As a bassist, I have found that the Alexander Technique integrates into my practice and performance in many useful ways.  To start you thinking along these lines I present some “tips” for improving your relationship to your instrument and your music from an “Alexandrian” mind.  You can start thinking about these right away, and if you take some lessons with a certified teacher you will likely get even more out of them.

1)  Footwork
    It is easy while playing and practicing to think about hands and arms only.   The truth is, your comfort level and ability to react freely in a given musical context is determined by the way you use your whole body.  Your feet can provide valuable feedback about your balance and level of tension.  Notice the distribution of weight through your feet.  Is it predominantly towards the front or back?  Is there a lot of pressure on the outsides?  Try to redistribute your weight over the whole foot.  Locking the knees back can be one cause of heavy-heel.  Let your knees be slightly bent or poised to be able to bend even if they are nearly straight.  If you are sitting, your feet can still provide useful information.  If your legs are pulling into your torso, one side of the foot may start to creep up just as in standing.  Let each leg be supported by its foot as your torso ‘stands’ on the chair. 

2)  Breathe!
    Holding your breath is bad!  Unless you play under water!  Respiratory function is a great indicator of overall balance and coordination.  If you hold your breath as you play, you aren’t getting enough oxygen.  Your muscles will get tired more quickly, and you won’t be able to concentrate and think clearly.  Wind players have to develop keen awareness of breathing for obvious reasons.  But as string players it is easy to not even notice we are holding our breath!  Next time you find yourself having a hard time keeping up with a tempo, or ‘making the changes’ (if you play jazz), or watching carefully for the conductor’s next cue, try to notice if you are stiffening your chest and holding your breath.  If you are, instead of ‘tanking up’ with more air, let all of the residual air in your lungs out, then let your chest be easy so that a full, natural breath can come in.  Your whole torso can respond to the breath, not just belly or chest.  You may catch yourself holding many times, if you do you can be sure you’re not the only one doing it, but you may be the only one noticing! You are now on your way to being able to change.  As you gain more skill in maintaining free, easy breathing, the additional oxygen should make your fingers faster and your mind keener!

3)  Easy on the Eyes
    If your practice or performance involves printed music, it’s a good idea to look at how you’re looking at that music.  First off, try to set the stand height so that you don’t have to look too far down- as close to eye level as possible.  If it has to be a little low, try to look down with your eyes so that your neck is not overly taxed.  As you play, are you jutting your head forward  to see better?  This is another common habit that often goes un-noticed.  It can be as though the musician sub-consciously believes that their ability to read the music will increase if they get their face closer to it.  The stand can be like a magnet, distorting your head/neck relationship, pulling you in!  You don’t need to hold your head back stiffly to avoid this, that would just be replacing one bad habit with another.  Think of letting your eyes themselves be easy- not staring or straining to get the information from the page.  Stay in a balanced, neutral position and let the information on the page come to you.  This is a shift in thinking.  Try it out!  It may feel wrong at first, but be patient and you may notice it makes reading easier.  This also applies to watching the conductor- don’t ‘go forward’ to ensure compliance, stay back and let the image come to you. 

4)  Listen Up
    Ok, we all know that music is an auditory experience.  But as a student, and later accompanist, at The  Collective, I heard the primary instructors say to drum students over and over again, “just listen, react to what the piano player is doing.”  When we are expending mental energy on remembering song forms, scales, chords, or executing technical skills that are fairly new, it can be hard to truly listen to the sonic whole of the band or ensemble.  Improving in this regard again involves becoming aware of where our attention lies, and making choices about where we’d like it to lie.  It may seem like adding consciousness of your feet, breath, head/neck and eyes would only make this equation more confusing.  This can be true at times, but If your body and mind are operating more efficiently, maintaining a state of widened awareness becomes easier.  This is precisely the trick: practice widening your awareness as you play.  You can learn to take in information from inside yourself (like whether or not you are holding your breath) and from outside (what is the piano player doing?) simultaneously.  You can practice this away from your instrument as well.  Sometimes when I find myself zoning out on the train, I try to see how much I can take in at once.  Can I be aware of internal feedback (tension, position of body parts), visual information, and auditory information all at the same time?  Recent studies using FMRI technology indicate that while professional musicians engage in their craft, the auditory portions of the brain are highly activated, while for amateurs the motor areas are most highly engaged.  I believe that this indicates that you really do have a choice about playing with your hands or your ears.   See if you can become more aware of these processes as you practice widened awareness. 

5)  Take a Break
    If you are a professional musician or full-time music student (especially the later) you probably practice a lot.  There is a whole culture and value-system built around practicing long hours.  This is all well and good, but make sure you allow yourself time to rest and recover.  One of the best ways to do this is to take five minutes each hour (yes, you can spare these five minutes) and simply lie on your back doing nothing.  Ideally this would take place on a carpeted floor, not a bed or couch.  If the floor is hard , you can put a sweatshirt or towel or small pillow under your sacrum to relieve the pressure.  Put a few books or a stiff pillow under your head so that it isn’t tipped back (or pushed forward).  Lie with bent knees (feet on the floor) and try to position your feet so that your legs are supported without having to hold them up stiffly.  This may mean a little closer to your torso, and a little wider apart.  You can experiment.  If your legs really feel stiff you can also use a chair to support your lower legs- your shins are now parallel to the floor.  As you lie in this position enjoy the support of the floor.  You no longer have to hold yourself up.  You no longer have to try hard to do anything ‘right.’  Let your torso ease into length and width (or stop shortening and narrowing it!).  When you return to practicing, see if you can carry a little bit of that ease and absence of over-effort with you.