Tag Archives: Healthy musical practice

Something You’re Always Doing When You Practice (Even When You Think You’re Not)

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I often ask the following “trick” question to my students on the first day of class at the college where I teach the Alexander Technique:

“If one of my students is staring out the window with her eyes glazed over as I’m speaking to the rest of my class (who all seem to be engaged in the topic of conversation), would it be truthful to say that that particular student is paying attention?

Of course most of the students answer with a resounding “No”.

But I always seem to have that one deep-thinking student that disagrees. It’s always something like this:

“Oh she’s paying attention to something. She’s just not paying attention to what you’re saying.”

And that is entirely true.

Or as I often phrase it (if you’ll forgive my use of a “double negative”), “Whenever we are awake, we are never not paying attention.”

You see, as far as the functioning of you brain is concerned, as long as you’re awake, you’re paying attention to something. Always.

So during your practice session:

When you “daydream”, you’re paying attention.

When you’re wondering what you’re going to have for lunch, you’re paying attention.

When you remember something funny that happened yesterday, you’re paying attention.

When you get “distracted” by something (or “blank out” and forget that next phrase you should be able to play by memory), you’re paying attention…

So when you’re practicing your instrument, the question isn’t “Am I paying attention?”

The question is “What am I paying attention to right now?”

And perhaps a more important and constructive question would be, “How can I direct my attention right now to optimize my practice efforts?”

This might be a “where” question, as in “Where am I ‘placing’ my attention?”

Or it could be a “quality” question, as in “How would I describe the quality of my attention?” (Is it “narrow”, “diffused”, “focused”, “scattered”, “calm”, “agitated”, “disengaged”, “playful”, “curious”, to name a few…)

If your attention seems “focused”, you could further inquire, “Is my attention ‘exclusive’ and narrow, or ‘inclusive’ and expansive?”

In other words, is your attention broad enough and flexible enough to easily include noticing what you’re doing with yourself as you practice?(your balance, mobility, ease, breathing etc; what we refer to as your “use” in Alexander Technique jargon)

Or does your tendency to “focus” exclude your sense of what you’re doing with yourself?

Because if you can’t notice how you’re “using” yourself, you run the risk of developing habits of inefficient and even harmful movement patterns you’ll bring into your music making.

On the other hand, does your “focused” attention have you placing too much of your consciousness on the parts of your body that you think are most relevant to playing your instrument? (e.g., wind instrumentalists focusing almost exclusively on the embouchure)

If that’s the case, you might be interfering with the movement and postural mechanisms that work best with a little less direct conscious attention (not to mention making yourself less available to your expressive impulses with the music).

It’s all a matter of balance, isn’t it?

Too much, too little, too broad, too, narrow, too specific, not specific enough…

The key thing to remember is that the way you pay attention impacts how you react. How you react impacts how you learn, experience and express the music. (When I refer to “reaction”, I’m talking about posture, movement, balance, sensory perception, use of time and more.)

And most important of all, you have a choice in how you direct your attention.

So give a bit of your attention to “how you pay attention” as you practice, and discover and develop the attentional qualities that work best for you.

An Important Thing To Notice The Instant You Prepare To Play

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One of the most fundamental things to pay attention to regarding your musical practice and performance habits is how you prepare.

This “preparation” can be put into two categories:

  1. What you do the months, weeks, hours and/or moments before you begin to play (as in preparing for a specific performance).
  2. What you do the very brief instant before actually producing a sound on your instrument (both in the practice room and in performance).

Though both of these can have a profound impact upon the quality of your musical experience, today I’m going to address the second of these categories: What you do the instant you prepare to play.

As far as the functioning of your brain is concerned, nearly all motor movement (and all skilled and/or learned motor movement in particular) can not happen without some kind of preparation.

The vast majority of this preparation takes place unconsciously (e.g., postural tone, pre-learned basic motor programs, spatial positioning adjustments, etc.), while a much lesser part of it is conscious (e.g., voicing, “setting” the embouchure, conscious hand placement adjustments, etc.)

Though to function well, it is indeed necessary that most of the things you do to “prepare” the instant before playing are done without any conscious effort, there can sometimes be some negative consequences attached to this lack of attention to the details of what you do:

I’m talking in particular about any habits of reaction you have (movement, posture/positioning, attentional quality/direction, breathing, etc.) that might be keeping you from accessing your optimal coordination.

I use the word “habit” here deliberately, meaning that habit is something that you acquire through repetition. It is something learned and constantly cultivated (for better and for worse). Habits manifest themselves unconsciously, and are never “neutral” (i.e., you are either strengthening or weakening them, depending upon experience).

Again, these unconscious habits are useful and highly desirable if they are truly helping you get what you want.

But what about when they’re not helpful?

One of my main jobs as a teacher of the Alexander Technique is helping my clients understand and discover the “unhelpful” (counterproductive) unconscious habits they might bring to their playing experience.

When my clients learn how to recognize and subtract these habits, their playing opens up in lovely ways. In essence, they find more ease, power, control and satisfaction.

One of the first things I look for when I see a client for the first time is the quality of their preparation. “What does ‘getting ready to play’ look like for them?”

In asking myself this question, I look for several things, various clues as to how they are “using themselves”, both in preparation and in performance: what they’re doing with their bodies, how they are using their eyes, the sound/quality of their breathing, and more.

But the main thing I’m looking at is simply how they are managing the relationship between their head and their spine.

In Alexander Technique jargon, this “head/spine” relationship is known as the “primary control”. F.M. Alexander (the founder of the Alexander Technique) called it that because he found that this relationship had a primary impact upon the functioning of the limbs, quality of balance, breathing, as well as other senses and attentional quality.

A lot of what I look for with a first-time client is what they are “doing” with their neck in preparation to play. (Here by “doing”, I mean the typically unconscious and unnecessary muscular effort they’re applying to the act of playing their instrument.)

In reality, the best thing they can “do” with their neck is… nothing.

Yes, nothing.

You see, it’s this interference with the dynamic relationship (think “balance”, “mobility”, “stability”) of the head to neck relationship that is both a manifestation of, and evidence of, other aspects of misdirected effort.

When this misdirected effort is subtracted (or lessened) the ability to access your natural and healthy coordination is restored. You access the optimal conditions within yourself to more effectively “cooperate” with your glorious human design.

So what do you do with your neck that instant before you prepare to play?

What is the quality of your neck? Is it supple, dynamic and tending toward lengthening?

Or is it perhaps held, rigid and tending toward shortening?

If you notice that you tend to prepare by stiffening, holding onto and/or shortening your neck, maybe you can notice some of the other things you do in relation to that.

In particular, notice your jaw (free or held?), your shoulders, your back, your arms/hands, your knees, your connection to the ground, your breathing…your eyes.

Notice whether any of these other components of your “use” are organized and impacted by what you’re doing with your neck.

See what it’s like when you give yourself a wish to simply leave your neck alone, so that your head can balance freely atop your naturally lengthening spine.

Remind yourself that you don’t need to do anything with your neck to prepare to play those first notes. The unconscious movement/postural mechanisms in your brain already know what to do.

When you’re able to leave your neck alone, see if you can notice how the rest of you changes for the better.

Use a gentle, curious and kind awareness of yourself and your habits, and enjoy discovering more ease and satisfaction in your playing.

Clarifying A Common Misconception About “Tension” In Playing Music

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On the first day of the semester in each of my classes at the performing arts college where I teach the Alexander Technique, I often ask this “trick” question:

“Is it possible to perform (music, acting, dance, etc.) free of tension?”

Typically, the majority of the class answers with a resounding “yes” (as they’ve come to believe that’s what they want, that’s why they’re taking my class).

But the answer to this question is simple: No.

It is impossible to move, maintain balance, breathe, or otherwise function on even the most basic level without some sort of muscular tension. This is not a matter of “opinion”. It’s a matter of fact. It’s part of our human design.

Even when you’re feeling completely “relaxed” there is a certain, necessary amount of postural tone in your body to help you counter gravity (even when you’re lying down.)

So why do so many of these students, themselves aspiring performing artists, answer “yes” to this question?

It’s simple. They think that “tension” is their enemy.

They think that all the problems they have with their movement, posture, breathing, voice, etc., would simply vanish if they could somehow eliminate “all the tension” in their bodies.

But it’s not as simple as that.

It’s not a matter of being “free of tension”, but rather, of recognizing and preventing what I call misdirected effort. It is this “misdirected effort” that is too often perceived and labeled generically as “tension”.

It is this misdirected effort that makes playing music (or engaging in any kind of performance activity) seem “difficult”, “tense”, “stiff”, “stuck”, “rigid”, “unnatural”, “labored”, “self conscious”, “unsure”, “unsatisfactory”, etc.

Okay, so what’s the problem trying to avoid any kind of “tension” when playing your instrument?

The most fundamental problem is that doing so can make you reluctant to sense and accept even the well-directed muscular effort that is necessary to play your instrument.

So as a musician, what might “misdirected effort” be for you?

I’d say it’s anything that you do habitually as you play your instrument that is not only unnecessary to the act of playing that instrument, but also interferes with your natural coordination and your skill.

It is working against the reality of your human design, rather than working in harmony with it.

Let’s look at this example of a fairly common habitual pattern of misdirected effort you might have if you were a pianist:

Whenever you move up or down the keyboard playing a rapid and/or powerful passage, you narrow and raise your shoulders while pulling your head down into your spine.

Now, you might still be able to play just fine doing that, but not because of what you do. That pattern of “effort” (raising/narrowing your shoulders, etc.) doesn’t help you to carry out your wish to play the passage.

In fact, all this misdirected effort in your head/neck/shoulders has a tendency to be an obstacle to the freedom necessary in your arms and hands to play the passage skillfully and expressively.

So in this case, you’re able to play the passage despite doing that (your habitual pattern of misdirected effort), not because of it.

But no matter which instrument you choose, the more you recognize and prevent patterns of misdirected effort, the easier it gets to play that instrument. (Not to mention safer, more consistent and more satisfying!)

So you can observe yourself with this simple question: “What am I doing that is not necessary to the act of playing my instrument in this moment?”

This question (simple as it is) is something that should never be answered definitively. and completely Rather, it is a way for you to explore and discover continual improvement and growth as a musician.

After all, something that seems “necessary” today might not seem so necessary after some days of exploration. Calling what you do into question as you practice is not that same as “doubting” yourself or your technique. It’s just a tool to open up possibilities.

Another good question to ask as you explore and call into question something that might seem like an habitual pattern of misdirected effort is: “What’s it like when I don’t do that?”

And as you ask that question, you might come up with other questions, like:

“Can I still get the sound that I want when I don’t do that?” (if not, why not?)

“How does not doing that affect my sense of time?”

“What changes favorably in my body as I don’t do that?” (or unfavorably?)

“Do I feel ‘undernergized’, perhaps ‘unable’ to play when I don’t do that?”

“Do I rely upon feeling this misdirected effort to ‘believe’ that I’m playing my instrument ‘correctly’?”

And so on…

Some of the more basic things to examine as you explore are:

Your head/neck/jaw relationship. (Is it rigid or free?)

Your shoulders/arms. (same as above)

Your knees (free to move, or “locked”?

Your breathing (noisy and “forced”, or dynamic but “easy and available”?)

Your eyes/gaze (fixed or mobile/dynamic?)

Your balance/connection to the ground (light and expansive, or heavy/compressive?)

(And again, as I mentioned above, anything you notice in your observations can be addressed with that first question: “What am I doing that’s not necessary…?”)

So in the end, “tension” is neither your enemy, nor your friend. It is simply something that takes place between your thoughts and your body. As F.M. Alexander (the founder of the Alexander Technique) stated:

“You translate everything, whether physical, mental or spiritual, into muscular tension.”

Tension is necessary for you to live, and for you to play music. Misdirected effort is not.

Five Checkpoints For Healthy And Efficient Practice

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As I write this post, I can easily say we are living in “historic times”. Because of the current health crisis, people from all over the world are staying inside (thankfully!) much more than usual.

And based upon the significant increase in inquiries about my remote services and my e-books, I can also safely assume that musicians worldwide are practicing their instruments considerably more than usual, as well.

And that’s a good thing, perhaps a small silver lining to this cloud.

So I thought I’d share some very basic principles based upon the Alexander Technique, as well as my experience coaching musicians of all kinds (as well as my own experiences practicing saxophone and improvisation).

These are things to pay attention to that can better enable you to optimize your practice efforts, as well as help you avoid injury or strain from increasing your daily practice time.

I’ve narrowed the topic down to what I consider to be five of the most essential things you can take into account (i.e., five “checkpoints”) in the practice room.

These checkpoints serve as a quick, simple and comprehensive way to take care of yourself as you practice. Here they are:

1. Your head/neck relationship

In Alexander Technique jargon, the dynamic relationship of your head to your spine is called the “primary control”. F.M. Alexander discovered that this relationship is key to governing your overall coordination (hence, the word “primary”).

So as you practice, take a bit of time to notice what’s going on between your head and neck. Is your head balancing freely as you start to play, or are you stiffening your neck, perhaps pulling your head downwards into your spine?

If you allow your head to release upward into free and easy balance on your spine, you might also notice that your shoulders and arms become freer.

If you allow for it, this freedom will tend to spread throughout your body all the way down to your feet, gently encouraging you to release in your back, and unlock your knees and your ankles.

Think of your entire self as expanding into length and width as you play. This expansion is not rigid “posture”, but rather, is dynamic elasticity.

2. Your connection to the ground

Your connection to the ground both supports your head/neck relationship, as well as is influenced (for better or worse) by it.

Allow the ground (or if you’re sitting, the chair) to accept your weight, but don’t collapse downward to do so. Think of your body has having a light, easy and upward suspension that interacts dynamically and efficiently with the ground to counter the downward pull of gravity.

3. Your breathing

Whether you use air to make sound on your instrument, or not, breathing is essential to you coordination, poise, consciousness and power.

For the most part your breathing will “do itself” just fine if you let it. In other words, your brain knows just what to do to breathe optimally if your habits don’t interfere.

In short, think of your entire torso (especially your ribs!) as being free to move in all three dimensions (side to side, front to back, top to bottom) in order to produce the movements necessary for inhalation and exhalation. Don’t aim for anything that feels labored or unnatural.

4. Your external environment

No matter where you practice, always use your senses/attention to include the room you’re in.

This is a matter of allowing your senses to open up and reach outward. So listen for your sound out into the room (as well as hearing or “feeling” it close to you or even “inside” of you).

And let your eyes be free to see the room as well. Not in any kind of distracting way, but rather, as a way for you to get better oriented into your practice space.

If you tend to always close your eyes when you practice a particular thing, experiment with what it’s like to not do that, to actually let your attention be flexible enough to go inwards (towards you) and outwards (where your sound ultimately comes to life) at the same time. Think of your attention as being “inclusive and flexible”.

5. Your use of time

When I talk of “use of time” here, I’m really talking about time as a broad, multi-faceted subject.

There is “time” as it relates to how you play rhythms, meter and inflections. What you do with your metronome, or backing track or drum groove, etc. Because all of your coordination ultimately depends upon your perception of time (“pulse”), I encourage you to make time the most essential musical element whenever you practice, no matter what you’re practicing (even when working on your sound).

And then there is how you use your time to pause and redirect your attention/efforts while practicing a particular thing. It is never a waste of time to stop, notice and redirect. This is an essential tool of the Alexander Technique, and something that takes a good deal of discipline to implement (but it is so well worth it!)

As you learn to pause and redirect, you open yourself up to the possibility of discovery, change and growth.

And finally there is how you use your time to take care of yourself during your practice session.

Make sure your taking lots of breaks (lasting even just a few seconds between iterations of whatever it is you’re practicing, to 5 to 15 minute breaks during your practice session). Doing this will not only keep you healthier (avoiding strain and injury), but will also keep your attentional capacity fresher and more effective.

So enjoy your extra practice time. Use these five checkpoints from time to time during your practice session. Be safe, and stay flexible, curious and productive.

The Importance of Understanding Your Human Design

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A good percentage of musicians who seek my help as an Alexander Technique teacher do so because of chronic pain when playing their instruments.

And with some, it might not be because of pain, per se, but because of a palpable sense of strain and misdirected effort as they play.

Though the source of (and solution to) their problems vary, virtually all these musicians have one thing in common that is exacerbating their condition. Specifically, misconceptions about their human design in relation to making music on their instruments.

The thing that still amazes me after all these years of teaching, is that many of these misconceptions (that are causing some serious problems!) could so easily be remedied by taking the time to study and understand some very basic functional musculoskeletal anatomy and physiology.

Serious musicians give great attention to so many details of their craft and art. Sometimes obsessing over finding the best equipment, they also practice and study diligently and passionately, and are always on the lookout for anything to help them do what they do better.

Yet, as I’ve mentioned, far too many of them neglect to take the time to gain an accurate and detailed understanding of the workings of their most essential, primary instrument: themselves.

And that’s too bad. Because it is such a small, easily doable thing, really. In fact, sometimes just clarifying an anatomical reality is all it takes to solve a particular, debilitating problem.

Even spending a few hours studying and better understanding your design can make a significantly positive impact on how you practice and perform.

And if you teach, having this knowledge is not only essential, it is part and parcel of your responsibly to your students. They will have a far greater chance at success when you’re teaching them through the lens of anatomical and physiological accuracy.

So yes, understanding your human design is important. Very important.

The good new is that nowadays there are so many great, easily affordable and accessible resources to help you get the information you need.

I recently came across what I think is perhaps the most essential book on understanding our human design as it relates to any kind of movement and activity (including playing music!)

It’s entitled The Body in Motion: Its Evolution and Design. Written by Alexander Technique teacher, Neurodyamics specialist and scholar, Theodore Dimon, Ed.D, it functions as both an in depth tutorial and reference for how we are designed to move.

The thing I like most about it is that each aspect of our anatomical structure is introduced and described relative to our evolutionary development, and in particular, our unique upright, bipedal design.

The book starts by laying the groundwork for the origins of animal movement, and how a system of muscles and bones came to be. Though this might sound like just an interesting (or not) story, it is much more than that.

By helping you understand how we evolved, based upon environmental need, the author is also helping you build a foundation in understanding how all our musculoskeletal structures work together as an interdependent whole. (This is very important, and can help you to avoid a good deal of dubious information floating about in this day and age of the internet.)

Dr. Dimon goes on to demonstrate and explain the most essential aspect of our ability to produce skilled movement: our upright support. It is this system of support and suspension that serves as the foundation for the complexity of all human movement.

From here, he elucidates upon the various structures essential to this movement: the spine, shoulder girdle, limbs, (including the hands), and then onto the mechanisms of breath and voice and more (including muscular spirals, etc.)

The text is clear and concise, and always introduces new ideas/concepts/chapters in relation to the previous ones, tying everything together under the central organizing principle of our unique, upright human design.

It is written with the layperson in mind, and if you’re new to musculoskeletal anatomy, you won’t be overwhelmed with a litany of scientific terminology. Just essential, practical information.

The book is also very nicely and abundantly illustrated by G. David Brown, so that whatever the author is presenting, is supported by visuals. Part of this visual support includes simplified drawings that demonstrate the mechanical principles of how bones and muscles work together. (This is immensely helpful!)

At only 107 pages, it’s a brief introduction into the most fundamental aspects of this wonderfully efficient design! You could probably read the entire book over a weekend. But the information you glean from it could positively impact you for the rest of your life. Highly recommended!