Aliza Archives

The Tools of Embodied Music® – the Feldenkrais Method® for Musicians (Part 2)

The tools of Embodied Music® – the Feldenkrais Method® for Musicians: 1. Movement 2. Awareness 3. Reeducation of perception 4. Learning to change habits 5. Learning to use the whole self in playing Movement Dr. Feldenkrais used to say: “Movement is life. Without it, life is inconceivable. Improve your movement and you improve your life”. One can use the word “music” instead of “life” and the meaning will be as true. Playing an instrument is a succession of movements. The properties of movement are the properties of sound as well: time, space, weight, rhythmical impulse, gesture, momentum towards an action, the process of speeding gradually and slowing down gradually. Improving these properties in our movements will make it easier to achieve the sounds we want. We derive meaning from [...]

By Aliza Stewart|2019-03-04T03:02:03-05:00May 31st, 2012|Categories: Beyond the Traditional, Performance, Playing Healthy, Self Discovery|Tags: movement, gestures, cello, Injuries, cellobello, Aliza, music, Dr. Feldenkrais, Awareness, movement lessons, Stewart, improvement, perception|

The Tools of Embodied Music® – the Feldenkrais Method for Musicians (Part 1)

Before discussing what the Feldenkrais Method is and how it can help you make better music without injuring yourself, let me start by asking a few questions. Have you ever observed how very young children respond to music – with rhythmic movement, with sounds, with all sorts of other movements? Do you remember how you felt as a child, when you wanted to make music? Do you ever feel something akin to ecstasy when you hear a piece of a performance you really love? Is the sense of ecstasy only a thought or is it a feeling also in your body? Where in yourself do you feel it? Do you feel the rhythm? Can you feel that sometimes music makes you feel light and sometimes heavy, sometimes it is [...]

By Aliza Stewart|2019-03-04T03:03:24-05:00May 18th, 2012|Categories: Performance, Playing Healthy, Self Discovery|Tags: movement lessons, frustration, spontaneity, Listening, Stewart, expression, organization, Rhythm, movement, cello, cellobello, workshops, music, master classes, injury, musical imagination, Aliza, phrasing, Dr. Feldenkrais|