This e-book, An Alexander Method Strategy to Focal Dystonia, is printed in a PDF format. It’s written to handle the issues of focal dystonia and poor approach in musical efficiency. What must occur for a performing musician with focal dystonia to be freed from focal dystonia?
This e-book can also be on the market on all AMAZON web sites in a KINDLE format.
Situated in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. (MOVEMENT THERAPY)
Focal dystonia seems to be an involuntary motion, a neurological drawback, however is normally a deeply discovered dangerous behavior that seems to be completely out of the musician’s or athlete’s management.
As an Alexander Method trainer, what’s it that I do when a musician or athlete involves me with a physique motion that defies the performer’s or athlete’s management and approach?
WE SLOW THINGS DOWN ENOUGH, SO THAT THE MUSICAL PERFORMER OR ATHLETE SEES THE POTENTIAL OF GAINING CONTROL OVER WHAT APPEARS TO BE TOTALLY OUT OF THE PERFORMER’S OR ATHLETE’S CONTROL.
An instance can be the primary finger of a guitarist’s proper hand that has a lifetime of its personal, a motion of its personal, what’s labeled as focal dystonia, and isn’t shifting the identical as the remainder of the fingers of the precise hand.
By the point the guitarist involves me, she or he could have tried all the things from steel hand contraptions to Botox.
So, this implies the routine uncontrolled actions of the primary finger are believed to be pathological, which suggests the guitarist won’t ever actually ever use the primary finger effectively. This will not be true.
If the performer is dedicated to regaining management of the finger, then she or he has an opportunity.
This implies defining what nice proper hand approach is for the classical or flamenco guitarist, or for another instrument just like the piano or violin or for the athlete runner. My expertise with most performers and athletes is their beliefs of what nice approach is are fairly obscure or are too inflexible.
So, we make clear what’s the greatest most consumer pleasant approach for the instrument or voice or sport and proceed to internalize it.
This could go fairly shortly, if the consumer accepts what I’ve to say about nice physique use and posture and approach are true. That is all the time a collaboration between me and what the consumer defines as nice approach, so we’re not butting heads.
The final revamping of the performer’s or athlete’s approach can go extra easily, once I ask that the primary finger of the guitarist or that the precise leg of the athlete do what the opposite fingers are doing or what the opposite leg is doing, at a gradual tempo.
However the first finger could revert again to being uncontrolled, as she or he performs sooner and sooner, making the musician really feel like she or he is backtracking.
What do I imply?
Up till this level at a really gradual tempo the guitarist is seeing the primary finger transfer like the opposite fingers for the primary time in years, and is actually feeling constructive about getting previous focal dystonia. However normally at a better tempo, the dystonia kicks again in and the performer feels helpless to do what she or he desires. Right here is the place I gradual all the things again down once more, and actually assist the performer in accepting and believing she or he will ultimately be capable to do what they need at excessive tempos.
However there’s extra to it than telling the guitarist or the pianist or athlete that the wheels don’t need to fall of the wagon at excessive speeds.
The very best approach for devices that require that fingers play the instrument, is that the fingers play by way of the strings or into the keys on the velocity of the reflexes, even at gradual tempos (a number of time between notes).
What this does is about up the circumstances for quick and clear taking part in, moderately than later having the fingers go sooner at larger speeds. So, that even taking part in slowly is trusting the fingers to play by way of the strings or into the keys of a piano or French horn reflexively. This implies because the performer performs sooner and sooner, they’ll already be used to being “uncontrolled whereas in management” (taking part in reflexively).
Finally a musician or athlete must settle for that their “focal dystonia” will not be pathological and never insurmountable, and that basically dangerous habits could be overcome with observe and religion and inhibition and the very best approach.