Arms Rest

Following the dramatic improvements in flute, oboe and clarinet participants during Keith Underwood's April Houston masterclasses when he supported their arms while playing difficult passages (we exert so much unneeded tension to hold up our own arms, rather than allowing our spine to support them), I have been experimenting with holding up my students arms in lessons, also with good results; greater technical facility, easier and longer breaths, and less fatigue overall.

I have been longing for someone to hold my arms when I practice, too, to see what effect it might have for several difficult passages in my current repertoire, but tonight I figured out a great substitute and had to share it with you right away!

I sat in a chair and put another chair facing me in front with a somewhat deflated exercise ball on the seat. It is important for the level of the ball (or stack of pillows) to be at the natural level for your arms as you lean forward slightly, bending from the hip joint with long, straight spine. I adjusted the angle of the chair I was sitting on slightly, so that as I leaned into the ball, my elbows--or the areas just above or below the elbows--were fully supported by the ball at the proper height.

Not only did this exercise achieve the desired results in improved ease, but the consistent, sustained arm support allowed me to identify, then release, the muscles that were tensing unnecessarily. When I took the ball away, I enjoyed almost the same results.

Very exciting! My alignment is even better now than earlier in my practicing day, and my jaw feels very free, also.

As always, never do anything that is uncomfortable when practicing! There is always another way. If it hurts, STOP RIGHT AWAY!

Remember to keep your neck free.

I can hardly wait to try this again tomorrow!

Let me know how this works for you.

Catherine

"aaaaaaaaaaaaah"

At his recent masterclasses in Houston, Keith Underwood worked with several participants on his version of the Alexander Technique "whispered ah"procedure.

This usually began as a way of helping the participant learn to better direct and compress their air through good alignment of the upper back, neck and jaw.

After checking lower body alignment with the Alexander Technique procedure "monkey position", also called "position of mechanical advantage" which flexes all the major lower body joints (see Alexander Technique chair lesson video clip from 4/30 blog entry), Keith’s version of this procedure started with the participant raising the upper lip to expose all the upper teeth and making an "f" sound through the teeth. Then, with knees forward and thinking up the back. moving the jaw a bit forward (without any strain or discomfort), then allowing it to naturally drop open and, finally, whispering "ahhhhhh...."

The feeling I get when working on this is the sinking in of the upper back, head rising, as neck lengthens.

On a particularly easy attempt, it feels as if my head is the sun at dawn, rising above the horizon of my shoulders.

Keith also worked with participants to improve air speed by "buzzing the upper lip and surface area of the tongue together.

I have been experimenting with following a (Keith's version of the) "whispered ah," with touching the front edge of my tongue to the back of my lipline (inside lower lip) while lifting my upper lip into the "f" postion, then bringing the exposed underside of my lifted upper lip down to the surface of my tongue to create a buzz as I exhale. It feels a bit like I am squeezing the surface area of my tongue with my upper lip, while maintaining the relaxed position of my tongue in a downward sloping angle touching the back of my lower lip.

This action can be repeated multiple times in one breath, also adding a whispered "ehhhh" while positioning the upper lip. I call this the "eh-puh" exercise.

Give it a try!
Catherine