Why “Feeling Relaxed” Isn’t Always a Good Thing To Aim For When Playing Music

The word ‘relax’ can be a very dangerous word for some musicians.

–Karl Snider, singer, voice teacher, Alexander Technique teacher

One of the fundamental benefits of studying the Alexander Technique and applying it to musical performance is in reducing or eliminating misdirected effort.

It is this misdirected effort (manifested through muscular tension) that leads to unnecessary fatigue, compromised coordination and skill (including problems with time/rhythm), and even injury.

My Alexander Technique students learn to play their instruments with far greater ease, efficiency, confidence, consistency and satisfaction than they did before studying the work.

Yet if you asked virtually any of these students (musicians from a large variety of genres) if they are more “relaxed” when they play now, compared to before they started taking Alexander Technique lessons, you might be surprised by their answers:

“I wouldn’t say I’m more ‘relaxed’ when I play now, just that I’m freer to move and respond in a way that is more conducive to playing my instrument the way I want to play it.”

The above is a quote from one of my students, an excellent guitarist here in Los Angeles, who’s been studying and applying the Alexander Technique for a number of years now.

(His response pretty much sums up and concurs with typical responses to this question from just about any of my students.)

If you asked this guitarist if he aims to be “relaxed” when he plays, he’ll answer with a resounding “no.”

Why is that? (you might wonder)

“Because (going again to what my student said) saying I want to be ‘relaxed’ is misleading.”

“First of all, it takes a certain amount of energy and tension to play guitar. Muscles are constantly working when I play. They have to. So it’s impossible to be completely ‘relaxed’ in the way most people think of being relaxed, and certainly in the way that I used to define that state of being.”

“Second, aiming for relaxation can often lead to other problems, like under-energized practice and performance. And before, when I didn’t ‘feel relaxed’ in the way I thought I should, I immediately became anxious, thinking I was doing everything wrong. That would lead me to playing with even less freedom and with more strain.”

As my student discovered, it’s this “feeling wrong” if you don’t think you aren’t as “relaxed as you should be” that often leads to even more misdirected effort.

If we go back to what my student does want in his playing (what he has gained from studying and applying the Alexander Technique), it is more freedom.

Freedom to move lightly but powerfully. Freedom to respond in a constructive way to musical impulse. Freedom to use time more effectively.

Ultimately, freedom to choose.

If you were to ask this student what qualities he now seeks and enjoys when playing guitar, some of the words would be: balance, mobility, ease (not the same as relaxation), flexibility, efficiency, precision, satisfaction.

Freedom instead of relaxation.

And this doesn’t even take into account the psycho-physical state of readiness necessary for actual live performance. So many musicians confuse the heightened state of arousal before and during a performance as “fear”, as something to be avoided at all costs.

While there are certainly some musicians who feel “fearful” about performance, the feeling of “excitation” necessary for optimal performance is too often confused with “fear” by many performers.

That’s unfortunate.

Because great performance is exhilarating. It is magical. It is dynamic. It is alive with energy (and even tension!) It is indeed special.

But it is a far cry from anything anybody would call “relaxed”. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it is impossible to be relaxed during an authentically expressive musical performance.

So instead of aiming for “feeling relaxed” during a performance, perhaps you can wish for this instead:

To be free, mobile, supported by the ground, appropriately energized, connected (to the music, to the other performers, to the audience), inspired, curious, generous and loving.

And, perhaps…

You can wish for a light, easy upward and outward dynamic expansion throughout your entire body as you play.

You can wish for freely moving breath.

You can wish for an integrated attention, balancing what you think/feel internally, with what you experience externally.

You can wish for allowing yourself to use time to your advantage, never rushing ahead, instead letting the music unfold into its natural, easy rhythm.

You can wish for buoyant, freely flowing energy throughout your entire self.

You can wish to be graciously receptive of the creative impulses moving through you.

You can wish to be graciously receptive of the presence and energy of the audience and the other performers.

You can wish for economy of effort instead of relaxation.

You can wish for clarity and freedom in thought and expression…

What else would you wish for in practice and performance, if you could have anything you want?

New Jazz Etude: Suspended Shapes Over The Coltrane Matrix

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There are so many harmonic, rhythmic and melodic possibilities to be found by exploring the iconic jazz harmonic progression commonly known as the “Coltrane Matrix”. In this particular etude, I aim for a rather angular sounding line by using the shapes of suspended chords (“Sus” chords) that fit readily within the diatonic harmony of the matrix.

If you look at the first four notes in the example above, you’ll recognize an A7 Sus chord (A, D, E, G) in retroversion (G, E, D, A, in the example). These notes fit well over the CMaj7 chord, then connect, via half-step movement to the next shape, which is an inverted F7 Sus chord (which would be F, Bb, C, Eb in root position). You might note here that there are no tensions in this shape over the Eb7 chord that are “leaning” for resolution to the AbMaj7 chord. Instead, the energy of the movement comes from the tonal contrasts between the two shapes over these two chords.

The second measure begins with an inverted Bb7 Sus chord (over the AbMaj7) that moves to an F# Sus2 chord (F#, G#, B, C# in root position) over the B7 chord. (Again, no strong harmonic tensions over the dominant chord here.)

There is a considerable leap (a minor 7th) between the last note of the second measure and the first note of the third measure, which adds to the angularity of the line. I use an inverted G#7 Sus chord over the Emaj7, which is close to the color and shape of the F#Sus2 chord over the B7. (I did this to add rhythmic interest/tension into the line.) Over the G7 chord I use an inverted version of the same chord the line starts with (A7 Sus).

This continues into the last measure over the CMaj7, where the first four notes is identical to the first four notes at the beginning of the line (the A7Sus). By moving up to the B natural to end the melody (in contrast to moving to the Bb, as in the first measure), the line ends with a sort of “open-ended question” quality to its sound (not quite “resolving”, in a certain sense).

This is most definitely a “modern” sounding concept here. It’s less concerned with voice leading in resolution (which might be more common to the bebop language) than it is with expressing the energetic quality of these shapes. If you play this over a backing track, you’ll notice that there are no strong dissonances, that if “fits” well over the changes. Yet it has a highly unusual, almost “outside” quality to it. A bit of a paradox. In essence, it is replacing the natural angularity of the harmonic movement with the angularity of suspended shapes.

If you’d like to explore some of the possibilities of this important harmonic progression (The Coltrane Matrix) in greater detail, please consider my e-book, The Coltrane Matrix: 40 Unique Melodic Ideas in All 12 Keys. Click the link below to download a free pdf copy of this etude.

Suspended Shapes Over The Coltrane Matrix-pdf

You’ll Never “Waste” Time Practicing As Long As You Are Doing This

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As an Alexander Technique teacher who is also a dedicated musician, one of the professional roles that I enjoy most is that of a practice coach. I get immense satisfaction (and joy!) in helping musicians discover and implement new ways to optimize their practice time and efforts.

Some of the musicians I coach come to me with considerable consternation about how much time they’ve “wasted” practicing in misdirected and inefficient ways. While my aim is to help them become more constructively directed and efficient, I have to be very clear from the start that they’ve most likely never wasted any of their practice time.

You see, learning to practice wisely and efficiently is not a straight line. It’s a process that unfolds over time through exploration and reflection. It goes without saying that sometimes you are going to work on things in practice that just don’t yield the results you are hoping for.

Or that you’re sometimes even going to work on things that make things worse, rather than better.

Or in a better case scenario, you’re going to work on things that actually do ultimately help you, but just not in the most direct and efficient way. (This is the category that many of my clients fall into.) There’s a lot of “two steps forward, one step back” in this case.

One of the main reasons you would probably seek out a great teacher of your instrument is to learn how to optimize practice efforts. To avoid the “two steps forward…” phenomenon.

And to be sure, that’s what a highly skilled teacher can help you with.

But with or without the help of a teacher, here’s something you can do, something you can aim for in your attitude, that will make it so that you’re never wasting your time as you practice.

Quite simply:

Whatever you practice, do with genuine curiosity and inquiry.

You might be thinking after reading that, “Well, yes, of course! Obviously!” But you might be surprised at how easy it is to lose either or both of these qualities when practicing.

In fact, one of the most insidious ways you can lose these qualities is when you’re practicing is when you’re working on something that you are 100% certain are practicing “correctly”.

Musicians too often go into “auto pilot” mode when working on basic things such as holding long tones, or practicing technical exercises. “As long as I’m going through the ‘physical’ process of practicing this, I’m on the right track with it.”

Yet these are the very types of activities that can be improved upon the most with more dynamic curiosity and inquiry.

As I’ve stated in many of my other posts, the quality of anything you practice is directly proportional to the quality of attention you bring to it as you practice.

So rather than looking at the “absolute best” way you can practice something, ask yourself this question instead:

“How can I optimize my experience with what I’m practicing right now, right in this practice session, right in this moment?”

This question can help you to form to other types of questions: “Why’ questions, and “what if” questions.

“Why do I practice this at this tempo?” Why do I practice these arpeggio patterns in this particular sequence?” “Why do I raise/tense my shoulders when I play into the upper register?” etc.

And,

“What if I practice this at a tempo that is more manageable (or challenging, as the case may call for)?” What if I practice these patterns in a different sequence today, so maybe I can learn something new about them?” “What would happen if I didn’t raise/tense my shoulders as I play into the upper register?”, etc.

It’s not about finding the “right” answer to these questions as much as it is inquiring in a genuinely curious way. As long as you keep asking questions, you’ll keep finding greater efficiency, ease and satisfaction when practicing.

And if you seem to be getting stuck in your progress in working on something, whether in the moment, or over time, you can ask yourself these three simple questions in order to help you clarify your intentions and optimize your efforts:

1.“What is it that I want?” (Your intentions about what you would like to happen, about what you’d like to be able to do on your instrument. Make this as specific and lucid as possible!)

2.“What seems to stopping me from getting what I want?” (Identify the problem. Is it simply needing more time? Is it something that you’re doing with your body that is taking you away from your skill and coordination? Is it your attitude? Keep asking/experimenting until the answers emerge.)

3.“What do I need to do differently?” (This is where you take action. Change course, strategize, reflect, assess, redirect efforts, etc.)

Bear in mind that these questions (like the other questions I mentioned earlier) are meant to be dynamic and flexible. And what keeps them that way is your passion and intellect.

So don’t feel like you’ve wasted an afternoon in practice trying something completely new, no matter how shaky the results are. As long as you’re curious and inquisitive, you’re never wasting your time. Just redirect your efforts and continue to go on from there. Refinement, not perfection.