During my freshman year of studying flute in university, I increasingly found myself unable to pick up my instrument and play. Though I had physical pain that caused problems, it seemed to be my anxiety that was getting in the way of my practice. Fortunately, my flute teacher saw what was happening and recommended I take a semester of lessons with an Alexander Technique teacher.

Even though I did not know much about the technique or how it worked, I decided to register for a course of private lessons. I am infinitely glad that I did because it turned out to be one of the most important decisions of my time as a music student. Since my first lesson as an undergraduate in 2011, I have not only experienced the benefits of this educational method first hand, but have looked deeply at the ways the Alexander Technique can help other musicians live, play, and work well in their careers and daily lives.

The Alexander Technique is a unique educational method that focuses on the ways we habitually respond to stimuli and what happens as a result. It helps us increase impulse control and reduce patterns of stress in gentle, yet sustainable ways. What does this mean? It helps us become aware of ways we are causing habitual muscular, mental, and emotional stress for ourselves and gives us tools to change our unhelpful patterns to ones that are not only healthier, but of our own conscious choosing.

When Musicians Say “No”

As a young musician, I wanted to be the best flute player. It was an ingrained mindset that I acquired long before college. I spent all my time thinking about how I could make my playing better, without considering the ways I needed to take care of myself to allow the music-making to happen. Because I was more concerned about my performance than my wellbeing, I continuously said yes to more and more work. Saying “yes” without consideration was one of my strongest habits.

While each musician will develop their own unique habits, most of us were taught that doing more is better. More practice time, great! More ensembles, awesome! More unpaid gigs, sign me up… We believe that taking these things on will lead to more opportunities and more success in the future. In that search for success we don’t always stop to think about what else will be added to our plate by continuously saying “yes” to everything (more stress, more exhaustion, more injuries). After years of living in this culture, saying “yes” is a habitual reaction, while doing less or saying “no” starts to feel like failure.

The Alexander Technique uses a set of practical procedures to help musicians become more aware of the choices that they make, as well as of the outcomes of those choices. By learning to say “no” and by being more discerning with time spent, we not only directly influence our wellbeing (more time for meaningful projects, more sleep, time to eat and drink water) but set in motion a series of indirect outcomes that will serve us in the long run. Indirect outcomes include things such as having a less reactive nervous system, a larger capacity for regulating emotions, being more empathetic, having stronger boundaries, and noticing sensations and personal needs.

My course of Alexander Technique lessons was the only one of my collegiate classes that taught ways to sustain wellness as a musician. It was my first exposure to the importance of saying “no'' to my unhealthy habit of overachieving. It was the first time I learned that I could choose not to take on every possibility at the expense of my own health. It did these things by helping me observe my own habits and learn to reason while choosing paths towards better outcomes.

One of the Alexander Technique’s greatest achievements is that it leads musicians to discover what habits of their own hold them back and which give them freedom to move forward. It gave me permission to consciously choose in each scenario, rather than blindly opt in.

Re-learning Muscular Habits

The Alexander Technique teaches us how to re-educate behavioral patterns (ex: overcommitting) as well as re-educate muscular habits that appear in our daily lives (ex: over-tightening the neck during a stressful sight singing test). Our habits and patterns influence the smallest details of our existence, such as the way we hold excess muscular tension in response to various stimuli. By learning the Alexander Technique, we learn our personal patterns in detail and give ourselves the ability to say “no” to the ones that get in the way.

For example, most of us have habits of “posture” and movement that are not good for us. These habits developed from repeating the same movement or sets of muscular tension over time. The outcomes can include things like slouching in chairs, overtightening the shoulders or wrists, or tensing the muscles of the neck. The patterns that we commonly view as “posture” were once habitual muscular reactions that have now become fixed. When we continue to respond to things in the old way, we reinforce the old, unhelpful patterns and call it bad “posture.”

When you work with an Alexander Technique teacher, she will observe the ways you respond to various stimuli, like being asked to pick up or play your instrument. Her skilled observation (both visually and through touch) will give her information about what muscular patterns are causing you problems and hindering your playing. In my first lessons, I learned that I had been playing with my right wrist at too sharp of an angle, with the muscles “clamped” tightly. By holding my wrist at a poor angle, with too much tension I was causing damage that left me in constant pain.

Using my wrist this way was my habit, so it felt normal. Because it was normal, I automatically held my flute this way every time I picked up my flute. It was an endless cycle of misuse. My Alexander Teacher helped me learn that I need to interrupt the habitual pattern and slowly re-educate myself to hold it in a new, healthier way. She helped me do this with gentle hands-on guidance and procedures that stopped me from diverting to my old ways. Over time, my habits changed and the harmful patterns were rewritten, which means I no longer cause myself pain.

The Alexander Technique gives musicians the tools they need to become aware of harmful patterns that feel so normal that they are nearly impossible to recognize. It gives them constructive, sustainable tools to change these patterns without stress or strain. Ultimately, this technique gives us power to choose how we use ourselves to play music and live our lives.

Stress & Fear Patterns

We have seen that our behaviors as well as our muscular habits are a product of how we respond to things over time. It probably will not surprise you that emotions work the same way. At some point in your life, you learned that responding to something with particular emotions worked well. When the emotional reaction was repeated again and again, it became a habit, for better or for worse as you moved into new phases of your life.

My go-to emotion is anxiety. Though it was common for me to feel anxious before stepping onto the stage, there was one particular performance that tipped me over the edge. Despite my practice, I arrived on stage in complete fear that I would forget my memorized piece. I played the first few lines and then became so consumed by my emotions that I blanked and froze, missing a few bars of my solo. I spent the remainder of the piece (and the rest of the week) feeling embarrassed and guilty for my mistake.

I was so used to being consumed by my anxiety that I didn’t have the skills to regulate it during this high pressure performance. I allowed my habit of being consumed by emotions to disturb my playing and cause me further anxiety.

Musicians tend to be pretty skilled at ignoring their emotions, or shoving them down to the tune of “The Show Must Go On.” I was particularly good at the opposite, letting them run wild and control me. Either of these habitual reactions to emotion can lead to a lot of unresolved feelings of stress, fatigue, and displeasure that have a compounding effect. What if, instead of habitually ignoring emotions, we as musicians learned to acknowledge the ones that arise habitually (just as muscular patterns do) and skillfully worked with them?

Just as the Alexander Technique gives us a stronger ability to regulate muscular and thought patterns, so it does with emotional patterns. Through the procedures mentioned earlier, musicians learn to observe, regulate, and even diminish unwanted patterns of reaction that present themselves in emotions. This does not mean that emotions won’t be felt, on the contrary, it means that we can develop a larger capacity to feel emotions and choose how we respond to and express them. Imagine what could have happened with my flute solo if I had been able to notice and regulate my anxiety before stepping onto the stage.

The Alexander Technique helps us become aware of when we are moving into our own unhelpful patterns and gives us the tools to re-educate our nervous systems, muscles, thoughts, and emotions (the whole self) to return to better health, wellbeing, and performance.

The Use of the Self in Music

What do all of these things have in common? The way we use our muscles, thoughts, and emotions are always brought about by some form of stimuli. Something happens and we react to it. Stimuli can be external (learning to hold a new instrument) or internal (worrying about messing up a solo). All stimuli invite us to respond in our habitual ways. If we let ourselves continue on with unchecked habits, we are destined to keep repeating mistakes and cause compounding effects in our careers and our lives.

The Alexander Technique teaches us to observe the ways we respond to stimuli in the musical (and non-musical) world. Further, it helps us discern how our reactions may be harming not only our intended outcomes, but our health and wellbeing as a whole. It gives us the opportunity to explore new patterns and choose which ones to keep and which to let go of.

Over the years, more than my wrists have changed. When I want to play the flute I have the skills to avoid old habits like over-tightening my neck, holding my breath, and starting to worry about playing every note perfectly. By refusing to give in to old habits, I no longer compress myself with unnecessary stress. I am able to enjoy making music and keeping myself open and curious to the musical possibilities right in front of me.

What to Expect

The Alexander Technique is a unique educational method that focuses on your manner of reaction to various stimuli. It brings about a gentle awareness of self that makes conscious choices of reaction and patterns possible. It gives you tools to sustainably re-educate yourself and your playing while prioritizing your wellbeing (at least) as much as you prioritize the music you are playing.

In Alexander Technique lessons a teacher will work with you one-on-one. She will use gentle hands-on guidance to learn about your patterns of stress and help you reduce them slowly, over time. Lessons tend to be quiet and slow moving to help regulate the nervous system and bring you to a calm state of awareness and ease. It is not uncommon for teachers to use novel activities and a lighthearted environment to assist lessons. You might find yourself in a state of curiosity or with questions you have never considered!

Your teacher will probably work with you without your instrument to start. There are a common set of procedures that you will find in use in most Alexander studios. They include activities you do in your daily life such as sitting, standing, and walking. Once you begin to use your instrument, your teacher will help you diminish old patterns and explore new ones that will give you more freedom and ease in your musicianship and life. This can look different with each teacher.

Conclusion

These paragraphs discuss some of the personal habits that got in the way of me playing the instrument that I love. In the decade or so since I began studying the Alexander Technique, I’ve found myself continuously fascinated with the possibilities that I never would have considered had my flute teacher not sent me down the hall to the Alexander Technique professor. Your habits may be like mine (an overachieving flutist) or totally different (any stressed-out violinists out there?), but I am certain that you will find endless pieces of yourself to wonder about, learn from, and transform for the better as you move through your time as a musician.

To book your first lesson email Cassie at maloneymovement@gmail.com. Discounts are available for students.

Cassie is currently teaching yoga, meditation, and Alexander Technique to musicians and others in the Beaverton and Portland areas of Oregon. She travels to Pittsburgh, PA and other areas as often as possible to teach and learn.