brain Archives

The Buddha, the Brain, & Bach: One Cellist’s Inner Exploration of Practice — by Barbara Bogatin

My bare toes feel cold on the smooth cement. The scent of rosemary is hinted in a gentle breeze, as a bee glances my ear and wild turkeys caw raucously in the distance. I take a slow breath—in ... pause, out ... pause—and become aware of the arising of the intention to take a step. As the weight shifts to the left side of my body, my right knee bends slightly, lifting the heel off the ground, and then the ball and the toe glide airborne over the stone till the tip of my toe reaches its destination. Balance shifts as the right foot bears the full body weight and I stand suspended, legs apart, caught in a slow-motion reenactment of a child learning to walk. Try as I might [...]

By Guest Blogger|2021-11-30T14:03:07-05:00November 6th, 2014|Categories: Artistic Vision, In the Practice Room, Playing Healthy, Self Discovery|Tags: meditation, Barbara Bogatin, Buddha, Mindfulness, Bach, San Fransisco Symphony, cello, Vipassana, cellobello, brain|

About Thumbs — by Selma Gokcen

You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough. —William Blake To anyone engaged in a skill requiring dexterity—surgery, drawing, and of course playing a musical instrument—the use of the thumb is crucial to successful execution. Thumb-finger opposition is one of the primary characteristics which distinguishes primates from other animals, allowing them to manipulate tools; in humans this potential exists at the highest levels, facilitating the development of skills which make extraordinary use of the hand...witness the moto perpetuo. We also have expressions to describe this relationship when it doesn't work well: "He/she is all thumbs!" To enable this thumb—finger opposition, there is a considerable amount of brain space devoted to the fleshy area of the thumb between the base joint of the thumb (located at [...]

By Selma Gokcen|2021-09-13T13:17:08-04:00June 16th, 2013|Categories: Alexander Technique for Cellists, Playing Healthy, Self Discovery|Tags: talent, primates, about thumbs, manipulate tools, language, Thumbs, advances, Mary Marzke, potential, brain space, middle finger, discussion, Changes in the ligament, modern humans, skill, Chimps and monkeys, modified design, Gokcen, closed fist position, neck of the cello, conform the thumb, cello, opening and closing the hand, Selma, dexterity, cellobello, palm, brain, grasp, professor, physical anthropologist, variation, highest levels, playing a musical instrument, Arizona State University, index finger|

THINKING IN A NEW WAY—Overcoming Habits (Part 1 of 6): The Value of Quietness — by Selma Gokcen

We can overcome habits of a lifetime in a few minutes if we learn to use our brains. —F.M. Alexander The obstacle is the path. –Zen proverb I offer this six part series of articles to demonstrate how I work with the Alexander Technique to help musicians to overcome deeply ingrained habits. If a quick and easy fix is what is wanted, then the reader won't find it here. The process as I see it is multi-layered—the same habits that affect our cello playing and music-making are also our habits of life, the way we perceive, react and behave, moment to moment. Such observations are at the heart of Alexander's work. Albeit with the help of a good teacher the process of unlearning habits can be easier, there are no shortcuts. [...]

By Selma Gokcen|2019-10-31T15:42:33-04:00February 3rd, 2013|Categories: Alexander Technique for Cellists, Beyond the Traditional, Playing Healthy|Tags: shoulders, brain, process, mental messages, re-education, stretching, animate, neck, overcome deeply ingrained habits, Selma, the value of quietness, arms, Patrick Macdonald, thinking, automatic movement, Habits, perceive, back, behave, learning, powerful expressiveness, nature, collapse, pressure, primary information, attention, Pablo Casals, doing, exploration, pushing, Observation, fingers, feet, hands, react, strain, cello, laying on the floor, Alexander Technique, rediscovering, music-making, cellobello, legs, Gokcen, shortcuts, force, music, manifest|

The Process of Unlearning Habits — by Selma Gokcen

“It is not the degree of ‘willing’ or ‘trying,’ but the way in which the energy is directed, that is going to make the ‘willing’ or ‘trying’ effective.” –F.M. Alexander As professional musicians, we have a deeply trained muscle memory system, a network of learned movements which allows us to study and perform a huge number of works in any situation, often in a short space of time. This system is a blessing when it is reliable and accurate and a burden when it does not serve us well. Confronted by unwanted tension or a repetitive stress injury such as tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome, some of us, as F.M. Alexander did, may ask: what is my part in this? How have I brought about this condition? And it [...]

By Selma Gokcen|2017-11-24T04:09:57-05:00November 5th, 2012|Categories: Artistic Vision, Beyond the Traditional, Performance, Playing Healthy, Self Discovery|Tags: cellobello, singing, Effective, Preparation, Alexander Technique, professional musicians, process, Gokcen, unlearning habits, neck, brain, relationships, function, musicians, Selma, nervous system, energy, back, Technique, head, training, tension, Habits, effort, cello, muscle memory|