnt from him was about the mythology of one leg being longer thna the other which is a belief I had began to habitualize. I saw no thing wrong with this because when I wa sat college with a talented student who ultimately failed. She went to an ortho/chiro whateverist who `fixed` her spine and then told her one leg was longer thna the other. but no problem, becuae all you have to do is buy the special shoes, right? Nice little earner for all cocnerned.
Except that one leg is almost never more than a micro mm longer than the other. Any difference in length is cause by the pelvis being twisted at an angle which is correctable in about 30 seconds with guess what: delicately allowing the head to nod on the top of the spine while heading up, the spine to lenthne and the whole torso, including the pelvis to just fly!!!!!
Since I get a much deeper physiological response to the technique these days I often go through a rather severe counter reaction to AT for a couple of days as my body structure actually makes substantail shifts and releases accumulated toxins. What has always frustrated me in the past is thta I feel unable to pick up the violin for a couple of days during the positive decnstruction stage. That is coupled with anothe rlearnt/ habitual mentla structure: I am one of those unlucky people who has ot relearn the violin after a short break !cf Auer`s book!!!!
but, this time things were remarkably different. Having been given such astonsihing advice about ingetrating AT and my life this time round I picked up the violin and after a few moments preparation played through half a dozen Paginini Caprices with absolute ease and wonder...
I am a great believer in stopping if things are going well so I went to the kitchen for a celebratory cup of coffee, fell asleep on the sofa and wa s late for work.
All is not roses in the AT world after all...,
Cheers,
Buri
I know, I know. But, there are no AT teachers anywhere around here. (that I know of yet). I just want to find out more about AT and see if I can do any of it on my own, and if it helps, that will be good. If it doesn't, I will stop, till I find a teacher.
Kevin
Greetings,
Kevin, where do you live? I will ask around for you if you wish.
Cheers,
Buri
Hi Buri;
I live in Cheyenne, WY. (Have you always lived in Japan?)
Thanks for your advice on this and the other topics you have helped me with.
Kevin
Greetings,
Kevin. I"ve been here 14 years now. Time flies when you are s itting in a rice field,
Cheers,
Buri
So Steve, I guess you needed to learn the A.T. in order to stop yourself getting into a paddy!!!!! (teehee!!) A
Well, I had my first lesson yesterday. I like to think of the first lesson with any teacher as the 'audition lesson'.
Thanks to everyone's input, I had a pretty good idea of what to look for.
I was concerned she might spend too much table time (result of warnings from Buri and Alison), but I gotta say, it was perfectly placed; She started me out working with standing/sitting (with a funny little rubber skeleton for demos) and after that we did some table work which was perfect, because it really helped to demonstrate the difference between the way we regularly (miss)use ourselves to optimal use, as we are no longer fighting gravity on the table.
It's funny, but (Alison/Buri: comments/corrections here would be greatly apprceated!) it seems that, while I am always looking for feedback from my body, allot of what you need to be looking at is what you are *not* feeling to acheive optimal use.
Finally, we did a few minutes with the violin. This was really important to me because, lately, I have been experiencing random pain in my left bicep and shoulder after practicing for 15+ minutes (bicep pains from holding an instrument that is weighed in ounces, not pounds?!). Sure enough, in about 5 minutes, she helped me sort out the difficulty (Buri, your wing analogy was what applied here).
In addition, she had me play while she manipulated my back...Okay, this was certainly no Heifetz moment, but Wow! My tone production and control were certainly far above anything I normally acheive during practice time!
I did not walk away from the lesson so much relaxed as with a heightened awareness of where I had unecessary tension.
Anyway, Kevin, this is my round-about way of saying that after my first experience, I definately agree you should find a teacher...Unfortunately, even doing a web search, I could not find a teacher in WY...
While Alison or Buri are probably more likely to find someone for you, I will also ask my teacher if she knows of anyone in your area.
Best of luck!
Thanks for the info Ryan.
Yes, I will probably try the exercises out from watching the DVD and reading the books, and then realize that I really need a teacher. I will then have to put it on hold till I find a teacher. However, depending on how impressed I am from the DVD and the books, will determine my level of motivation for finding a teacher, and how far I am willing to travel.
I am sure Denver has AT teachers, but I dont want to drive 2 hours each way just for a lesson. Maybe Ft. Collins has a teacher, which would only be a 45 minute drive each way.
Kevin
Greetings,
Ryan, so glad you seem to have found a good teacher. I find it quite difficult to asssess what precisly you are gettingat by 'not feeling' for the simple reason that although your language is perfectly clear. language itrself is a diificult way to communictae these things...
I think the key is to remember that you are not trying to replace one way of doing something with another way of doing the same thing.
What you are basically trying to get at is awarenes sof what you are doing and then, if it detrinatal or inefficeint , learning to 'inhibit' ort stop dping it. You take responsibilty for choosing to do or not do something. The more lessons you have the more you will see what you are doing and what other ways of doing things there are and you can begin to make choice.
I think Alison can explain this much better than me,
Cheers,
Buri
Well, I don't know quite what you mean by "what you need to be looking at is what you are *not* feeling to acheive optimal use" either and I'm not sure I can explain anything particularly adequately in a brief para on a web page despite Steve's suggestion that I might be able to (I guess you're getting your own back for my terrible joke earlier.......sorry - bad habit!!). Give me half an hour in person, things might be different........ However.......all I would say is that you cannot rely upon your sense of feeling, therefore it's better not to try. What feels right to you is what is familiar to you (to the extent that you don't know even that there is a feeling associated with a particular activity/thought/reaction etc at times). If what is familiar to you involves misuse (be it an activity or thought i.e. some kind of reaction reaction) then your misuse feels right.... You judge everything you do on a basis of misuse - which is why we can find it impossible to bring about changes to what we are doing if we simply try to do something else without preventing (inhibiting) the misuse in the first place. Our misuse is habitual (i.e. that is the only way we know how to do/think anything), so we will always revert to that unless we take measures to prevent it........ So, best to go through the procedures your teacher has shown/told you and not to think about whether it feels "right or not" or as it did in your lesson (we get used to new feelings to, so trying to recreate a feeling we had in or after a lesson won't work either). If you are going through a procedure which you know to be the best to achieve a particular end, whether it's getting out of a chair, playing the violin, dealing with a difficult situation on the telephone say, then that is the best we can do. What does it matter what it feels like? If it's different to what you normally do, then it's almost certain to feel at best different, if not totally wrong. The desire to revert to what feels familiar and is habitual must then be prevented (by continuing to go through the procedure in question)
AS to the table work, your teacher shouldn't work on your for the whole lesson unless there is a REALLY good reason e.g. you are in agony/have a migraine or are so tired etc that the teacher can't "get what they want" for you, with you in the upright. So, really you should only spent the central 10-15 mins max. lying down. life is about being upright so unless the teacher enables you to take what you have gained from being horizontal by working on you again in the upright, then it's a waste of time and they are not doing their job properly. I hope this helps. And I know I keep banging on about it, but do read "Towards Perfect Posture", Door, B.J. A
Hmm...I've been having modem trouble and it looks like my last post never made it, so here goes (agian):
Buri: Yes language is a tricky beast and is particularly difficult for this topic. Let me just say that she was able to pass allot of information to me both verbally and non-verbally in a short period of time, but I can see why 10 lessons (minimum) is recommended. You can strike the 'feeling' statement fromt the record...
Alison: My attempt to communicate what I learned didn't really work out (See language comment to Buri above). None the less, she certainly showed me, shall we say 'different possibilities for use' that I was previously unaware of.
And, while a simple paragraph may not be the best method of communication, it's still greatly appreciated!
As I said in my first post, I was rather concerned about the table work (per your comments *way* back in this thread), but she only did it for about 10 minutes (and it was mid-lesson, as you recomend); It certainly helped give an interesting contrast to the way I aproach sitting/standing since I was not fighting gravity.
Finally, I'd love to spend a half hour (or more) in person, but I live in San Francisco...That Tans-Atlantic crossing is both costly and long...Of course, I could always take the pacific route and give Buri a visit while I'm at it ;o)
Kevin: 2 hour drive? Wow...Hope someone can find you a teacher closer...
I'm curious to visit "Buri" (he'll always be Steve to me I'm afraid) too. I mean, if sitting in a rice field eating prunes and fingering Pag. caprices (I should probably rephrase that.........) means you can play half a dozen of them (Caprices not prunes), well, I'd better get me some!! Cheers!!
Greetins,
it's just a quirky thing of mne, but College did not seem to me a good place to study violin unitl I met John, and then I left....
If you see the great man again say hello and thanks,
Cheers,
Buri
PS the best way to play caprices is one note at a time followed by a coffee break
Did I tell you, I met up with him last week for a cup of tea (he had coffee so maybe he'd been at those caprices too). You didn't come up in the conversation, only on account of time constraints and the fact that we had about 10 years of catching up to do. I'll almost certainly drop him a note at some point though so will pass on your message......He's a good guy.......... A
Greetings,
thanks. I think he was kind of underrated as a teacher when I was there. It wasn`t til later I realized he had an innate gift for not saying anything which is the mark of a great teacher,
Cheers,
Buri
I think John was underrated full stop, except by those who really knew him i.e. his close colleagues and his pupils. As you know, he was not only a good teacher (I don't think he teaches now) but, as I've said before is another FANTASTIC human being. He lives his life in accordance with strong principles about how people should behave/be treated etc, what is right and decent. He is very modest, doesn't look for approval/recognition from others and always puts the welfare of others first. A good bloke all round really.........oh yeah and he's quite a good fiddle player into the bargain!!! I count myself as rather priviledged to have been amongst his pupils, don't you? A
I'm thinking about attending Eastern Music Festival this year. I noticed they off an Alexander Technique course for students. I have a lot of trouble with pain in my neck and back and I always feel somewhat stiff when I play. I would like to try the Alexander technique, but would this be a good way to begin?
I'd take a few basic AT lessons and do a lot of reading first.
I think coming to it immediately into a possibly tense playing situation would be harder than first learning to walk, stand, sit and do other, easier things with good use constantly at the back of your mind.
Presumably they do take you though that first at this school, but if you come into it with good use and prior knowledge, you might benefit more.
I received the AT books and the DVD by Jane Kosminsky and Deborah Caplan yesterday and watched some of the DVD. The DVD is good, and there are some basic techniques that you can try at home. Jane explains how to do them and even says "for you at home, do this". However, I can see how it would be difficult to do some of the other techniques without a teacher. You would have no idea if you were doing it the right way or not, unless you had a teacher to correct you when you were doing something wrong. I think even learning the basics though is a step in the right direction. Also, a lot of AT is thinking, rather than just doing an exercise or doing something a certain way.
Thank you all for your help;
Kevin
Greetings,
Kevin, I asked a couple of people about your area and yes...you do live in an odd place ;)
I will pesevere,
Cheers,
Buri
Ryan,
take the AT lessons and begin the happiets days of the rest of your life,
Cheers,
Buri
Kevin, that's great. I agree: a lot of it is just thinking and allowing your body to adjust, rather than consciously 'doing' anything.
Isn't William Hurt nice in his 'student' role?
Thanks for checking Buri.
Susan...Yes, William Hurt seems very polite, and you can tell he really takes the AT serious and tries to do his best when Jane tells him to do something.
Kevin
Greetings,
is it ironic that someone called `Hurt` demonstrates the AT?
Cheers,
buri
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March 10, 2004 at 02:12 AM · ?