I recently taught a workshop for young musicians and saw something fascinating. At the end of the session I asked them to walk onto the stage again. It was amazing, just after teaching them a few choice short lessons, they told me they felt more confident. And I could see a big change in their … More Do you leave part of yourself backstage?
When musicians think about improving their playing, the pelvis isn’t usually the first place they look. We tend to focus on more direct connections to either instrument or voice. For many of us, the pelvis is simply somewhere to sit, or a place we only notice if it becomes uncomfortable. Yet it’s quietly involved in … More The secret life of the pelvis
I’ve been noticing how differently people move in warm weather. Warmth often allows muscles to soften. There can be a sense of languidness (a word that always makes me think of the slow movement of Summer from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons). But we don’t always relax. Sometimes we tighten somewhere else instead. If breathing feels a little harder in … More Is core strength enough?
As you know I’m a violist, and recently a colleague referred a teenage violinist to me. Some of my favourite work (I like it all) is combining music making with Feldenkrais. So I’ve been enjoying working with her. What’s in the self image? In her lesson I observed her playing a little. I noticed that … More If you feel it, you can change it
So how supple are your ankles? Can you draw the alphabet with your feet? Try a few letters, use your big toe on the floor. How clear are they? When I was a child, I spent a lot of time in plaster casts post leg operations. One physio exercise I was often given was to … More Connecting the ankle
How good is your self image of your feet? How much of your feet can you feel? Close your eyes, choose a foot, and sense each toe in turn. What happens in the middle? You can probably easily feel your big toe, and the 2nd. Often then it gets a little hazy. Right?That 3rd toe doesn’t necessarily have … More Strong Legs
This week I had my performing hat on, playing some wonderful Baroque concerti in Devon. We played in the Great Hall in Dartington, a medieval hall I first played in whilst still in Youth Orchestra. It was great to be back, and I got talking about Feldenkrais with one of my colleagues, who was asking about … More Feldenkrais Concepts: Isolation and Integration
This week marks the end of the practical part and extra time for my research study: Feldenkrais in Practice. 188 people filled in the first questionnaire, and I’m just waiting on the last few to fill in the final questionnaire, to analyse the results. Meeting you where you are In Feldenkrais we try to meet people where … More Coming up to stand
As musicians, we’re so good at listening to others, to our instruments, to sounds around us, but how good are you at listening to physical yourself? To your body?Any movement lessons require a level of listening that allows you to move, but not strain. This is especially important when we’re thinking about learning. When we … More Freeing the Neck
I’ve always loved owls. And the way they can swivel their head to see behind them in a moment. It would be very useful in lots of scenarios! As you probably know, an owl can turn its head 180 degrees because of the double jointed neck. And we don’t have one of those, which is sad. … More Would you like to have the turning power of an owl?
