How the Alexander Technique can help Musicians

Some fingers (no doubt because of too much writing and playing in
earlier years) have become quite weak, so that I can hardly use them.”
– from the 1839 biographical notes of Robert Schumann, pianist and composer

The International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians surveyed
orchestral musicians and found from the 2,212 respondents that 76 percent
had a significant medical problem that affected their ability to play.

The Alexander Technique has a long history of helping instrumentalists and singers to perform with less stress and likelihood of injury. Musicians do some of the most complex and demanding physical movements of any profession. In recent years, the term Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) has come into popular use, but musicians have always had to face the challenge of performing the same complex muscular actions over and over again.

By helping musicians improve the quality of the physical movements involved in playing an instrument or singing, the Alexander Technique also helps improve the quality of the music itself. A violinist’s stiff shoulders and arms will get in the way of a pleasing sound; a singer’s tight neck or jaw will cause the voice to become less resonant. By helping musicians release undue tension in their bodies, the Alexander Technique makes possible a performance which is more fluid and lively, less tense and rigid.

Over the years, a number of prominent musicians have publicly endorsed the Alexander Technique: Yehudi Menuhin, Paul McCartney, Sting, Julian Bream, James Galwayand the conductor Sir Adrian Boult, to name but a few.

The Technique is taught at the Juilliard School of Performing Arts in New York, The Royal College of Music in London, The Boston Conservatory of Music, The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and at many other schools of music, universities and colleges.

More Information about how the Alexander Technique can help musicians can be found below:

(Information about ways in which the Alexander Technique can help actors, dancers and other performers can be found here.)

Alexander Technique Audio Interviews

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Alexander Technique Videos

Excellent video filmed primarily at the Juilliard School with Alexander Technique Teacher Lori Schiff:

San Diego Alexander Technique teacher Eileen Troberman working with musicians:

A pianist talks about his Alexander Technique experiences:

A violinist having a short Alexander Technique lesson – French, with English subtitles:

Additional videos about the usefulness of the Alexander Technique for musicians can be found at Alexander Video.

The Healthy Young Musician Project: Alexander Technique Research at the Royal Academy of Music.

Multiple videos from the 2001 Alexander Technique Music Conference

Opera and the Alexander Technique – Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Alexander Technique for Drummers – Part 1  Part 2   Part 3   Part 4

Alexander Studies Online collection of videos – Primarily about the usefulness of the Alexander Technique for musicians.

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Alexander Technique Books

indirectprocedures
Order Indirect Procedures from:

Voice and the Alexander Technqiue by Jane HeirichOrder Voice and the Alexander Technique from:

More Alexander Technique Books at the Alexander Technique Bookstore (USA, Canada and the UK). 

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Alexander Technique Articles:

Information for:

 

All Musicians:

For Singers and Singing Teachers:

For Violinists:

For Pianists:

For Guitarists:

For Oboists:

For Flutists:

For Cellists:

For Trumpet Players:

For Horn Players:

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