Alexander Technique for Musicians (& All Performers):
The primary focus of the Alexander Technique seems to be, quite simply, the practice of separating your mind from your actions, examining the sub-conscious patterns of movement and behavior one has developed, and striving to re-engineer the body’s actions accordingly, to achieve minimal effort and maximum efficiency. Essentially, one is encouraged to focus on doing nothing. The further you can distance yourself from your body’s habitual movements and responses, the more streamlined your re-designed actions will be, and the less they will tax your energy and health. It is stressed that everything in the body is interdependent—that the form of your hand is in part due to the positioning of your shoulders, or that the way in which you rest your head has a direct effect on your breathing. This concept is fundamental to the Alexander Technique—fundamental to everyone regardless if they practice the technique—because it is undeniably true. As humans, we tend to overcomplicate our actions – give them more importance and meaning than they warrant. The technique stresses that our movement is simpler than we allow it to be, and if one would only ‘do nothing’, they would reap the benefits of a more relaxed, more natural body and mind.
In practicing and performing music, we have just as many, if not more habitual movements and responses than in our everyday lives. We have tension and movement that is a reflection of our stress; tension that is a result of bad practicing at a younger age, and the bad habits that resulted from it; our bodies programmed movements often serve to hinder the process of music-making, leaving us tired, even more stressed, and ultimately unaware. The Alexander Technique can be used to analyze one's playing, and extract the unnecessary movements from one's musical technique, to allow room for more relaxed, natural, and efficient movement and thought. The technique can also help with pre-performance anxiety, where the player could simply relax, and focus on his internal ‘rhythm’ – another concept of the technique—and by detaching his body from its preconceptions of performance, allow his fingers to move naturally in time, not to mention allowing his lungs to more completely fill with air and support the instrument’s tone, as well as all the other interdependent components of his body engaged in the performance. This technique has universal application to all aspects of life, but its effect could seemingly be much more perceivable to the musician and his/her performance.