Alexis del Palazzo is a flutist with a passion for physical therapy. She, like many other instrumentalists, would experience pain in her right forearm for hours following a performance. She had a serious case of performance anxiety that would trigger huge adrenaline rushes that would make it difficult for her to play. As a result, she would have to grip the flute incredibly hard, leading to the post-performance pain.
Her story is similar to those of many musicians that are forced to push through the pain. When she sought medical help, she would receive prescriptions of heavy ibuprofen doses and advised to rest – advice that any musician would find completely useless. Fortunately for Alexis, she soon discovered that she required the assistance of a physical therapist that was familiar with the demands of being a musician.
I revamped my practice routine, and incorporated all the bodywork lessons and time management techniques I was learning during this time. Via Body Mapping and the Alexander Technique, I discovered what habits were hurting my playing and through intensive, patient work, I began making changes to my body map and I made huge strides in my playing. Via Musicians Health Collective
Asked what she would like musicians to know about their bodily health and wellness, Alexis had this to say:
I wish that musicians would learn about health and wellness prior to being injured! I didn’t learn about the resources available to musicians until I was injured, and I regret not learning more sooner. Knowledge is power.
Learning the structures of the body and how it works, and learning how to keep your body healthy will prolong your musical life. Make time to learn now, and you will avoid having to take time off later for pain or injury. Unfortunately, because these topics are only slowly becoming integrated into our music education system, most musicians don’t recognize the need for this kind of information. Via Musicians Health Collective
The Alexander Technique is used extensively by musicians to teach themselves about their bodies and how they move most effectively. The technique is especially important because the quality of how a musician’s body functions directly affects the quality of their performance.
Due to the physically demanding nature of their profession, musicians often suffer pain as a result of the sub-optimal manner in which they repeatedly perform the same actions. By teaching musicians about the mechanics of their bodies, the Alexander Technique has provided the foundation that has led to reduced levels of pain and other conditions such as the carpal tunnel syndrome that result from accumulated tension.
As noted in The Complete Guide to the Alexander Technique, the method has a long history of helping musicians and singers perform with less stress and less likelihood of injury. By improving the quality of the physical movements involved in playing an instrument or singing, the Alexander Technique can also boost the quality of the music itself.
For example, a violinist’s stiff shoulders and arms may impede his pleasing sound, while a singer’s tight neck or jaw will cause her voice to become less resonant. The Alexander Technique can release undue tension in the body to create a more fluid and lively, less tense and rigid, performance.
The technique has been used and endorsed by well-known musicians such as Paul McCartney, Sting, violinist Yehudi Menuhin, classical guitarist Julian Bream, flutist James Galway, conductor Sir Adrian Boult, and many others. Via Making Music Mag
However, the Alexander Technique is not just for musicians who are experiencing pain or discomfort. In fact, the technique is recommended as a means to enhance one’s overall musicianship in order to effectively and efficiently meet all the demands put on a musician. An Alexander teacher actually focuses on the overall coordination of the musician, which in turn helps to prevent future ailments.
Martha Hansen Fertman, director of the Philadelphia School for the Alexander Technique, offers an example of how the technique works:
“With a guitarist, for example, the shoulder strap may be causing them to ‘pull down’ and interfere with their overall use,” she says. “It’s the same with a person sitting down and playing guitar. Guitarists tend to wrap themselves around their instruments, which interferes very much with their overall coordination, as well as the mobility and suppleness of their fingers.”
Fear and anxiety also creep into the mix. “What happens is they stiffen up and they fall back into all of their worst habits of misuse and they interfere with themselves,” she notes. Recognizing when and how that happens is an essential component of the training. Why it happens is a bit more complex, and can be associated a musician’s personal history, including psychological issues, she explains. Via Making Music Mag
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2 Clinical Trials prove AT works for Back and Neck pain long term:https://t.co/zTU4EPmMWghttps://t.co/YFrwkOFLrK pic.twitter.com/SfpjIO46A2
— Olwen Jane Edwards (@TalkToMeTday) January 24, 2016
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