In the summers of 2018 and 2019 I introduced the Alexander Technique to musicians on the Young Grittleton chamber music course at St Marys School, Calne.
A Testimonial
A brief overview of what I covered in the 2019 workshop is included below. But first, a testimonial from the course organiser:
We were privileged to have Henry visit us at the Young Grittleton Chamber Music Course for a session on the Alexander Technique with the members, aged between 11 and 18 years. The session was hugely beneficial to the young string players who had been working intensely on a wide variety of chamber music in the previous days. There was a calm, meditative mood in the hall during the session and the students came out relaxed and seemed just a little taller for it! It was noticeably impactful in their playing stance during the subsequent rehearsals and is a great tool for them to carry forward. Thank you, Henry!
Fiona Robertson, Young Grittleton course organiser
Workshop content
The workshop focused on the benefits of looking after your whole self in practice and performance. What are some of these benefits?
- pain and injury free playing
- your most comfortable playing
- your full enjoyment
- greater technical accuracy
- less wasted energy
- more efficient practice
- less stress
- less performance anxiety
- ability to carry instruments easily
- deal better with sitting in rehearsals for long periods of time
- improved mental health: better mood, more balanced emotions, more self-confidence etc
But what does it mean to look after our whole selves? We played games to explore a number of principles such as:
- The performance of the parts depends on the health of the whole.
- We need to learn how to allow natural movement, and not interfere with it.
- In its natural state, our muscle system is very springy.
- There are no straight lines in movement.
- Large parts move before small parts to create smooth beginnings and endings.
Finally, with more activities, the three main principles of the Alexander Technique were introduced: Inhibition, Primary Control and Direction.