Alexander Technique, Music, Guitar, Lessons, Performance

Dear All,

last Sunday, March 24 2019, we hosted our first Alexander Technique Workshop @DalMaestro in Williamsburg featuring Alexander Technique wizard Lori Schiff from The Juilliard School. Our participants were almost all guitar players active in different music styles, classical, pop, rock, jazz. After a general introduction about how she learned about AT and turned it into her career, Lori focused on:

– discovering alternative ways to use our body in order to avoid negative tension, starting from everyday activities that we repeat many many times as checking our phones. For doing it, try to bend your elbow and bring the phone to the face, not the reverse as we always do.

– the spine starts from very high, at the height of the mid-ears, we should consider it when we move our body.

– try to straighten your spine when you sit, without being too straight or too comfy by bending the back.

– the head weights about 8-12Lb, it shouldn’t be involved in the spine’s movements.

We had some hands-on demonstrations and our participants could experience how to release the tension while playing guitar. Lori customized every single situation, based on body shape and sitting position, which is different in each player.

– tension and pain most commonly shows in shoulders and neck, but doesn’t starts there.

– legs and feet must not be tense, try guitar supports instead of footstool if you need it high.

sitting buttons should both touch the chair, spine should be straight.

– try to move the left hand, as the ending part of the arm, through the guitar neck without touching it, feel the lightness of the movement.

At the end of the workshop Lori suggeste
d two readings:

– Alexander Technique for Musicians by Judith Kleinman and Peter Buckoke, RCM Bloomsbury, London

– Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique by Michael J. Gelb, Henry Holt & Co, New York (1996)

I would add the new book by David Leisner: Playing with Ease,

Oxford University Press (2018).

If you want to ease the tension in your body while playing and avoid injuries caused by hours of practice, I would warmly suggest to learn about Alexander Technique Method by at least reading some materials. Please keep in mind that Alexander Technique is taught in the most important School of Music in the world, including The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes School in New York, and The Royal College of Music in London.

Below some pictures from the event.