Body Use and the Alexander Tech.

Webbsta78 · Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2002 8:23 pm Post subject:

Has anyone studied and applied the Alexander tech., such as 'standing correctly' and body alignment to their trumpet playing. I know that Monette advocates this along with the Hatha yoga, but I was interested in people's experience with this.

Thanks

Jason

Dustin Lee Wilson · Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2002 2:52 am Post subject:

yes..i have had minor experience..and a noticible change in sound quality almost instantly...basically I was told to stand with feet shoulder width apart...neither leg forward or backward..{that was my bad habit) feet pointing forward..but thats not neccesarly shoes..in my case the shoes i had on actually faced slightly in when my fet were pointing forward.....relax the knees...do not lock them....let your butt stick out slightly ..relaxed shoulders arms......as you can tell..the idea is to get the most mucles possible to be relaxed...especially the lowerback and shoulders...

dustin

trickg · Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2002 6:38 am Post subject:

I haven't looking into the Alexander technique specifically, but I decided to check into some of the things that Dave Monette talked about on his website about body position and relaxation and it really seems to make a big difference for me. And Dustin was right, the change was almost instantaneous. It has also caused me to play down into the pitch and I've had to make tuning slide adjustments because of it. I've been playing around with this using a tuner that I recently purchased and it quickly brought to light some real issues with my playing.
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Quadruple C · Heavyweight Member Joined: 28 Nov 2001 Posts: 1448

[ This Message was edited by: Quadruple C on 2003-12-18 13:53 ]

Mike Wheeler · Regular Member Joined: 15 Nov 2001 Posts: 12

Here follows a yogic breathing technique which I find very beneficial for producing a large airflow and enlivening practice sessions. Try it out - the benefits are many!

Standing or sitting:

Keep spine and head upright.
Place finger tips on shoulders.
Breathe in through the nose as you bring the elbows towards each other.
Raise elbows and draw big outward circles with the elbows.
As the elbows descend exhale through the nose. As they come together, inhale and keep the breath and movement going.

Keep this going in a circular motion, working SLOWLY and to the rhythm of your breath.
Soon your body will "tell" you how many times to do this: some days 5, others 7 or 9....
Learn to "listen" to your body and work with it. Each day the body will have different needs and respond a little differently, some days it will become very open and others it will be tighter. Yogic practices teach us to work with the body and never against it.

After a pause (don't get too lightheaded!) repeat in an anticlockwise direction, breathing in as the elbows come out and up, exhaling as
they come together and down, repeating cyclically and doing the SAME NUMBER of rotations as you did in a clockwise direction.

Get that airflow happening and enjoy!
Cheers for now, Mike

PH · Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2002 5:48 am Post subject:

This thread is very much related to the development of the "Shulman System". See the Shulman thread under "Other Toys".

sean007r · Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2002 11:18 am Post subject:

Maynard recommends the same thing!
He demonstrated his breath/standing technique at a clinic I attended last year.
He sounded like he sucked all the air out of the room in one breath.
Stance is all important and usually the first thing he'll correct on most is to get their feet shoulder width apart and their weight on BOTH feet!!!

He also mentioned that his(Maynard) socks are soaked after a concert!
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Sean
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