Clarinet – Making Technique Changes AND Letting Go of What Isn’t Working (Musicians)(Psychology)(Pain)(Strain)(Injuries)(Posture)(Alexander Technique)(Albuquerque)

This ebook, An Alexander Technique Approach to Clarinet Technique, is published on this website in a PDF format. It is very detailed and practical, and it will give you the physical tools you need to take the limits off of your ability to create the accurate clarinet technique you want without sacrificing your body.
This ebook is also for sale on all AMAZON websites in a KINDLE format.
Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. (MOVEMENT THERAPY)
There is a very profound thing that the Alexander Technique does for clarinetists. It simultaneously teaches the clarinetist how to do something new and let go of something old at the same time. The more I delve into this, the more unique and profound I realize it is. Let me explain.
IF YOU DON’T LET GO WHAT ISN’T WORKING IN YOUR CLARINET TECHNIQUE, AS YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW IN YOUR CLARINET TECHNIQUE, THEN YOU WILL COMPROMISE THE CHANGES YOU MAKE AND KEEP THE NEW FROM WORKING.
I see this as physical, psychological, and spiritual. There is spiritual book called A Course in Miracles. The most famous saying that many people know from A Course in Miracles is, “Love is letting go of fear”.
As a clarinetist, love is letting go of what is compromising your clarinet technique, which means letting go of what is creating physical limitations in your clarinet playing.
How do you know if you’re doing something changeable on the clarinet, or if you have built in limitations to your playing? Let me restate this. How WILL you know if much of what appears to be in your way in your clarinet technique is inherent or learned, if you don’t attempt to let it go?
Ex: Play a two octave scale on the clarinet, at a moderately fast tempo. Now play it with the most tension possible in your fingers, hands, forearms, shoulders, and torso at a moderately fast tempo. Now play it with the least amount of tension possible in your fingers, hands, forearms, shoulders, torso at a moderately fast tempo.
Repeat the above as many times you wish, noticing the effects of the increased and lowered tension on your playing the clarinet. Question: Were you able to consciously raise and lower the tension level in your fingers, hands, forearms, shoulders, and torso?
Congratulations! You’ve just had your first Alexander Technique lesson. You just discovered you have conscious control over what is fairly invisible to many clarinetists, but is one of the main culprits in making you think you have limited talent on the clarinet.
So, let’s say you go to a wonderful clarinet teacher who makes very visible changes to your posture and technique on the clarinet, and all of these changes are valid. Will they work?
THE BEST TECHNIQUE CHANGES TO YOUR CLARINET TECHNIQUE WILL NOT WORK, IF THE “INVISIBLE” OLD HABITS THAT COMPROMISED YOUR PLAYING IN THE FIRST PLACE ARE NOT CONSCIOUSLY RELEASED, INHIBITED, AS THEY SAY IN THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE.
Here’s a word of encouragement. If you go to an Alexander Technique teacher, and he or she makes big changes to your posture and underlying habits on the clarinet, then you have been limiting your own talent in a big way, so you are not lacking in what it takes to be a fine player.

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An Alexander Technique Approach to Clarinet Technique

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Ethan Kind

AUTHOR, TRAINER "When you change old habitual movement patterns with the Alexander Technique, whether in playing a musical instrument, running, weightlifting, walking, or typing at a computer, you create an ease of body use that moves you consistently into the zone." - Ethan Kind Ethan Kind writes and is published extensively on all of the above activities. He teaches musicians, athletes, and computer operators how to stop hurting themselves, by showing them how to use their bodies with ease and coordination. He brings a unique perspective to his work, having been a musician and athlete all of his life. After training for three years at the American Center for the Alexander Technique (New York, NY), Ethan received Professional Certification credentials.