process Archives

Hare Krishna, KickStarter and Fundraising in the 21st Century — by Jeffrey Zeigler

Last November, I was driving in my car listening to NPR. I became fascinated by a story by Alix Spiegel regarding the Rule of Reciprocation. Citing the work of Robert Cialdini, an emeritus psychologist at Arizona State University, Spiegel writes that, in a nutshell, the rule of reciprocation is: “If someone passes you in the hall and says hello, you feel compelled to return their greeting. When you don't, you notice it. It makes you uncomfortable, out of balance. That's the rule of reciprocation.” Spiegel goes on to write: “Cialdini noticed a similar phenomenon when he studied Hare Krishnas. In airports, they would…give…people passing by what they described as a gift: a flower, a book, a magazine. Then, after the person had the gift in…hand, they would ask for a [...]

By Jeffrey Zeigler|2017-08-30T11:49:05-04:00March 12th, 2013|Categories: Beyond the Traditional, Self Discovery, Technology|Tags: incentives, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, solo album, Arizona State University, KickStarter, process, supporters, campaign, Krishna, TED talks, Composer-In-Residence, millions of dollars, vision into art, donations, online funding program, work of Robert Cialdini, emeritus psychologist, Paola Prestini, fundraising, entrepreneurs, perks, NPR, funding a project, personal connection, airports, fundraising in the 21st century, raising money, Alix Spiegel, goals as artists, cello, receive funding, Amanda Palmer, Hare, cellobello, Rule of Reciprocation, Anna Clyne|

THINKING IN A NEW WAY—Overcoming Habits (Part 4 of 6): The Arm Becomes the Bow — by Selma Gokcen

The whole organism is responsible for specific trouble. Proof of this is that we eradicate specific defects in process. —F.M. Alexander To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. —Lao Tzu We now come to the bow, the most challenging aspect of cello playing by far. There are so many fantasies and fallacies surrounding the technique of the bow, as well as profound differences of opinion regarding sound production and articulation. Rather than address these directly, I would like to introduce another way of thinking about the bow: as an 'instrument' whose function exists in relationship to the whole body. By starting from the general (the whole of ourselves) and eventually arriving at the specific (the 'bowing instrument'), we might view the process in the right perspective, rather [...]

By Selma Gokcen|2023-10-30T13:36:03-04:00February 25th, 2013|Categories: Alexander Technique for Cellists, Beyond the Traditional, Playing Healthy|Tags: flexible, principle of opposition, Selma, cello playing muscles, neck, pull and push, sensory awareness, importance of quietness, challenges, repeated sensory stimulation, function, increased resistance, energy, sensitive gesture, bow strokes, Casals, inner pitch, simple gesture, arms, fingers, misguided effort and unease, Habits, teaching table, collapse, wrist, nasal sound, perspective, unwanted sound, Six Part Series, cello, partnership, dynamics, volume, contraction, cellobello, powerful accents, Alexander Technique, thinking in new ways, beauty, powerful arms, Gokcen, bend and extend, process, pressured sound, body at ease|

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: 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, shoulders, brain, process, mental messages|

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: neck, brain, relationships, function, musicians, Selma, nervous system, energy, back, Technique, head, training, tension, Habits, effort, cello, muscle memory, cellobello, singing, Effective, Preparation, Alexander Technique, professional musicians, process, Gokcen, unlearning habits|

Two Minutes of Your Time — by Brant Taylor

Early in 2011, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will hold auditions hoping to fill two vacancies in our cello section. In my twelve years of hearing auditions as a member of this ensemble, hundreds of cellists have presented themselves on our stage. Some have done so several times. Their audience is a committee of nine members of the orchestra who sit behind a screen in our otherwise-empty hall. Some of us take notes during the performances, but the only thing that matters to the process is the simple "yes" or "no" each committee member marks on a blank index card after every player has finished. If a candidate receives at least six "yes" votes in a preliminary audition, he or she advances to the final round. To those unfamiliar with the [...]

By Brant Taylor|2017-08-04T03:27:35-04:00March 14th, 2011|Categories: Auditions, Orchestra|Tags: CSO, process, ensembles, Taylor, Concerto, Excerpts, Time, artistry, Experience, trends, cello, honesty, cellobello, nerves, Auditions, numbers, beauty, Brant, orchestra, cello section, Practice, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Preparation|