Here are some books that I’ve read, and that I highly recommend to any musician interested in growth and improvement. Some are specific to the Alexander Technique and others specific to topics such as: Self-care for musicians, enhancing practice and performance, the creative process, and science. I can say without hesitation that these books have highly informed and edified me, both as teacher and as performer.
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And please give me feedback about any of theses books, plus suggestions for other books for me to read and recommend. I’ll be adding books as time goes on, and I’ll also write more comprehensive reviews of each book. Thanks!
Body Learning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique by Michael Gelb
This is an excellent layperson’s introduction to the principles of the Alexander Technique. Written in an exceptionally clear and practical manner, this is one of the most popular books on the Technique. It is still used as a textbook for many university courses. When I started studying the Alexander Technique, this book was instrumental in helping me to understand the most essential elements of the work. This is a great book to read if you are considering taking Alexander Technique lessons.
How You Stand, How You Move, How You Live by Missy Vineyard
Written fairly recently, this is another excellent layperson’s book on the Alexander Technique. The author shares a wealth of teaching experience, ideas and practical suggestions for better understanding how consciousness, movement, senses and environment all contribute to how we move, maintain balance and posture, and otherwise use ourselves. There are a good deal of activities and explorations for you to have a chance to experience some of the ideas and principles she writes about. Again, another good book if you’re considering taking (or already are taking) Alexander Technique lessons.
The Use of the Self by F.M. Alexander
This is probably the most widely read of Alexander’s books. The section in the book entitled Evolution of a Technique is an account of how F.M. Alexander (the founder of the Alexander Technique) came to solve his own vocal and respiratory problems by discovering some of the most significant principles that govern human movement and reaction. It is from these principles that he developed a highly practical technique applicable to all human activity. As with most of Alexander’s writings, this book might be a bit difficult for somebody new to the Alexander Technique. I highly recommend it for anybody who is already familiar with the Alexander principles. This would be very helpful to read after reading either Indirect Procedures, by Pedro de Alcantara, Body Learning by Michael Gelb, or How You Stand, How You Move, How you live, by Missy Vineyard, to deepen your understanding of the work.
Indirect Procedures: A Musician’s Guide to the Alexander Technique
This is the book that ignited my interest in the Alexander Technique, ultimately leading me to become a teacher. In it, the author makes a nearly indisputable case for why (and how!) the Alexander Technique can help musician’s solve some of the most fundamental problems facing them. I still use much of what I learned from this book to help me improve as a musician, by changing how I approach practice and performance.
Integrated Practice by Pedro de Alcantara
The most recent publication from cellist, Alexander Technique teacher, scholar, polyglot, composer, and overall renaissance man, Pedro de Alcantara. This is part of his series, The Integrated Musician, and in this book he offers ideas, advice, guidance, and activities aimed at helping you to improve how you practice, perceive and perform music. The author connects the experience of playing music with all our other human skills, including speech, movement and curious inquiry. The book comes with a companion Website that offers loads of examples and activities that support and expand the work in the book. You could literally spend the rest of your life studying and improving from this book (as I myself shall). Brilliantly conceived, and clearly and practically presented.
Effortless Mastery: Liberating the Master Musician Within by Kenny Werner
The author, a highly accomplished jazz pianist, emphasizes that playing music is easy. (I couldn’t agree more!) Many of my Alexander students who are musicians have found their way to the Technique by reading this book. This is not a book about the Alexander Technique, though it has many ideas and principles that are compatible with, and support the Technique: expanded consciousness, non-doing, changing perception about effort, etc.
Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art by Stephen Nachmanovitch
This is the most lucid, accessible and compelling book I’ve yet read on the subject of improvisation. The author is a violinist and violist who gives concerts of entirely improvised pieces. In this book he helps us to see the act of improvisation as a divinely human experience, and gives practical guidelines and suggestions for cultivating and assessing our improvisational abilities. These principles are absolutely applicable to all musicians of any genre, or anybody else who would like to live a life of constant growth, expression and exploration. I’ve read it three times so far.
The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music From the Heart by Madiline Brusser
I’d have to say that this was the book that lead me not only to a deeper, more mindful approach to my musical practice, but also, indirectly inspired me to study the Alexander Technique. It approaches practice from many angles (from the practical, to the artistic, to the spiritual) and covers everything from preventing injuries and staying healthy to managing performance anxiety, to honoring and understanding your own strengths and weaknesses as a performer. Clear, useful and inspiring advice for all musicians.
The Musician’s Way by Gerald Klickstein
The author, Professor of Music at The University of North Carolina School of the Arts, is also a professional classical guitarist, writer and consultant. This book is an excellent and comprehensive overview of many important aspects of being a musician (as the subtitle so aptly reads, A Guide to Practice Performance and Wellness). Thoughtful advice and ideas about just about everything that can help you play better, this book gets consistently stellar review and recommendations. It is especially helpful and relevant to the young, performer, as it also has a wealth of career advice, including professional protocol, dress and appearance, etc. There is also a companion Website (with Blog) that compliment and support the book.
Playing (Less) Hurt by Janet Horvath
At one point I thought I wanted to write a comprehensive book about injury prevention for musicians, because I thought that there was a void when it came to this subject. Then I came across this book. It is even more thoroughly comprehensive than I could of imagined. The author is Assistant Principle Cello of the Minnesota Orchestra, and is quickly becoming recognized as a leader in the field of self-care and injury prevention for musicians. The book covers everything from overuse injuries, to protecting our ears, to fitness for musicians, to modifying equipment and environment, to managing stress and beyond. Indispensable for any musician who practices and performs a lot.
The Anatomy of Movement by Blandine Calais-Germain
This is an excellent, highly comprehensive, easy to understand book about muscular and skeletal anatomy. It is primarily illustrations (beautifully drawn) with just enough text to clarify and support the pictures. It’s very systematic, organized by body region and relationship. A wonderful way to get a broader, more accurate understanding of the structure and function of your body.
The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, M.D.
The subtitle reads, Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science, and I’d have to say that this is one of the most inspiring books I’ve ever read. Told through case studies that seem so incredible that they sound like something from science fiction, the author’s premise is that, because of the remarkable changeability (called plasticity) of the brain through experience (learning, cognitive behavioral therapy, conscious attention, etc.), almost anything is possible. Remarkable tales of how people have overcome everything from anxiety disorders to focal dystonia, to learning disabilities to blindness (a case study about a blind man who learns to “see” with his skin!)
Where Good Ideas Come from: The Natural History of Innovation by Steven Johnson
The absolute best book I’ve ever read about the conditions in society, culture and the individual that foster innovation. The author writes from a remarkably broad spectrum of ideas and information, using models in nature (hence the subtitle Natural History) as metaphors for how human beings create, solve problems and move forward. The importance of collaboration and open networks is brought into clear light. The book ends with practical advice and guidance for you to implement to best support your own innovative tendencies.
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by Stephen Mitchell
This is my favorite translation of this classic of oriental philosophy. Written (ostensibly) by the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu approximately 2500 years ago, the wisdom in this book is timeless. Whenever my Alexander colleagues and students read this book, they’re struck by how concordant the principles of the Alexander Technique are with the Tao Te Ching: non-doing (conscious inhibition), balancing energy (direction, ), discernment before judgement (awareness), and always moving in accordance to the nature of things (as opposed to our preconceptions about them). I re-read this book about every 2 or 3 years, and am constantly edified by it. Easy to understand, beautifully translated, poetic, lucid, and highly relevant and applicable to living life.