Tag Archives: Repetitive Strain Injuries for Musicians

Master The Art Of Stopping To Improve How You Practice

7 Replies

 

Recently a talented young violinist came to me for Alexander Technique lessons because he couldn’t play for more than about 10 minutes at a stretch without feeling significant amounts of pain and tension, particularly in his left shoulder area.

After listening to him talk about how he approaches practice, then observing his overall habits of movement and balance, I finally asked him to play so that I could take a look at what he was doing.

What I saw was no surprise to me based on what I’d already observed: A huge amount of preconceived tension that was not at all necessary to the act of playing the violin. In essence, his playing mirrored his general attitude and use of himself, being somewhat rigid and effortful, aiming for a narrow conception of perfection. He almost wouldn’t let himself move at all as he played, pulling downward as he “planted” himself.

His thinking (and therefore his energy) was being misdirected. Add to all this his rather inaccurate body map, specifically, misunderstanding how his arms worked in relation to the rest of his body.

He was a terrific student, bright, disciplined and motivated, and it wasn’t long before I was able to help him to play his instrument and otherwise move more easily. Each week he would report being able to play for longer and longer periods with no pain or exhaustion.

But the cornerstone of his improvement wasn’t improving his body map, or re-learning his balance and coordination, or even changing his erroneous preconceived ideas about playing the violin (just to be clear, he needed all these things if he were to improve, and all are VERY important). The most essential skill he learned was how to stop during his practice sessions.

I spent about 10 or 15 minutes during each one of his lessons just watching him practice. I wanted to see exactly how he practiced. What I noticed was that he rarely if ever stopped during an exercise, no matter what. I would see him flinch as he made mistakes, or as his intonation went awry, but that’s about it.

So we worked on getting him to stop more and play less during his practice sessions. We followed this rule: You stop the moment you notice yourself creating any unnecessary tension (going into your habit) or you stop because you don’t like something about your performance (intonation, wrong note, rhythm, articulation, etc.).

It took some persistence (from both him and me), but he went from stopping maybe once in a 10 minute period to stopping 20 0r 30 times. Each time he stopped, he gave himself a chance to notice what he was doing, prevent himself from doing the wrong thing (habitual, misdirected tension) and redirect his thinking in a more accurate and constructive way.

In essence, he learned the art of stopping. And he learned that every time he stopped and gave himself a chance to notice, prevent and redirect, that two things happened simultaneously: He weakened his habits of tension as he strengthened his new habits of ease and balance.

Each week I literally see improvements, not only in how he uses himself as he plays, but also, his musicianship: His intonation, flexibility with time, interpretation, dynamic range and more, all improving regularly. He can now play for very long periods without pain or exhaustion.

So learn the art of stopping. It is probably one skill that musicians neglect the most. Without stopping in a strategic way, you run the risk of doing the same thing the same way over and over again without any real chance of improvement.

Here are some guidelines to follow to help you cultivate your stopping skills:

  • Devote some time everyday to paying attention to yourself and stopping when something isn’t quite right. You can either notice things kinesthetically (“I’m starting to tighten my neck and raise my shoulder as I play.”),  or aurally (“I’m beginning to rush.” or, “I’m playing this note sharp.”) Once you notice something that’s not quite right, simply stop playing and observe yourself. Then redirect your thinking toward ease, balance and expansion.
  • Notice how you react when you make mistakes. What do you do when you know you’ve made a mistake? Do you tense up? Where do your eyes go? What happens to your breathing? Does how you react help or hurt your performance? Learning how to make mistakes “without flinching” is an essential skill (especially for the professional musician!) If you can learn to make mistakes “graciously” during practice, you’ll take that skill right into performance.
  • Give yourself a chance to think. Once you’ve stopped, wait. I mean really wait. Make stopping, noticing, preventing and redirecting be your primary objective. As the great classical trumpeter, Rafael Mendez said about practice, “I used to practice 8 hours a day. Nowadays I only practice 3 hours every day, but I really listen to myself.”
  • Shift your thinking from the mechanical to the conscious. If you learn to stop more as you practice observing, preventing and redirecting,  you can continue to strengthen the neuromuscular connections that lead to consistent performance. Forget “muscle memory”. Think about improving the connections between your brain and the rest of your body.
As I continue to progress as a musician, I find myself playing less and thinking more during  practice sessions. This has served me very well, and I think it can help you, too.

 

 

 

The Best Saxophone Lesson I’ve Ever Taken

Leave a reply

This probably sounds crazy, but the best saxophone lesson I’ve ever taken was from somebody who didn’t even play the instrument. It was given to me by Frances Marsden, my first Alexander Technique teacher. How is it possible (you might ask) that somebody who knows nothing about playing the saxophone could help me become a better saxophone player?

Ironically enough, it is precisely because Frances knew nothing about playing the saxophone that she was able to help me so much. She did something very simple, but immediately practical: She observed what I was doing as I played, then asked questions about it.

She would ask, for example, “Is it necessary for you to tense and raise your left shoulder as you play?” I would stop for a moment and think, then reply, “No, it’s not at all necessary. It doesn’t help my sound or my fingering technique.” She would continue, “Let’s see what would happen if you don’t do that.” And of course, I found that if I didn’t do that, I would play better.

We went on and on like this. She, rather innocently asking questions and I, stopping to observe and reconsider my technique. You see, Frances didn’t know what was necessary to produce sound or create technique with the saxophone. She was just observing the tension I was creating as I played, and asking me if it was necessary. Sometimes it was, but more often than not it wasn’t.

She became fascinated by the whole process as well. With a childlike curiosity, she would observe and ask based upon a genuine desire to understand what was involved in playing the saxophone. She acted as a sort of a mirror for me: I was able to change many of the habits of unnecessary tension I was bringing into my saxophone playing. 

By the time I’d take this remarkable “saxophone” lesson, I’d already taken about 10 Alexander lessons from Frances. I came to her because of some serious coordination issues I was having at that time that forced me to take time off from professional performance. In the first lessons we didn’t even look at how I was playing the saxophone. Instead we dealt with my general coordination: How I sat, stood, used my arms, maintained balance, breathed, walked, etc.

It was in these first lessons that I gained a much clearer understanding and kinesthetic sense of how my habits of tension were manifesting themselves. This was a good strategy, because had we started right in on the saxophone, I would have been so emotionally tied up into my own playing (and my beliefs about playing!) that I wouldn’t have been able to be truly open to seeing what my habits were.

But after significantly refining my skills of self-observation through my lessons (and making noticeable improvements in my overall coordination and balance), Frances thought it was time we addressed the saxophone directly.

Now, mind you, my saxophone playing was already beginning to improve quite measurably just from improving my overall coordination. I was finding a great deal more ease, consistency, and most important: optimism.

This is no small point. You see, many “saxophone specific” problems are really just problems of balance and coordination. Improve your balance and coordination, and indirectly, you improve your saxophone playing.

Here’s what I learned in that Alexander/saxophone lesson about my saxophone playing habits:

  • I tighten my neck as I jut my face forward (especially when playing altissimo)
  • I tighten across my chest as I lift my left shoulder up towards my ears
  • I pull my right shoulder downward toward the left side of my pelvis, and pull the left side of my pelvis upward toward my right shoulder
  • I hyperextend my right leg, throwing my knee backwards into a “lock”.
  • I throw my head back as I open my mouth, gasping noisily as I inhale
  • I over-extend my left wrist (bending it backwards), especially as I play up in the palm keys.

If you saw me, I probably looked like many saxophone players do. Most of the above habits are so subtle, that many saxophonists and saxophone teachers would never notice them. (Frances couldn’t immediately see some of them , but she could easily feel them with her hands!) Many saxophonists get desensitized to noticing the habitual patterns of unnecessary tension that many (even great) saxophonists have.

For this reason, it’s helpful to have a fresh set of eyes. Somebody who might not know the saxophone, but knows very well the workings of the human organism.

After having that remarkable lesson, I was able to develop a wonderfully useful strategy for improvement: Simply stop carrying out some of these habits. To be honest, that takes a considerable conviction, persistence and strategy, not to mention the investment of time. (But the rewards are so consistent, that it is easily worth it.)

To make a very long story short, I’ve since been able to rid myself of theses problems and am not only playing professionally again, but I’m also playing better than ever before. It all begins with changing your beliefs about what it takes to play, and then cultivating an ability to observe and to ask  the right questions. That’s where the help of a good teacher comes into play.

A Simple Tip To Help You Improve Your Habits As You Practice

1 Reply

I’ve recently had the pleasure of teaching the Alexander Technique to a marvelous young professional bassoonist here in the Los Angeles area. In general, musicians pick up on the  principles of the Technique fairly quickly, as most have a well-developed capacity to pay attention (not to mention tenacity).

But this young woman (I’ll call her Christi) was a standout. She was attending a six-week course on the Alexander Technique that I teach regularly in the community through the YMCA. Each week she came to class I was easily able to discern significant improvements in how she was using herself as she played her instrument. I would say, “It appears you’ve been thinking about this.” She’d reply, “Yes, quite regularly.”

In our last class session, after commenting in front of the class how significantly she had been able to change her habits in such a relatively short period of time, Christi shared a real gem of a tip with the  the rest of the class.: Use sticky notes.

When she practices, she posts one or two simple reminders at the base of  her music stand:

“Don’t pull your face forward.”

“Don’t arch your back.”

“Don’t take a noisy breath.”

“Don’t pull your  left arm in toward your ribs.”

And so forth…Notice that all her reminders are to stop doing something. To stop the habitual response patterns of tension that interfere with her ability to play at her best.

She told me she got the idea from one of her bassoon mentors. There are two rules: First, she has to stop and consider whatever she has posted on her music stand before she begins or resumes playing. Every time. Second, she must limit herself to no more than two sticky note posts at any one time. (I might even suggest just one sticky note reminder.)

This gives her a chance to work against her habit each time she practices. Rather than addressing every habit she’d like to change all at the same time (which is not only overwhelming, but ineffective as well), she just goes after one or two things at a time and keeps at it until it comes under control.  Easily manageable,  lasting changes. Simple. Effective. Brilliant.

Not only is this a technique you can specifically use as you practice, but also, you can think of this as metaphor for effectively changing your habits: Keep it simple (one or two things at a time). Be persistent (every time you stop yourself from doing your habit, you weaken it). If you follow this model you’ll find a  practical way to address any habit that is not serving you well.

Habits And Making Music

Leave a reply

In playing any musical instrument there are certain undeniable principles that need to be recognized.  When you use your instrument to make sound, what you are creating is a phenomenon in nature called vibration.

To create vibration you must set something into motion. If it is a brass instrument, you have to vibrate your lips. If it’s a reed instrument you have to set the reed in motion against the mouthpiece. If it is a string instrument, you have to set a string into vibration either by plucking it or by bringing tension to it via the hairs on a bow…and so forth and so on.

In other words, when you make a sound, you are directing your energy to interface with an instrument to create vibration. If you keep this in mind, you will be able to understand more clearly your role in making music, and how your habits either help or hinder this process.

You can think of your habits as the total manner of how you react  to the thought  of making music. That’s right, the thought. Because as soon as you think about playing, your body is already setting up the habits you’ve developed from practicing and performing music.

Your breathing changes. The muscular tension in your body changes. You use your eyes in a certain way, etc. In short, your thinking sets up your habitual patterns, for better or worse.

Now, you certainly need your habits. You couldn’t function in life if you had to re-learn every experience over and over. But as a musician, is it possible that some of the habits you’ve acquired are causing more difficulty than benefit?

If you keep in mind how you interface with your instrument to create vibration, and become aware of many of the things you do habitually to create this vibration, you might want to ask yourself the following question: “Am I playing well because of what I do, or despite what I do?”

Because of, or despite…that is the question. If you take note of what you do to make sound, you can use this question as a lens through which you can evaluate your playing habits.

If you notice yourself tightening your legs, or raising your shoulders, or noisily gasping in air before you play a phrase (even if you aren’t a wind instrumentalist or singer!), or a host of other patterns of contraction, ask yourself this question: “How is this helping me to create vibration in my instrument?”

If you can’t answer this question, then there is a good chance that not only is your habit not helping you; it’s probably holding you back.

It has been said that the greatest hindrance to our own improvement is our success thus far. Nowhere is this truer than for musicians. As musicians, we’re often ready and willing to suffer a certain amount of pain and discomfort to get the results we want, never for a moment questioning whether or not this discomfort is actually making it more difficult to obtain the desired results.

Because I’m primarily and improvising musician, I tend to more readily notice the postural and movement habits of some of the great jazz musicians. Somebody like Art Blakey, who was always easily upright and free when he played, makes me think, “It’s no surprise that his sound and time are so good…he’s playing in such an easily efficient manner.”

On the other hand, when I watch somebody like Sonny Rollins play, with his head thrown way forward and his legs thrown way back and his raised shoulders I say to myself, “He’s playing really well despite what he’s doing.”

And that’s the truth. Some musicians play very well despite their harmful habits. But it begs this question: could they be playing even better if they didn’t have these habits? With the greats, no one can ever do more than speculate about this. And for many musicians who are at least moderately successful, “Why fix something if it ain’t broke”? “If I’m doing well already, why should I change?”

Well, you should want to change because you wish to grow. You know that even though you’re playing well, you can always play better. If you’re interested in trying different instruments and different equipment in your quest for improvement, why not consider your primary instrument: You. That’s right you are the primary instrument, no matter what instrument you play. It is what you do that makes the music happen.

If you observe many of the classical virtuosi, you’ll often find a set of habits that really do support their outstanding performance.  Somebody like the great pianist Artur Rubenstein, who always appeared to play with such ease, really did play with ease. To many of the great musicians in the world, playing music is easy. And so it should be.

If you experience strain and discomfort when you play, there is a good chance that you are creating unnecessary tension in making the music happen. If you experience inconsistency in your practice and performance, there is a good chance that it is because of your unconscious habits that are interfering with easy music making. If you practice and practice with no noticeable improvement, it is probably because of your habits. The list goes on. Making music can be easy and enjoyable.

The Alexander Technique is the best way I know of dealing with this issue. With the Technique you can learn how to become aware of and prevent the harmful habits that you bring to making music.

The Technique becomes a standard through which you can judge the accuracy of your answers to the question, “Am I able to make music because of this, or despite this?” Then you have a choice as you become aware of your habits. You can decide for yourself whether or not they’re helping you.

In my own case, I’m not exaggerating when I say that the Alexander Technique saved my musical career. With the Alexander Technique not only am I pain free and technically more facile and precise, but also, my musical expression is deeper and more personal than ever before.

Years after studying and now teaching the Technique, I believe it to be the most important thing a musician can do to insure growth, improvement, health and satisfaction. I invite you to consider it.

Warming Up To Play Music

Leave a reply

What does it mean to warm up before a performance or practice session? What does it entail? What is your primary objective when you warm up? How crucial is your warmup to the success of your performance or practice session? What happens when you don’t warm up sufficiently? Continue reading →