Alexander Technique for the Piano Teacher
As teachers, we’re very focused on our students. That’s our job, of course. We care about their development in all ways. But if we really want to be at our best when we teach, we need to attend to ourselves, even during our students’ lessons.
We’ve all felt fatigued after long days of teaching, probably for some of the following reasons:
We might be sitting in one position, causing tension or pain.
We might hear some of the same pieces and/or experience ear fatigue from hearing so much music.
The repetition of our schedule can drain us and we can lose focus.
We can get tired of hearing the same mistakes, and “check out” mentally.
So, what can we do about all of this so that we can feel energetic and show up as our best selves when we teach? Here are some ways that Alexander Technique might help.
Take a standing break, and maybe walk around a bit. Even before I studied Alexander Technique, I really disliked sitting in one position while teaching. I used to stand up and walk around to see my students from multiple angles. I found that to be really helpful for my teaching not only because I could see more of what they were doing, but also because the change in position made me more mentally alert.
This change can also “wake up” a student who might be tired from their day or bored with their routine. Our change in position might cause them to notice that we’re really paying attention! It’s also good to keep in mind that our students could sometimes use a standing break as well. We tend to have better use of our torso when we stand rather than when we sit. So standing up can give us more awareness of how we’re using our torso while we’re teaching or playing the piano.
When you’re sitting down, mentally draw a line from your sit bones to your head. This just takes a moment to do, and it can prevent us from slouching or pulling the back of our head down, which causes tension in our neck. That said, I think it’s best not to sit for too long–take that standing break when you can! This is also a good activity for our students–you’ll find other tips to use for your students in this article.
Soft eyes. This term comes from aikido, and it’s often used in Alexander Technique. It means widening the gaze, so that we’re using our peripheral vision. It’s a great skill to share with our students when they’re learning to read music, so they can see the notes in relationship to one another instead of just one note at a time.
We can also use it when we’re watching our students play. Rather than focusing on their fingers or one aspect of their playing, we can “zoom out”, view their whole body, and get more sensory input. It will keep us more alert, and it will allow us to see things that we might have missed otherwise.
Approach each moment with curiosity. Imagine it’s the 189th time you’ve heard Für Elise, and your student falls apart at the 32nd notes, as usual. What judgements do you make? Maybe they didn’t practice the way you had asked, or not enough, and you feel disappointed. Now imagine the same scenario, but this time, imagine watching what’s happening with curiosity (and maybe with soft eyes, too). You might consider if there’s something physically holding your student back or if they might need to think about the passage differently in order to play it more fluidly. Does this feel different to you? Next time you face a similar scenario in a lesson, try this experiment, and see if you notice a change in the way you feel when you approach the situation with curiosity.
From an Alexander Technique perspective, the way we think is the way we move, so whatever we think will show up in our body. If we’re having negative, judgmental thoughts, that’s probably going to affect our use* in a negative way. But if we stay open and curious, we can probably attend to ourselves while listening. This can be challenging, especially if we’re teaching a student who doesn’t have good practice habits and we hear the same mistakes week after week. But it's something to keep in mind, because curiosity helps us stay alert and mindful. We can also try to help our students cultivate curiosity about mistakes that might come up, rather than the judgement that usually occurs. It’s a helpful practice for pianists of all ages and levels.
In order to provide quality service to others, we must first care for ourselves. So it not only benefits us to have some self care practices in our studio, but it also benefits our students.
This is a short list of what I’m thinking today. But I’m sure you have other ideas, so feel free to comment with them below. I’d like to know what you think!
If you’d like to learn more about applying Alexander Technique to piano, head over to the Workshops page, where you can sign up for an Intro to Alexander Technique class for piano teachers. In this class, you’ll learn simple practices that you can apply to your playing and teaching right away. In fact, some teachers have said that they used ideas from the class in their lessons that same day! I hope to see you there!