Feldenkrais for Musicians




	Embodied Music® Feldenkrais For Musicians Do you suffer from playing-related injuries or pain? Are you satisfied with your playing? Are you satisfied with your sound? Do you feel you can vary your sound to get the results you want? Is it easy to realize your musical intentions on your instrument? Do you find playing your instrument a physical pleasure? Is your practice efficient? Do you know what to change to get a better result? Many performing musicians share these concerns. With this in mind, Aliza Stewart has designed classes and workshops especially for them. Participants benefit both from Aliza's extensive experience with performers and from the powerful tools for improvement offered by the Feldenkrais Method. Issues addressed that are particular to playing include: Using the large muscles in the center of the body to ease the work of the arms and hands. Organizing the power of the back to sustain an upright posture effortlessly. Maintaining an even pace in breathing throughout a performance. Shifting weight from one side to the other seamlessly to affect the sound and, in the case of keyboard playing, to move efficiently through the whole length of the piano. Improving rhythmic acuity. Improving the coordination between the eyes, neck and arms. Playing is a complex process that begins with a musical intention which is then translated into a series of movements involving changes in weight, speed, orientation in space, and relation to gravity. These elements combine to produce the sounds needed to realize the original musical idea. When these movements are inefficient and not optimally organized, the result is excessive strain and unnecessary wear-and-tear on the muscular-skeletal system and, of course, unsatisfactory musical results. Magnified by long hours of practice, these physical stressors produce many of the playing-related injuries that are so common among performers . To read an depth interview from the Spring 2007 issue of Senseabilty Magazine about Aliza's work with one musician click here. (The article will open in a new window. Close that window to return to this page.) Please visit Aliza's site for musicians, www.FeldenkraisForMusicians.com and contact Aliza if you have questions about how she can help you attain your goals. “At the Yellow Barn Music School and Festival Aliza Stewart became something of a phenomenon. Her deep knowledge of the Feldenkrais Method and her remarkable instincts for reading a musician’s physical tendencies made her constantly in demand. A musician in her own right, she is not only a practitioner capable of preventing and healing pain, but a partner in a search for greater freedom in how one makes music.” - Seth Knopp The Peabody Trio Director, Yellow Barn Music Festival “Aliza’s classes enhance my personal enjoyment of performing and allow me to adjust naturally and with increasing ease to the high level of stress associated with music performance.” - Mary Woehr Violist, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra