Mandolin – New Technique in a Different Language (Musicians, Psychology, Pain, Strain, Injuries, Posture, Alexander Technique)(Albuquerque)

This ebook, An Alexander Technique Approach to Mandolin 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 mandolin 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)
The idea for this essay grew out of a conversation with a writer. The writer talked about an idea for a book where someone who spoke a different language as a child was losing emotional contact with a frightening past, because he was not thinking or speaking the language of his childhood as an adult.
This got me to thinking, “What would happen to a mandolin player who had been taught to play the mandolin in one language and was now revamping his or her technique in a different language?”
So, let’s say you learned to play the mandolin in German but you were now taking care of the weaknesses to your technique with an Alexander Technique teacher in English. Would this be an even more profound transformation of your mandolin technique, than if you were making the changes in the same language?
Yes! It could be pretty dramatic, the change from the old to new mandolin technique. Why? BECAUSE IT COULD FEEL LIKE YOU WERE TRULY A BRAND NEW BEGINNER ON THE MANDOLIN. Why?
As a mandolin player gains mastery over the instrument, the directions followed are in the language spoken, and two things happen. The first is that certain elements of the mandolin player’s technique are so integrated into playing the mandolin, that the mandolin player stops verbalizing what is going on as he or she plays. So, even though the mandolin player is playing from conditioned habits, the underlying framework is still the original language spoken.
The second thing that usually happens is the mandolin player may still be correcting his or her technique in the language that the mandolin player learned to play in, even years later, as a way to strive for improvement (perfection).
Given these two verbal and nonverbal possibilities occurring as the mandolin player plays, and the mandolin player having problems in his or her playing, would it make technique and postural changes easier and quicker in a different language?
Here is a reason it might not. As an Alexander Technique teacher, when I’ve taught musicians whose first language isn’t English, and they’re not in command of the subtleties of the English language, I’ve had communication problems. This means I’ve had to find a way to verbalize a new concept to make a change to a performer’s technique in more than one way, to clearly communicate the depth of the technique change. I’ve been able to, but I’ve had to be very patient and ask the right questions to make sure the performer understands exactly what I want.
Now, let’s assume the mandolin player has a very subtle command of English as his or her second language, and I begin to teach the mandolin player how to play with beautiful posture and effortless technique, this can be an amazing experience for the mandolin player. Why? BECAUSE I’M GOING TO NOT ONLY SHOW THE MANDOLIN PLAYER HOW TO PLAY WITH GREAT POSTURE AND GREAT TECHNIQUE, I’M GOING TO ALSO TEACH THE MANDOLIN PLAYER HOW TO MAKE TECHNIQUE AND POSTURAL CHANGES NON-CRITICALLY.
My experience as an Alexander Technique teacher has been that many fine mandolin players who come to me have gotten good at the instrument by being tough on themselves, really pushing themselves with criticism to excel.
So, now the mandolin player who learned to play in German is now going to use English to make changes to his or her mandolin playing.
We’re making two huge changes to the mandolin player’s approach to the mandolin – PLAYING THE BANJO WITHOUT CRITICISM AND USING A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE TO MAKE POSTURAL AND TECHNIQUE CHANGES TO THE MANDOLIN PLAYER’S PLAYING.
There is a huge potential in this unique circumstance to truly shift away from having used negative reinforcement to become a fine mandolin player, to FULLY using positive kind discernment to become an amazing mandolin player.
When a mandolin player works with me who had used negative reinforcement, it is a radical change to work with an Alexander Technique teacher. Why? I’m able to teach the mandolin player how to play the mandolin with the whole body and never pay a physical price again. To do so in a different language, can make it easier for the mandolin player to not talk to him or herself harshly, as the mandolin player learns to do something new on the mandolin.
I’m not advocating going out and finding an Alexander Technique teacher to teach you in a different language, but I thought it would be really interesting to look at a huge element of what had shaped your mandolin playing – how you talked to yourself as you learned the instrument and the language you spoke as a beginner, and what it could mean to your relationship to the mandolin to change both.

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An Alexander Technique Approach to Mandolin 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.