Harpsichord – Not Believing What the Majority Believes (Musicians)(Psychology)(Pain)(Strain)(Injuries)(Posture)(Alexander Technique)(Albuquerque)

This ebook, An Alexander Technique Approach to Harpsichord 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 harpsichord 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)
My experience is that many harpsichord players believe it is easier to make mistakes, than believe it is easier to play the right notes. What if these harpsichord players are wrong, even if the evidence says that they’re all correct?
What I mean by the evidence proving them right, is that most harpsichord players find making mistakes consistently easy, because they make mistakes easily.
As an Alexander Technique teacher, when I look at the way most people use their bodies at the harpsichord, many harpsichord players move poorly and wear out their bodies over time. Does this mean poor posture and poor use is easier than good posture and good use at the harpsichord?
IT IS INCREDIBLY HARD ON YOU EMOTIONALLY TO PLAY THE HARPSICHORD BELIEVING IT IS DIFFICULT TO PLAY ACCURATELY, THAN TO BELIEVE IT IS EASY TO PLAY THE RIGHT NOTES. This means every time you play, at least at the deepest emotional level, you will approach the harpsichord with fear, if you believe the harpsichord is a difficult instrument.
So, it seems to me, it is actually incredibly hard to approach the harpsichord hedging your bets. Hedging your bets means that when you begin to play, you DON’T assume you will play the keys easily and accurately.
I really like challenging harpsichord players on what they believe. When you go with what the majority believes, you’re going to find the harpsichord a struggle to play with ease and accuracy. But what about the harpsichord prodigies that find the harpsichord easy to play?
In a very perverse way many harpsichord players find it easier NOT to trust themselves to play with extraordinary ease, so is this going with the flow? What do I mean?
IF IT IS EFFORTLESS TO BELIEVE THE HARPSICHORD IS DIFFICULT, AND THAT ITS BEST MUSIC IS HARD TO PLAY, THEN YOU ARE EFFORTLESSLY BELIEVING THE HARPSICHORD IS HARD.
Beliefs and habits based on what the majority of harpsichord players believe about the harpsichord are pretty unforgiving, when these beliefs and habits make the instrument something to be feared.
Again, what about the harpsichord prodigies? They have found a way to make the harpsichord easy, and accuracy and interpretation something they do with ease and facility.
So, what is the hardest part of making the harpsichord a joy to play? Is the harpsichord hard to play, or does it seem incredibly difficult to give up your belief that the instrument is hard to play, given that probably the majority of harpsichord players frighten each other to death when talking about the finest harpsichord repertoire?
Look, I understand. As a former concert guitarist, I believed the guitar was an incredibly difficult instrument to play with ease and accuracy. At a certain point in my twenties I realized I was wrong.
IT FINALLY BECAME EASIER FOR ME TO ACCEPT THAT THE CLASSICAL GUITAR COULD BE EASY, THAN TO GO WITH THE MAJORITY OF GUITARISTS I HAD KNOWN, WHO BELIEVED THE GUITAR WAS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT TO PLAY WONDERFULLY, ACCURATELY, AND MUSICALLY.

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An Alexander Technique Approach to Harpsichord 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.