What is “use” in Alexander Technique?
In a recent Alexander Technique training lesson, my teacher asked me to explain the term “use” to my student.
I gave what I thought was a solid answer: use has to do with quality of movement, and whether or not we interfere with ourselves through tension.
My teacher stopped me.
“Good use doesn’t start with movement,” she said. “It starts with thinking.”
In my eagerness to define use as doing, I had skipped the most important step: thinking.
I needed that reminder. I’ve written before about how language shapes movement, and here was a clear example—how we think is how we move. If we want to move well, we have to think well.
The good news is that we can make that shift at any moment.
Try it now: notice if your head is reaching toward the screen as you read. Instead, think of your head balancing on your spine. See what changes.
You just improved your use with a little thinking.
This idea applies beyond our daily activities—it can transform how we approach music-making, too.
What this means for musicians
I had piano teachers who emphasized gestures, which was helpful compared to a fingers-only approach. But the focus was still on doing—the movement itself—rather than preparation for movement. And that was fine with me–in the pressure of academia, it didn’t seem like there was time for pausing to think.
Yet if I had taken even a moment to direct my thinking before playing, I suspect the whole process of learning music would have been easier—and perhaps even faster.
A takeaway for you
Next time you sit at the piano, try pausing for just a moment. You might try a brief warmup like the one below to direct your thinking before you play. Even a small shift in thought can create noticeable changes in how we move at the piano.
If you’d like to explore more ideas like this, download my free PDF for piano teachers. It shares simple Alexander Technique principles you can begin using right away in your playing and teaching.
Big improvements often start with something as simple as a thought—and that’s where use truly begins.