Jane
Carwardine
Alexander Technique
The Alexander Technique
The Alexander Technique is well known for helping people in many areas of their lives whether it is a physical problem such as back pain, stress related conditions, improvements in performance and much more.
This is because it helps us understand how we function in daily life and gives us the ability to recognise unhelpful patterns of habits that are causing problems by interfering with our natural
state or homeostasis.
Alexander’s master stroke was to realise that even thinking about doing something invokes the usual habitual pattern. In fact, the body is indivisible from the mind and emotions.
To overcome this predictable path, he evolved a technique that calms the nervous system, enabling you to become aware of the unhelpful patterns and then with a change of thinking choose a different outcome thereby bypassing the unhelpful habit.
This ability grows with practice and enables a spontaneity as you can avoid always doing something in the same unconscious way.
Alexander Technique
For Violin & Viola Players
It is commonplace for musicians and especially violinists and violists to have problems related to holding their instruments.
A Violin or Viola has a relatively standard shape, but people tend to be more varied in their physique, so often players adapt their bodies to the instrument in ways that are far from optimal. Adding that together with long hours of rehearsal under stressful performance conditions, it is not surprising that 80% of orchestral musicians have pain during their playing time.
However, to change how a player adapts to the instrument is not so straight forward. Alexander demonstrated that we are usually quite unaware of the patterns we have, so when we change something, for example, a chin rest, the original way we played with the first rest is still there.
Often, the first rest still feels more comfortable even though it is maladapted. This is where applying the
Alexander Technique can be so helpful.
I believe that the violinist/violist is the best solver of their playing problems, but I recommend using the following tools:
a) Alexander Technique
b) Understanding the Principles of Holding an Instrument
c) Having Access to Different Types of Equipment
These will all serve as a good basis to make important changes.
I offer a course of 5 coaching lessons to help set a player on this journey.
HOW CAN I HELP YOU?
