This ebook, An Alexander Technique Approach to Viola da Gamba (Viol) 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 viol 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 viola da gamba player who had been taught to play the viol in one language and was now revamping his or her technique in a different language?”
So, let’s say you learned to play the viola da gamba 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 viol 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 viol technique. Why? BECAUSE IT COULD FEEL LIKE YOU WERE TRULY A BRAND NEW BEGINNER ON THE VIOLA DA GAMBA. Why?
As a viola da gamba 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 viol player’s technique are so integrated into playing the viol, that the viol player stops verbalizing what is going on as he or she plays. So, even though the viola da gamba player is playing from conditioned habits, the underlying framework is still the original language spoken.
The second thing that usually happens is the viola da gamba player may still be correcting his or her technique in the language that the viol 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 viola da gamba player plays, and the viol 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 viola da gamba player has a very subtle command of English as his or her second language, and I begin to teach the viol player how to play with beautiful posture and effortless technique, this can be an amazing experience for the viol player. Why? BECAUSE I’M GOING TO NOT ONLY SHOW THE VIOLA DA GAMBA PLAYER HOW TO PLAY WITH GREAT POSTURE AND GREAT TECHNIQUE, I’M GOING TO ALSO TEACH THE VIOL PLAYER HOW TO MAKE TECHNIQUE AND POSTURAL CHANGES NON-CRITICALLY.
My experience as an Alexander Technique teacher has been that many fine viola da gamba 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 viola da gamba player who learned to play in German is now going to use English to make changes to his or her viol playing.
We’re making two huge changes to the viol player’s approach to the viol – PLAYING THE VIOLA DA GAMBA WITHOUT CRITICISM AND USING A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE TO MAKE POSTURAL AND TECHNIQUE CHANGES TO THE VIOL 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 viol player, to FULLY using positive kind discernment to become an amazing viola da gamba player.
When a viola da gamba 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 viol player how to play the viol with the whole body and never pay a physical price again. To do so in a different language, can make it easier for the viola da gamba player to not talk to him or herself harshly, as the viol player learns to do something new on the viol.
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 viola da gamba 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 viol to change both.
