Introduction

Many musicians don't think of themselves as athletes, but, the reality is that playing an instrument and singing uses an incredibly complex set of movements involving much repeated physical activity. As a musician, it's very likely that you know someone or you have directly experienced physical pain as a result of the hours of practice towards perfecting your craft.

Injuries can be severe or career ending such as:

• Neck/back/joint pain

• Tendonitis

• Carpal tunnel syndrome

• Rotator cuff injuries

• Dystonia

What these injuries have in common is that they are often caused by repeated poor use of the body—often due to a lack of understanding of how the body works—over an extended period of time. The good news is that for most people, these injuries can be prevented by correcting their movements based on an awareness and understanding of body movement. The Alexander Technique is a proven method that raises body awareness and prevents these injuries from occurring thus avoiding unnecessary pain, surgery and in some cases, the end of a performing career.

Musicians Are Especially at Risk

Studies show that approximately 75% of symphony musicians have suffered at some time in their career with a musculoskeletal injury. Unfortunately, for many musicians, they only learn about the Alexander Technique after they've been injured and it may be already too late. There are many well-publicized cases of famous musicians having to cancel engagements or restrict/end their performing careers due to recurring injury.

What makes musicians especially at risk is the extreme repetition of motion required during practice and performance to play an instrument or sing. If the repetitions are accompanied by unnecessary (habitual) tension in the muscles, pain or injury will result over time. Considering the number of hours spent practicing each day, it's not surprising that after years of practice, musicians who don't have a solid understanding of how the body works, often find that they've developed some sort of chronic pain or injury.

Benefits of the Alexander Technique

There are many benefits that are the direct result of learning the Alexander Technique. The obvious benefit, of course, is the prevention or recovery from the injuries mentioned above associated with misuse of the body.

Other benefits include improved facility and freedom with the instrument/voice making it possible to be more expressive and produce a richer tone. What first attracted me to the Alexander Technique was hearing an immediate and dramatic difference in the quality of sound that a musician produced before and after a subtle adjustment by a good Alexander Technique teacher. Another benefit is a profound joy of movement that can occur from time to time as a result of moving in a way that's harmonious with the design of the body.

What is the Alexander Technique

Describing the Alexander Technique is a challenge for it is more about unlearning poor use of the body (unconscious habits) than it is learning something new. Actually, it may be more accurate to say that it's a rediscovery of what we knew as infants but through our life experiences, traumas and conditioning, we have developed habitual patterns and become disconnected from this knowing.

We're all born with a kinesthetic sense that helps us learn how to move. Kinesthetic as defined by the freedictionary.com is the sense that detects bodily position, weight, or movement of the muscles, tendons, and joints. As youngsters, we move and learn with a fluidity and freedom that is poised, graceful and beautiful to observe. The purpose of the Alexander Technique is to inhibit the habits that interfere with our natural freedom of movement by reconnecting with our kinesthetic awareness and restoring our innate knowing.

While it may be difficult to describe what the Alexander Technique is, it's easy to describe what someone who's using their body in a natural way looks like. Think of someone that you know who moves in a way that's beautiful, graceful and with apparent effortlessness. Many professional athletes (Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods) and performing artists (Mikhail Baryshnikov) are a joy to watch because they move with effortless ease and power. Although they posses amazing natural gifts, the true miracle is in the design of the human body which is capable of remarkable feats when used correctly.

F. Matthias Alexander

The Alexander Technique was the result of many years of research by F. Matthias Alexander (1869–1955), an actor who continually kept losing his voice after performing. He sought the advice of many medical experts of the day and no physical problems were found with his vocal apparatus, yet, he continued to lose his voice. Since his livelihood depended on his ability to speak, he was determined to understand the cause.

Through meticulous observation and experimentation, Alexander learned that the way in which he held his head put pressure on his vocal cords which in turn caused him to lose his voice. Furthermore, he discovered that it was very difficult to 'unlearn' the habits that caused him to hold his head in this way, which he described as downward pull. The process that he developed to unlearn his habits is the basis of the Alexander Technique.

F.M. Alexander learned that to counteract downward pull, he needed to free his neck which caused a chain reaction throughout the body. Once the neck is free, the head is able to move forward and up, the spine is able to lengthen, the torso is able to widen and the limbs can then move freely in a manner that's poised, natural and graceful.

What F.M. Alexander also discovered is that downward pull is a condition that affects most people. Most of us lose our kinesthetic awareness of where the balance point is for the head on top of the spine. Once our head (which weighs as much as a bowling ball!) is off balance, the rest of our muscular structure must compensate and a pattern of habitual tension results throughout the body. This tension restricts ALL of our movements. It's no wonder that we develop injuries!

The Alexander Technique involves learning to inhibit our habitual responses by increasing our attentional awareness which then gives us a choice to move in a way that makes better use of our body. It is a practice that is very rewarding because it not only helps us make better choices about using our body but helps us learn and live everyday life in a state of increased awareness.

How to Learn the Alexander Technique

The Alexander Technique is primarily taught in one-on-one lessons with a certified Alexander Technique teacher. The teacher gives the student information by placing their hands on the student while the student does an activity: from walking to a complicated movement such as playing a musical instrument. The student begins to rediscover their kinesthetic sensibility and this new awareness helps the student realize that they can choose to move without their habitual tension. In this way, over time, the student gradually learns to let go of patterns of habitual tension and improve their use in everything that they do.

It's possible to experience a wonderful expansiveness and 'weightlessness' even in your first session. It depends on each individual. This is the result of a lengthening of the spine and temporary release of habitual tension. In my experience, having these 'aha' moments are what continue to motivate me to learn and expand my awareness.

Finding a Teacher That's Right for You

When looking for a teacher, it's always best to get recommendations from people that you trust. Before signing on with a teacher, speak with them and listen to their story. Almost all Alexander teachers become teachers to overcome a physical problem of some kind. Find someone who has a story that resonates with you. As a musician, I recommend finding a teacher who is also a musician or one who specializes in working with musicians. You may want to have a lesson with several teachers before choosing one.

A word of caution: there are some teachers who have what I call a 'stiff neck' approach to the Alexander Technique. This work is all about freedom of movement and anything that feels rigid or stiff is not the Alexander Technique!

There are two certification bodies of Alexander Teachers in the US: AmSAT and A.T.I. These Web sites include a directory of teachers as well as many useful articles and resources.

Books and Resources

There are many excellent books written about the Alexander Technique. F. M. Alexander himself wrote four books, although they're difficult to understand and not the best place to start.

A good book to start with is called Body Learning by Michael J Gelb. Two other excellent books are written by Barbara Conable. One is called How to Learn the Alexander Technique designed to serve as a manual for students learning the technique. It introduces the concept of bodymapping, developed by William Conable while working with his string students and carried forward by Barbara Conable. In their work with Alexander students, they found that introducing bodymapping speeded up learning of the technique. The other book written by Barbara that I would highly recommend is called What Every Musician Needs to Know about the Body. This book focuses mostly on the body mapping concept and is a great place to start learning about how to use the body. See www.bodymap.org for more information.

My favorite book is written by Frank Pierce Jones. It was originally released as Body awareness in action and has been reissued as Freedom To Change. Although no longer in print, it is available from used bookstores such as Amazon.com or Alibris.com. Frank Pierce Jones worked closely with F.M. and his brother A.R. Alexander for many years. A professor at Tufts University, he set out to scientifically prove the workings of the Alexander Technique. His book summarizes the 25 years of research that he did at Tufts as well as providing a fascinating account of the evolution of the Alexander Technique.

There are too many resources available on the web to include in this article. Simply Google the Alexander Technique and you'll be amazed at what's available free and online! However, I will include this exercise which can help reduce back and neck pain and restore the vitality of the spine: http://www.wholisticresearch.com/info/artshow.php3?artid=194.

Conclusion

I hope this article has piqued your interest in the Alexander Technique. Learning how to use the body and avoid injury is an important aspect of being a musician. In addition to preventing pain, injury or surgery, once you've learned how to use your amazing body, you'll be able to express your music in ways you've never dreamed were possible!

Michael Serio is a collaborative pianist who resides in the Boston area. He has been studying the Alexander Technique since 2002 with Debi Adams, a member of Alexander Technique International and pianist. Michael is currently in training to teach What Every Musician Needs to Know about the Body, a body mapping course developed by Barbara Conable and is enrolled in Tommy Thompson's Alexander Technique certification training program.