There exist a number of methods oriented toward the development of body awareness in movement which can be used to prevent these injuries and, where they already exist, apply non-medical approaches to improving our functioning.
Grouped together under the name “Somatic Education,” these methods address postural and movement issues extremely relevant to musicians but often neglected in the pursuit of instrumental skills.
Its not surprising that movement education is of value to musicians.
All music production involves movement, and it follows that paying attention to the way we move to make music will affect the music we make.
The roots of the Somatic approach go back to the Gymnastik movement of Northern Europe and the Eastern U.S. during the late 1800’s.
These teachers shared ideas about posture and movement, which were at odds with dominant models in classical ballet, physical education, religion and medicine.
Gymnastik pioneers rejected the separation of mind and spirit from a mechanistically conceived body, encouraged self-developed values over conforming to an ideal, and approached physical education as a unity of movement, body structure, and psycho-spiritual health.
Importance of Movement & Awareness Musicians are familiar with the notion of our instrument being an extension of ourselves; and in a way, the primary instrument is the self.
Postural problems from sitting and standing for long periods, instrument-specific problems and simple tension leading to unnecessary muscular contraction are common results of inefficient movement patterns.
The first step to recognizing harmful habits is to find out what we do already, that is, become aware of our movement.
In the same way, paying attention to subtle distinctions becomes easier when we slow our movement and avoid excess effort and strain.
The holistic approach recognizes that difficulties are often part of a general underlying dysfunctional movement pattern.
In spite of having found a more efficient organization he confronted an obstacle: overcoming the force of habit that continually reinstated movement patterns deep in the nervous system.
Alexander went on to refine a technique of “Inhibiting” all automatic impulses just at the moment of movement and replacing this with “Conscious constructive control.” He overcame his habitual wrong use and not only his voice problem but his nasal and respiratory difficulties vanished too.
Endorsed and supported by such influential people as Aldous Huxley, John Dewey, and George Bernard Shaw, the Alexander technique proved especially valuable to vocalists In a typical Alexander session, the teacher uses gentle manual guidance to increase the student’s physical awareness in basic movements such as sitting-to- standing, and walking.
Feldenkrais chose not to undergo the proposed surgery and instead be began to study neurology, anatomy, biomechanics, human movement development, and systems theory.
While Alexander had focused on the head-neck relationship, Feldenkrais- with his background as a Judo master-was especially interested in how the central, powerful muscles surrounding our pelvis and trunk properly do the hard work while the extremities fine-tune our movement.
In group classes, called Awareness Through Movement, the Feldenkrais teacher verbally leads students through movements which gradually increase in range and complexity.
Based on developmental movements, ordinary activities, or more abstract explorations of joint, muscle, and postural relationships, the emphasis is on learning which movements work better and noticing the changes in your body.
Performed with the student fully clothed the practitioner, through gentle touching and movement, communicates how you organize yourself physically and the student learns how to reorganize his or her body and behavior in more expanded functional motor patterns.
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