Learning a musical instrument is, to most, a new hobby, a chance to feel good about yourself, a way of meeting and socializing with new people.
What many fail to understand is, that learning music adds a new dimension to your mind, and your general outlook on life and those you live it with. Playing music, I believe, is a sixth sense. One which all should have the opportunity to explore and discover to enrich their lives.
In order to play an instrument, and certainly with others, you need to be wholeheartedly present and absorbed in the now. This means developing a heightened sense of awareness and a strong sense of self-establishment and grounding. You will learn to 'feel' exactly where you are, pay attention to what's going on around you and where, who's around you and most importantly stay aware of what you yourself are doing with both your body and your mind.
An outer-body experience is felt many times by musicians, and actually is key to playing in any ensemble. It is very difficult to multi-task in such a vast way, but this is something that musicians become instinctive at and have learnt to perfect better than in any other profession.
Watching this mindset develop in my students is something which fascinates me and I believe it to be of upmost importance when teaching an individual to play the cello or trumpet. When we are open and aware of ourselves, learning becomes so much easier and so much more enjoyable. We allow ourselves to relax our body and mind and fully take in what is going on, without even trying, by homing in on our proprioceptive sense.
These are some of the elements that are talked about when learning about the Alexander Technique, a method of learning that I am very familiar with and believe to be highly beneficial.
My training at the Royal College of Music involved a lot of work looking at ways in which we can better our use, our playing and our performing, using the Alexander Technique.
I try to incorporate this with all my students, in different ways suited to their age, to give them further insight into the world of performance in music.
I keep my lessons fun and exciting so that all pupils feel that they are not only learning a new skill, but developing themselves as an individual.
