I think it is important to start this post off by saying
that I am not a certified Alexander Technique instructor. This post is meant to
give a starting place and hopefully interest some of you in seeking out your
own Alexander Technique instructor. I have taken lessons and attended seminars
for several years and have found it to be of extreme use both to my personal
practice and to my pedagogy.
When I was in graduate school, I wrote a lengthy research
paper on this topic. I am hoping to make this post somewhat less academic,
while still reaching the same conclusions. I will probably share that paper at
some point. However, I hope that this condensed version will be helpful to
those interested.
Last week’s post (see here) opened open the discussion of approaching our piano students with a
full body approach. Allowing students to develop as physical and spiritual
beings is essential to helping them to become fluent in the language of music.
Because the body is a house for the physical and spiritual/emotional processes,
it is important to keep it functioning at a high level. A discipline which is
foundational to this is the Alexander Technique.
I do not wish to spend too much time discussing the
development of the technique. For this post, a brief background will suffice.
F.M. Alexander was an Australian-born stage actor and reciter, who began to experience
troubles with throat pains and losing his voice in the middle of performances.
After consulting doctors, who were unable to find a cure for his condition, he
began the lengthy process of discovering what it was that was the source of his
troubles. By using mirrors, he discovered that he was assuming a position unconducive
to taking in air and projecting.
Over
several years, he realized that his physical “posture” and habits were
engrained far deeper than his stage career. He began exploring the use of the
human body and how it changed from infancy to childhood to adulthood. So
impactful was his work, people of all walks of life began to seek him out for
help. His work is continued and has been expounded upon, to this day.
I
consider Alexander Technique to be the most important step in this process of
setting the body right. The technique teaches the body to recognize and direct
its natural tendencies, and inhibit those brought in by societal conditions. In
doing so, the technique brings the body to a state in which it can perform the
functions of other disciplines: in this case, playing the piano.
The
brain works as a “command central” of sorts, sending signals to various parts
of the body, causing it to function. Unfortunately, the body likes to get
caught up in the brain’s job, and it starts “doing”. We must first learn to
inhibit this tendency. Our bodies unconsciously react to external signals such
as “Sit up straight” or “Curl those fingers”. Society has gifted us with ideas
about posture, which tell us to hold ourselves a certain way.
Alexander
Technique doesn’t know of “posture”; instead it teaches you to be “poised”.
Automatically that word implies being in a state of readiness. Ready for what?
Ready to doing whatever our brain directs us to do. If we simply think to do
something, and inhibit our urge to “make it happen”, we find ourselves
constantly poised to receive the next direction from the brain.
There
are three basic directions, which the brain should constantly be giving: 1) to
the head and neck, “Up and forward”; 2) to the back, “Lengthen and widen”; and
3) to the breathing mechanism, “Breathe.” As you read this paragraph, you may
find yourself pulling your head up, stretching your back, and inhaling/exhaling
copious amounts of air: DON’T!
Humor
me by trying a small experiment. This will hopefully begin to help you untangle
what society has come to call “sitting up”. Sit in a four-legged type chair or
on a piano bench, with your feet on the floor, about a shoulder-width apart,
and ankles under your knees. With your tongue touching to the roof of your
mouth, let air flow in through your nostrils; don’t suck it in, simply allow it
to enter. Then, slowly exhale whispering “ah” or “sss”. As you release the air,
simply think of the head and neck going up and forward and the back lengthening
and widening. Inhibit the urge to pull them up and forward. This is intended to
help you gain an insight into what the back, head, and neck feel like when they
are freed from the duties of holding onto a posture. Once these basic directions
are established, you then are able to begin giving directions specific to the
task at hand. It is important that the basic directions are always in place.
While
I hope this post can get you started, I want to remind you that I am not an
Alexander Technique instructor. I encourage you to seek one out so that you can
begin enjoying the benefits both as a pianist and a teacher. I have found this
technique to be invaluable to helping my students develop an effortless
technique which allows for them to play with a high level of musical artistry.
One might ask the
question: “If this technique is so valuable, why is it not more popular among
piano teachers?” There are probably many reasons. I believe that the fear of
losing students because of a “non-traditional” approach is a factor. This logic
is ironic, as most piano teachers teach outside of the confines of what is the
societally accepted form of learning: that is, the classroom. However, if piano
instructors could just experience the freedom of musical expression that comes
through releasing the body, they might be persuaded to incorporate Alexander
Technique into their pedagogy.
Piano
teachers have been given an enormous responsibility in shaping future
generations of musical artists. As guides in their students’ lives, piano
instructors should be aware of the physical complexities involved in playing
the piano, as well as the possible solutions to such complexities. If piano
teachers help students gain physical freedom, students will learn to make music
with their entire being and through the piano. The principles of the Alexander
Technique, when used as a foundation for a teaching philosophy, can help piano
teachers produce musicians and people who appreciate and understand music. As
piano teachers, we are faced with the responsibility to instill a passion for
music which may only be fully realized when the body is open and free to
perform as intended. I want to invite you to join me in pushing aside fear and
convention and pursue indirect procedures to guarantee the future of music
No comments:
Post a Comment