quietness Archives

THINKING IN A NEW WAY—Overcoming Habits (Part 2 of 6): Finding our Source of Power — by Selma Gokcen

"You translate everything, whether physical, mental or spiritual, into muscular tension.” 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.” The stiffened necks and arms of people of today are outward signs of the imperfect development and lack of coordination of the muscular system of the back and spine. —F.M. Alexander Any athlete, and I include musicians here, who is aiming for the top level of performance is by definition working to improve their coordination, timing, balance and accuracy of movement. But musicians have another reason for wanting a reliable 'instrument' (I refer here to their own body, not their musical instrument). We want the freedom to immerse ourselves in the [...]

By Selma Gokcen|2017-10-30T05:15:43-04:00February 11th, 2013|Categories: Alexander Technique for Cellists, Beyond the Traditional, Playing Healthy|Tags: cultivate awareness, Thinking in a new way, Listening, energy flowing through the body, top level performing, Alexander Technique, opposition, trying, Gokcen, Part II, cello, well-coordinated body, powerful force of energy, cellobello, willing, Selma, proper weight transfer, music, ability, relationship of the head back and spine, cellists, quietness, sharpening the senses, musicians, attention to detail, Six Part Series, bow arm, tension in the neck, Habits, creating balance, the back, instrumentalists|

The Power of Quietness — by Selma Gokcen

The place to find is within yourself. I learned a little about this in athletics. The athlete who is in top form has a quiet place within himself, and it’s around this, somehow, that his action occurs...There’s a center of quietness within, which has to be known and held. If you lose that center, you are in tension and begin to fall apart. – Joseph Campbell True quiet means keeping still when the time has come to keep still, and going forward when the time has come to go forward. In this way rest and movement are in agreement with the demands of the time, and thus there is light in life. The hexagram signifies the end and the beginning of all movement. The back is named because in the [...]

By Selma Gokcen|2017-10-09T01:48:34-04:00June 15th, 2012|Categories: Alexander Technique for Cellists, Beyond the Traditional, Playing Healthy, Self Discovery|Tags: performance, quietness, Technique, unlearning habits, balance, Alexander Technique, artistry, Gokcen, power, movement, cello, cellobello, Selma, Preparation, training, accomplishments|

Raising the Arms (Part 1) — by Selma Gokcen

You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. - Pablo Casals Pablo Casals, ever aware of the miracle of life and of how gesture can be informed with thought and feeling, could elicit from his cello or from his orchestra sounds that could penetrate the heart. To watch him moving his arms as he played or conducted was to witness the reaching forth from his inner being to the outer world. Arms are conductors of the energy within. They bear the fruits of our thought [...]

By Selma Gokcen|2017-10-09T01:30:46-04:00April 23rd, 2012|Categories: Alexander Technique for Cellists, Performance, Playing Healthy, Self Discovery|Tags: cello, Spine, cellobello, body, music, quietness, musicians, Alexander Technique, Casals, Gokcen, expression, movement, power, anxiety, Selma|