Tag Archives: Self-care for Musicians

Juilliard Music Students Talk About The Alexander Technique

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One of my greatest satisfactions in life is being able to use the Alexander Technique as a tool help musicians. If you’re a musician, the Technique is useful for everything from teaching you how to avoid injuries and play with less pain and strain, to improving your coordination and skill, to helping you hear and respond more effectively to the music around you, to giving you a way of finding and developing your authentic expressive voice as a performer. It has helped me to improve as a musician more than anything else that I’ve yet discovered in my life.

Here’s a very nice video made by Lori Schiff, who teaches the Alexander Technique at Juilliard and at  the Aspen Music Festival. She doesn’t try to describe the Technique so much as she just let’s the students (she also has a few working professional musicians speaking as well) tell about how they’ve been helped by the work. If you have experience with the Alexander Technique, you’ll likely appreciate (and relate to) what the various musicians are saying about the work.  If you haven’t experienced the Technique, I hope this at leasts piques your curiosity. Enjoy!

Three Things to Address to Practice in a Healthy Way

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Playing a musical instrument involves repeating specific movements over and over again within a given time period. When you play your instrument you are repeating some of these patterns literally thousands of times per hour. That’s a lot of muscular contraction. This can (but doesn’t have to!) lead to the unintended consequences of fatigue, muscle and joint pain, repetitive stress injuries (RSI), or worse. (Not to mention frustration, dissatisfaction, and even depression and anxiety.) There are three things that primarily impact your health and comfort in your music practice: use, environment and rest.

If you practice a great deal each day and/or find yourself challenged with chronic back, neck, shoulder, or other kind of musculoskeletal pain, ask yourself these three questions while you work:

Am I using myself well?

The primary aim of the Alexander Technique is to teach you how to use yourself well as you carry out your activities. Because much of your excess tension is carried out on a regular basis (falling below your level of consciousness) your first challenge is to become aware of your habits. (This is where lessons with a certified Alexander Technique teacher can yield huge benefits in a fairly short period of time.)

The most important thing to consider here is what not to do (i.e., what to prevent yourself from doing as you engage in an activity). Don’t stiffen your neck. Don’t hold your breath. Don’t clench your jaw. Don’t lock your knees. Don’t pull your shoulders up into your neck. (In short, don’t stiffen and tense yourself up!) These are a few of the most essential things to prevent in order to use yourself in an efficient and safe manner.

You can also check to see that your head is poised in a relaxed manner above your pelvis (not stiffening your neck and shoulders) as you sit or stand, and that you are able to move freely from your hips, knees and ankles if you need to bend forward (whether to get closer to your instrument or the music in front of you). Make sure you are on your sitting bones when sitting, and that you are neither collapsing, nor trying too hard to hold yourself up. Simply let yourself find an easy balance between the two extremes.

Most important, don’t forget that it is your thinking that primarily conditions your muscular effort. This is in part determined by your attitude. If you imagine your work as easy, as opposed to strenuous (whether it is or not), you will save yourself considerable energy. Make things light and playful when you can.

Is my environment supporting my good use?

 Alter your work environment (instrument, accessories and other equipment, furniture, lighting, music stand, etc.) to support your good use. If you’re sitting, make sure your chair is the correct height for you. Often I see musicians sitting in chairs that are too small for them. This invites collapse in your spine and strain in your hips, back and shoulders. Your knees should never be at a higher level than your hip joints when you sit. (Ideally, they should be slightly lower.)

For many musicians, a good stool is a better alternative to a chair. Even a simple bar stool with a (not too softly) padded seat can be a significant improvement. Research and explore the possibilities to find what works best for you.

If you stand a lot, make sure you’re wearing comfortable, low-heeled shoes. Your footwear should be compatible with the surfaces you walk and stand on. Some musicians (myself included) prefer practicing without shoes. Letting your feet really feel the floor can help you stay in good balance and encourage upward release and mobility.

Make sure that your instrument and all accessories are the right size for you and are adjusted appropriately. I’m always amazed at all the saxophonists I see who use a too-narrow neck strap with their instrument slung too low, creating a huge amount of neck strain. It’s worth the time and effort to make a study of your equipment.

Arrange your work environment to most efficiently meet your needs. This takes some thought. Your first consideration should be lessening your physical effort. It’s also a good idea to arrange things so that you are not bending and/or twisting so much. Sometimes just giving yourself a little time to plan before you begin your work can save you discomfort or injury. This might mean gathering all your music practice materials and equipment before you begin your practice session. (As opposed to struggling and straining to find that method book or metronome while holding on to your instrument.)

Always make sure you have adequate and appropriate lighting. This is one of the most overlooked aspects of the work environment. If you are struggling to see your work, you will be tempted to use yourself poorly: squinting your eyes, holding your breath, craning your neck forward, etc.

The same can be said about the height of your music stand. Find your good balance and comfort first, then adjust all equipment to your good balance.

Unfortunately, you can’t always control the quality of your work environment. This is why you need to pay attention to what you can control: Your use.

Am I resting adequately?

You’re not made of steel. Even if you are using yourself well and have a supportive environment, you need to take breaks from your work. It is fundamentally important that you rest before you get tired. (Don’t wait for exhaustion or discomfort to tell you when you need to rest.) Here are a few other basic ergonomic guidelines concerning rest:

  • Alternate sitting and standing (when possible) while you work.
  • Avoid prolonged periods in the same position.
 (Allow yourself to move. Don’t be “planted” down in any one position.)
  • Try not to sit for more than 30 to 40 minutes at a time without getting up to move around. Conversely, don’t stand for too long a period without rest.
  • Consider breaking your practice routing into several small sessions. I find myself practicing for no more than about 10 to 20 minutes at a stretch without taking at least a brief break. I’m way more productive by approaching my work this way.
  • Consider breaking your practice routine into two or more practice sessions per day. This is particularly helpful if you practice for three or more hours per day. A morning and evening session (as opposed to one marathon session) can lead to better health and greater productivity.

Lying in the semi-supine position (constructive rest) is a great way to give yourself a fully restorative break during your practice period. This involves lying on your back (on a carpeted floor or other firm surface) with your knees bent, feet on the floor and elbows bent with your palms resting where your ribcage meets the sides of your tummy. Put a book or two under your head to keep your head in good integration with your neck, back and pelvis. Fifteen minutes or so of resting this way in the middle of your practice session will greatly improve your comfort, endurance and overall health and safety. Here’s more about constructive rest.

So you can begin today to make a difference in how you practice. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much easier things can be if you keep these three things in mind.

I Love To Practice!

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Welcome to my blog. This is my first entry. I got the idea for this after recently having a bit of a renaissance with my musical practice. I’m a professional saxophonist (and to a somewhat lesser degree, a flutist) who is deeply in love with improvising. I’ve always been well-disciplined where practice is concerned, but about a year ago I sort of rediscovered that spark that makes me truly excited to practice every day.

Unlike many musicians, I don’t practice for the sole purpose of being prepared to perform. Don’t get me wrong. I love to perform and take my readiness for this very seriously. But for me the act of practicing is itself a reward. One of the consistently most joyful and satisfying parts of my day is my practice time. It’s meditative, invigorating, challenging and always edifying. Practicing is also an ongoing tutorial about learning how to learn. It’s a beautiful thing.

I typically spend two to three hours a day practicing (more on days that I don’t work). Because of this, I must be mindful about taking care of myself. I personally know many musicians who struggle with chronic pain and other health issues because of their practice habits. I used to be one of those musicians, too. But not any more. Some years back I discovered something that has helped (and continues to help) me more than anything else as a musician, not only to avoid injury, but also to support continuous growth, technical improvement and artistic development.

What I discovered was a simple, effective method of self-care called the Alexander Technique. I was so impressed by how I was able to help myself with this work that I decided to train to become a certified teacher. I’ve been teaching the Technique now for a few years, and have had great satisfaction working with musicians, actors and dancers, helping them to improve the quality of their practice and performance.

So I’ve decided to share my discoveries both as an Alexander Technique teacher and as a serious improvising musician (they’re more related than you might imagine!) There are two areas of interest to me where this is concerned:

  1. To provide simple, practical information and advice to help musicians stay healthy, pain-free and well-coordinated by applying the principles of the Alexander Technique.I’ll be writing about some of the most common concerns where musicians are concerned, such as chronic back and neck pain, repetitive strain injuries, balance and coordination issues (including focal dystonia), breathing and managing performance anxiety. I’ll also be writing from time to time about other health topics, such as nutrition, exercise (I’m also a personal trainer certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine), rest, self-care strategies  and the use of ergonomic products.
  2. To share my explorations in my quest to continuously develop my skills as an improvising musician. I love jazz, Balkan gypsy music, just about all folk music, conceptual improvised music (free, avant garde, new music…), and just about anything else that involves the supremely human act of spontaneous composition. My primary discipline is modern jazz, and  my main passion is finding my own voice as an improviser. I also love helping other musicians find theirs. I’m always finding new ways to practice and study that help me on this journey. I’ll be sharing ideas, exercises from some of the books I’ve written (or am currently writing) about improvisational pedagogy, and other resources and ideas that I discover from others. I’ll also be posting videos of great musical performers (pointing out what helps these artists play so well) as well as my own video tutorials.
So please feel free to ask, suggest, or criticize to help me make this a better blog. I always welcome comments, and sincerely thank you for reading. Here’s to your health and continued improvement!