Page 89 - How to Shine on Stage

The aim of the Alexander Technique is to attain the correct posture
of the head, neck, and spine, which improves balance, coordination, and
strength. This method teaches one to consciously control one’s move-
ment and posture, which can also be used to eliminate muscle tension
(Kenny, 2011). In addition to improving musical performance, the Al-
exander Technique also contributes to managing performance anxiety,
eases breathing, reduces back pain, and increases freedom of movement
(Harer & Munden, 2008). Thought to be fundamental to optimal senso-
ry-motor control (or use) for any endeavour is the primary control of the 87
head-neck-spine axis in its relationship to the rest of the body and gravity
(Alexander, 1985). This relationship is achieved through inhibition, the
ability to recognize harmful neuromuscular patterning associated with
particular tasks, and the conscious quieting of these responses, begin-
ning with the neck muscles (Alexander, 1985). The practice of inhibition
is thought to increase the reliability of both kinaesthetic and propriocep-
tive input. Alexander’s directions are then employed in order to achieve
a redistribution of muscle tone and maintenance of the expansion of the
skeletal frame. This resultant “good tension” or postural tone is thought
to effectively support compressive forces both from gravity and various Direct Factors of Musical Performance Success
activities (Cacciatore et al., 2014). Faulty internal body schema (“body
maps”) are also retrained, as well as any erroneous concepts of posture
and movement, resulting in a more accurate felt sense of optimal func-
tioning in gravity (Conable, 1998). For musicians, balanced alignment
or posture becomes a sensitive interaction of the whole body with gravity
and the instrument, and a dynamic responsiveness to varying needs for
muscle tone, flexibility, and strength. Since the training of the Alexander
Technique aims to improve the musician’s use of the whole self (Alexan-
der, 1985) through the inhibition of stressful reactions and the develop-
ment of constructive thought and movement patterns (Alexander, 1987),
such strategies potentially change the way the practice and playing of
music are approached, which may in turn affect the quality of perfor-
mance outcomes, such as tone, technique, poise, and musicality (Klein-
man & Buckoke, 2013; Rosenthal, 1987).
The Alexander Technique is widely used in tertiary music educa-
tion and has also been taught for many years at the Academy of Music
in Ljubljana. Use of this technique produces a performance that is more
fluid, livelier, and less tense and rigid. It has also been used by musicians
such as Yehudi Menuhin, Sting, and Paul McCartney.
The Feldenkrais method is a somatic technique, just like the Alexan-
der Technique. It aims to increase the awareness of movement in space
in everyday tasks, or to increase the attention towards movement. Move-