Teaching Flute Lessons with Alexander Principles - Part 3
This is part of the final paper I wrote as part of my AT teacher certification.
V. Finding Freedom & Direction in Your Students
It is very useful to have mirrors in your studio. Doing so will allow you to observe your student from all angles. Rather than asking about pain or tiredness, ask the student what she noticed or felt while playing. Remain as objective as possible to allow the student to be nonjudgmental, too. Have the student put her instrument down and begin anew. Look for ways to hold the flute using the natural hand patterns of the student.
Be sure that the student isn’t using unnecessary tension. Here are some examples of common tension patterns in flutists:
-jamming the flute against chin
-not using all of the joints in the fingers
-bending the right hand thumb in and laying it lengthwise against the flute
-shortening the spine (or lifting the sternum and arching the lower back)
-locking the knees
-hanging on the instrument
-holding the left arm (or the right arm) against the ribcage
-hanging on a hip joint (weight set on one leg, with the weight-bearing hip
jutting out)
-gripping in the feet and ankles so that the feet aren’t grounded
If you observe one of these habits in a student, notice how these tension patterns affect the body as a whole. For instance, locking the knees will also cause the ankles and hips to tighten and the spine to shorten. It is not necessary to correct these issues. You need not discuss it in depth with the student. As long as you are aware and can lead the student through the process of inhibition: pause and do something else instead of playing.
For example, you notice when you ask your student to sight-read that he hunches over the stand to look at the music more closely. As you become aware of your student’s habit, your own head/neck/back relationship has become compressed. You could allow the situation to continue and risk straining yourselves, or you could take a five minute break and think of the Alexander directions. Upon returning to the sight-reading task, you notice that you are both breathing freely and your bodies are whole, enlivened systems.
Field Example:
-During a lesson with a student (age seven), I spent much of the time bringing the flute headjoint towards her and then taking it away. I did this to make her conscious of her habit to bring her head and neck toward the flute. While she was not doing anything wrong, it was unnecessary and took extra energy. I have this habit, too, so I brought humor into the situation. I said that neither of us want to look like ET when we play and that we should remind each other when we see this pattern. We would use the code word “oooouch” (said in my best ET voice).
It later became clear that the student could not comfortably hold the assembled flute. It may be a year or two before she will grow into it, so I lent her my fife. Now she can hold her instrument easily, she doesn’t have to put it together, and it can take a beating and still function. It is important to know when the Alexander work is not enough. It is possible to simply have an unworkable situation. However, it is through the Technique that you can become aware of the difference between a difficult situation and an unworkable one. With the Alexander Technique, you can have options for managing an array of situations.
Returning to an Instrument After an Injury
When I began to play the flute after an injury, I couldn’t return to my old way of playing. I needed to begin again and put my body first. Here’s what I did.
Sorry for the delay, everyone. I've been on vacation and it was wonderful. Let me know if you have had any questions since my last post.
While I was working on my Master’s degree in Flute Performance, I had to file for disability. The Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMD) I had developed made it impossible for me to maintain my rigorous playing schedule. The university allowed me to cut my recital time down to 30 minutes instead of a full hour. After my recital, I put my flute in its case and didn’t take it out for three years.
During that time, I took Alexander Technique lessons and gradually began to feel some relief from TMD. Once I started training to be an Alexander teacher, my body reorganized itself and I could consider playing the flute.
But I couldn’t “go back” to playing the flute. I had to find a new way to play that would not cause pain. When I started, I could only pull out the case, open it, close it, and put it away. Excess tension crept in as I anticipated playing, so I needed to retrain my brain and body to release tension with each action. I did this a few times until I could do so with freedom. Then I added assembling my instrument, and finally playing.
I learned a bit from Alexander Murray (a flutist and Alexander teacher from Chicago) but also from the wonderful teachers at the American Center for the Alexander Technique (ACAT). Eventually, I could play slow passages, but struggled to play fast technical in music. I found that two other ACAT trainees who were musicians experienced the same difficulty. What we found was that our fingers needed to be retrained.
When you apply your Alexander thinking, you move slowly because it’s a new experience. Increasing your tempo without clenching muscles won’t happen on its own. Each finger needs to be retrained by using short, quick movements. One note at a time, one finger at a time.
One note at a time, one finger at a time.
I know you’re thinking this sounds too pedantic to be something you’d want to try. Maybe it isn’t something you need, but for the musician who is returning to an instrument after an injury it might be necessary in order to prevent re-injury. No matter what state your body is in, training yourself to use the right amount of tension will benefit your body, your musicianship, and your career.
If you get stuck, contact me!