Tag: improve performance

What’s different for you when you’re on stage, compared to in the practice room?

October 31, 2025

One thing that often changes is the breathing. I was performing a concert this evening. The sensation of playing on stage was very different from the rehearsal in the afternoon. I wasn’t particularly nervous myself, so I was asking myself what feels different and why? I did a self scan: a technique I’ve learnt in … More What’s different for you when you’re on stage, compared to in the practice room?

Forget Force: Move smarter, not harder

July 1, 2025

Are you over-using your muscles to stay upright? We tend to think that if something isn’t working, the answer is to use more power. More force. Using muscular power without skeletal co-ordination tends to lead to fatigue, and over-compensation. Which in turn can add more tension that we need. Leading to more fatigue. So more … More Forget Force: Move smarter, not harder

The brain and body work together.

January 13, 2025

As musicians, our physical self is the primary instrument. And I write”physical self”, rather than “body” because the brain and body work together. All of the time.  They never act separately. It’s simply not possible.  And whether you’re a musician or not, every movement we make is together with a thought, an emotion, and a … More The brain and body work together.

Slow learning

November 19, 2024

One of my colleagues was collecting ideas as to why people don’t like Feldenkrais. One cropped up quite a bit, which I found particularly interesting. “Feldenkrais is too slow”.  I know what they mean. I started practising Feldenkrais long before becoming a teacher. There were days where I found it hard to concentrate, hard to … More Slow learning

Feldenkrais Method for Musicians – Why do it?

March 24, 2023

You are your primary Instrument… Whether that’s a Strad or a factory violin is up to how you use what you have! All of our technique, whatever we play or sing, boils down on movement:  we move ourselves to create music. The less effort and tension we use, the better, and more efficiently, we can bring across to … More Feldenkrais Method for Musicians – Why do it?

Perception and Feldenkrais

June 6, 2022

Straight after an intense week in Brussles, representing the UK Guild at the International Feldenkrais Federation, this week I’ve been teaching teachers on the London Professional Training Programme! It’s great to be back in a learning environment, seeing the learning process, now for the third time around. We were lucky to have the wonderful Mara … More Perception and Feldenkrais

Improve Anxiety

May 21, 2022

Looking at Anxiety Part 2 The Neurophysiology of Anxiety Anxiety is created in the brain. Like everything else. As a fear based emotion/response it’s part of the sympathetic-parasympathetic system.  The fear response is holistic. (Brain-and-body). Adrenalin gets pumped around the body, and its brain equivalent epinephrine, in the brain. The nervous system includes the brain, … More Improve Anxiety

Musicians and Imagination

May 14, 2022

Our past experience creates the thoughts that we have. It is hard to get rid of limitations of thinking and moving created by our experience. But, whilst our bodies and minds may have limitations, our imagination doesn’t.  If we can create freer experiences in our imagination, we can create concrete experiences to follow. To the degree we … More Musicians and Imagination

Learn or be instructed?

March 31, 2022

Habits are created to automate our lives, to make it easier to do more. Whether that’s tying our shoelaces, or running up and down a scale. We need automation for when we need to play or move fast.  Which in itself isn’t a problem. However, it becomes problematic when we create difficulties through layers of … More Learn or be instructed?