The Alexander Technique and Musical Performance

1. The Alexander Technique and Musical Performance For musicians out there, you may well consider the use of the Alexander technique if you wish to improve your musical performance. Okay, first of all, what is the Alexander technique? It is a "technique" that was developed by a 19th century actor named Frederick Alexander. To be accurate, the Alexander technique is a system wherein movement is controlled so that the whole person becomes balance in his or her movements. For instance, the head must always be in a "balance" with the spine. Otherwise, negative alignments and imbalances will result. Sometimes, our misaligned movements can interfere with our proper breathing. With the Alexander technique, you can correct yourself-these corrective measures are meant to get you back to your proper ways of moving when you were a child. As a child, we had the instinct to move correctly, assuming good health and energy on our part. Qualified teachers of the Alexander musical technique can guide you to rediscover the natural ease and balance of moving your body without straining yourself too much, or at all for that matter. Well, there are cases when we use too much muscle for simple movements that can be done with ease and fluidity. Thus, the Alexander technique can be valuable for musicians-even just for vocalizing. This breathing technique can be used to relax your muscles-including those used with the vocal chords in order to sing or vocalize. In what ways does the Alexander technique help musicians? This technique can help enhance overall music and technical quality, self-rated anxiety, heart rate variance and positive attitude to one's performance. When we perform, many of us have the tendency

2. to increase our heart rates because of nervousness, for instance. With the Alexander technique, you can control your heart rate by putting your body at ease. You can also reduce your anxiety by, as one instance, maintaining proper breathing. Being at ease in balance can put you to a state of positive attitude and expectation. Overall, your performance can be improved and enhanced since you have better regulation of yourself before and during the performance. We need our body to play or produce good music. Hence, a good body can be improved, and with it, one can perform better. So, try out the Alexander technique. What is most necessary is a willingness to give up old unproductive habits of moving with new ones. EDM artist Nadel Paris believes these new ways can restore your ease and balance, and help you with your musical performance. To read more, visit here: https://nadelparis.wordpress.com/