This e book, An Alexander Approach Method to Musicians’ Accidents, is revealed in a PDF format. It’s written to provide all performing musicians deep insights into the habits and method that performers have that may finish careers with ache, pressure, stress, and accidents. I take a look at the entire devices from piano, to guitar to clarinet, to singing and so on.
This e book can 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 often a deeply discovered unhealthy behavior that seems to be completely out of the musician’s or athlete’s management.
As an Alexander Approach instructor, 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 method?
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 could 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 might have tried every little thing from metallic 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 really ever use the primary finger effectively. This is probably not 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 method 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 method is are fairly obscure or are too inflexible.
So, we make clear what’s the finest most consumer pleasant method for the instrument or voice or sport and proceed to internalize it.
This could go fairly rapidly, if the shopper accepts what I’ve to say about nice physique use and posture and method are true. That is at all times a collaboration between me and what the shopper defines as nice method, so we’re not butting heads.
The overall revamping of the performer’s or athlete’s method 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 sluggish tempo.
However the first finger might 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 sluggish tempo the guitarist is seeing the primary finger transfer like the opposite fingers for the primary time in years, and is de facto feeling optimistic about getting previous focal dystonia. However often at a better tempo, the dystonia kicks again in and the performer feels helpless to do what she or he needs. Right here is the place I sluggish every little thing again down once more, and actually assist the performer in accepting and believing she or he will ultimately have the ability 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 must fall of the wagon at excessive speeds.
The most effective method for devices that require that fingers play the instrument, is that the fingers play via the strings or into the keys on the pace of the reflexes, even at sluggish tempos (a lot of time between notes).
What this does is ready up the circumstances for quick and clear taking part in, moderately than later having the fingers go sooner at increased speeds. So, that even taking part in slowly is trusting the fingers to play via the strings or into the keys of a piano or French horn reflexively. This implies because the performer performs sooner and sooner, they may already be used to being “uncontrolled whereas in management” (taking part in reflexively).
In the end a musician or athlete must settle for that their “focal dystonia” is probably not pathological and never insurmountable, and that basically unhealthy habits will be overcome with observe and religion and inhibition and the absolute best method.