An Alexander Technique Approach to Conducting (Conductors’) Technique

$15.00

This ebook uses the Alexander Technique principles of good posture and technique to assist the conductor. It is the intention of this ebook to help the conductor create a personal technique and posture that allows you to find the most mechanically advantageous way to conduct. This ebook is filled with concepts that will help you explore what you’ve been doing technically and posturally as you conduct, and to assist you in finding a way to conduct, so that conducting is easier and kinder to the body. The topics are: What the Alexander Technique Offers Conductors; Posture; Torso, Shoulders, and Breathing; Hands, Arms, and Shoulders; Direction (how to be fully upright); Inhibition and Conducting (letting go of bad habits); Communication in Opposition to the Performers (way you connect to the orchestra or choral group); Whole Body Guided Release before Conducting; When You’re Not Doing Something, Don’t Continue to Do It; The Reasons Why Conductors Resist Releasing Poor Physical Habits; As a Gift (intention of your conducting); and COLLECTED ESSAYS.
Ethan Kind is a former concert guitarist who used the Alexander Technique to heal carpal tunnel pain in his left wrist and never had physical problems on the guitar again. He has also been an athlete all of his life.

This book is 185 pages

Description

About Ethan Kind

“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.

Ethan brings a rich and varied background to his role of inspiring musicians. After receiving both B.M. and M.M. Degrees from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Ethan worked as a performer and an instructor in classical guitar. While a guitar student at the Royal College of Music in London, he developed sever carpal tunnel and sought out an Alexander Technique teacher to alleviate the pain. At that time he found very quickly how he had been sacrificing his body to do what he loved–striving for the perfect performance.

After training for three years at the American Center for the Alexander Technique (New York, NY), Ethan received Professional Certification credentials. Since that time he has shared his knowledge on “making music a gift” as a private instructor and also as a faculty member of such institutions as Guilford College, the North Carolina School of the Arts, Salem College, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Wake Forest University. He has also instructed numerous participants in his popular workshops.

Ethan has published articles in this country and abroad on the Alexander Technique and wellness issues in many journals, including Music Teacher, American Music Teacher, American String Teacher, New Mexico Light, Massage Therapy Journal, and Yoga and Life. Visit his website at www.ethankind.com.