‘BASS WORLD The Journal of the International Society of Bassists ee a = SeThe Spine By Glenn L. Gordon Do Hever remember the day when I first started geting pains! I was playing the last few bars ofa Tchaikovsky suite for orches- tra, and I wanted to play out as mach as I could. While I was playing, I felt a sharp pin in my right shoulder, between the neck and the shoulder joint. At te time, I didn't think much, except "Wow, I never felt pain here before” [had been playing the bass for 16 years, but never before had I experi- enced discomfort related to the bass. I had Figured that my training had spared me some of the problems that my colleagues ‘complain about. But this belief was dead wrong, Inthe time ahead, 1 was to learn the hard way how to make myself better ‘The pains got worse steadily over the next few months. At times it elt as if had a Targe bruise, since my whole shoulder area was tender after playing. for tong rehearsals and concerts AS a result [reat ced my own vicious circle: playing without warming up. getting serious pains and then 2A Inara Scat of Basis The Feldenkrais NY Cat atere tas From Patn to Pleasure taking substantial time off from the bass ‘without preparing forthe next time I had to play. I finally sought the help of a doctor who referred me toa physical therapist. The physial therapist (a this time there were no Clinics in Oslo specializing inthe treatment ‘of musicians) found no evidence of ten- onitis oF bursitis, but did find that my ‘whole upper back was extremely tense, and that two vertebrae were locked together, possibly creating the symptoms in my arm and neck. Iwas treated with electo-therapy and massage, in addition to laser and acupuncture. This gave immediate results, btonly temporary ones, relieving the acute tension, Only a month or two later, the same symptoms recurred. At the time, it as also recommended that T begin weight taining to strengthen my upper back. T began t0 swim often, and enrolled in a T'ai Chi clas, ‘This was fun, and certainly helped to allev- ate stress and tension, But the physical traning just made the muscles that 1 had been having trouble with larger. [stil had pain. was very discouraged and began to ask myself how [ was going to survive a whole career of working in an orchestra 1 realized that I was looking for a fast cure instead of more realistically questioning the playing habits that ed tothe symptoms. Eventually, I heard about the Feldenkrais ‘Method® through a psychologist fiend. She ‘hooght that it might help me with some of my problems, and I figured "OK, I'm not very ‘opcimisic, but ty this, 00." That was two ‘yews ago, and singe then, my shoulder peob- Jems have steadily goten beter, Additionally, Feldenkrasis an excellent means of grting in touch with oneself. This method has been so helpful to me that I have since decided to ‘become ceritied asa Feldenkrais practitioner. Moshé Feldenkrais (1904-1984), a Russian immigrant who moved to Israel When he was young, was a physicist, engi- neer, educator and researcher, in addition to being the first European to sehieve a black belt in Judo, After iritating an old knee injury, doctors told him that wth an opera- tion, there would only be a filly percent chance of regains fons he didn’t like, and so he began to normal use. These were search for other ways to regain full use of his knee. His knowledge of mechanical se cence and psychology gave him insights that led is friends and colleagues to start com. ing to him with ther problems. The process he developed is now widely accepted as a system of healing through self-awareness. ‘The Feldenkrais Method® uses sensory- ‘motor learning as a means of improving aspects of everyday functioning. primarily movement and self-awareness. It is not a therapy, but rather a teaching method. Feldenkris believed that twas moe imporart to Team then o escape from pin, and said, "You cannot do what you want if you donot know what you do.” Feldenkrais observed that all bodies malfunction in some way or another, both physically and mentally, because of faulty learning. As human beings, we lear by experience, and very litle of What we know is instinctual. took me years ‘of study and practice, watching and listening to other basssts and other musicians in order to build up my ideals of musicianship n that process, [included nat only gocd habits, but also bad habits, Feldenkrais determined that When the brain reosives oF processes an image or action thats dstoned by pai, fear cor sess the fusion and emotion ar indelibly linked to each other, ad perceived a aunt. ‘Thus, our muscles associate certain paterns (physical) with certain feelings (emotions), and vice versa. In very physical ways, we open ourselves up when we are happy, and close ‘ourselves down when thveatened. The human body endures incredible amounts of stres in reaction to both real and imaginary threats and creates abil physical responses to ther, ‘A musical example of this phenomenon might be the following. Every time there is an intonation problem, memibers ofthe bass section may look around, questioning and blaming each other, knowing that some: ‘hing is wrong withthe music, but not nee- essay in a position to fix it. The sess of {his situation causes players fo tense up. Even if players try to ignore the intonation problem, the stress and muscle tension are present since the players’ brains have Teared to heat and react this way tothe sit vation. These physical responses, then, are really a learned “misuse” ofthe body: In my ‘own case, I believe that I had unconscious: ly been making small changes like this in ry playing over along period of time. Each time I misused my body, it ua so small that I ‘wasn't even aware oft. Ihad never realized itOE ay nee AM a Motes CONTA ove coves conto sts» new Stand er ih ty sition end rote siden pak (i ray Sout enc aking a ig a exiting spe? We ao ‘ere CARS Sale ang or a ate nd ‘tenner lh ae pow ees 3 Sl sod tbe ONRA “Ins sb bok sae aor Fal wht ps he Meal Moo, Bus Wins, Berane tare hae to ab wt ens tig pes Wa or wet cl ay AGRUBIES” exes tm 2808 B South lami Blvd, Durham, NC 27703, 919-806-9383" wwacousticing.com aa IUW AGRI | NOUNRE IG 26 tmseaonal Sot of Bass ee ‘was so hard o play ina symphony orchestral ‘And Thad neverexperienced pain while playing before, so how was I even to know that something was wrong? Eventually these ‘small misuses of my body were enough and the pain stated. For me, it waste last straw ‘The Feldenkrais Method? functions by working directly with the part of the brain, called the “motor cortex,” that causes us 10 tighten our muscles or flinch (for example, Whenever you see a Strauss excerpt). When ‘our muscles tighten, the bran sends.a message to the muscles. In effect, it is really a brain problem, and not a muscular one. The first phase of the method is called “Awareness ‘Through Movement,” and involves lessons that are performed witha Feldenkrais praci- toner who verbally drets the student through «series of movements that can be performed siting, standing or lying down. The lessons, dove st the student's own pace, help to explore one's range of movement. Tere are 10 right or wrong movements, and one leans ‘one’s ow boundaries, and to respect them. In lesson, a Feldenkrais practioner may ask ‘you © pay’attenton toa cenain par of your body, while moving another. For example, ‘while lying on your back om a table, with both legs hanging off the end, you might be asked to'swing your legs hack and fort, side wo side, Do you feel the effects on your breathing? Does your head want to say sil, of follow the knees? The movements are done very consciously and slowly. Tis way, the nervous system has a chance of catching up and incor porating the movement patterns 50 that they ‘ay be incorporated into our normal lives Through these types of exercises, students discover new movement skills and the rel tionship of diferent body pans o one another. The second phase ofthe method i called -Punctomalntegraton® ‘one sessions with a Feldenkrais practitioner. and involves one-cn- These sessions are very helpful forgiving someone a quick startin the Feldenkrais Method®. In this, the practitioner "speaks directly to the body through gentle touch and movement in sessions that usually last 45.60 minutes. The practioner uses move- ‘ments that may make a student aware of how he is using the body improperly. oF to ilustate to the student more options of ‘movements, that they might use later. The sessions are usualy done without speaking, Which allows the brain to remember the actions better, Many. poople have never ‘sonsidered the option of variation in thie ‘movements, instead locking. themselves ‘nto bad habits fom an early ae. But the brains quite amazing — if afer many times fof doing something the wrong way, you show the body how to do it the right way, the brain will immediately recognize the right way because it feels good. The brain can then use these correct movements t0 replace the improper ones, From personal experience, 1 know that after Awareness Through Movement® and Functional Integration lessons, 1 always feel much lighter and more refreshed than | did when I walked into the lesson, as if had had a nap. Hove it! Although I didn't notice changes immediately, there is much more grace to my movement nov, Afr a few ‘months of going to class once a week, I began to realize that my back pains were bothering me less and less. Now when I play tough concerts of Bruckner and Strauss, 1 notice that itis much easier to pull a big sound without pressing — something that | had been wondering about for years. [also ‘no longer have to take the weekend of From playing because ofthe pain in my shoulders have regained my confidence and really enjoy playing in an orchestra. When some (of my old habit movements stan creeping ‘back, my body tells me almost immediately that Iam doing something that isn't efficient before itis expressed as pain and suffering Just recently, I have begun to use the method to elp me with musical and specif- je problems, Tam much more aware of my breathing now, and this is helping me with questions of phrasing. I have found new ways of using the bows, and even new fie erings. In a way, T feel like my own teacher for the first time in my life! Ultimately, 1 have leamed that pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. This has been one of the greatest things that I have experienced, oth asa bassist and as a person. So, for anyone who experiences pain while playing, o if you just want 1 ‘become more aware of what you are doing so you can grow asa human being. 1 high- ly recommend the Feldenkrais Method (Peldenkrais*, Feldenkrais Method”, Awareness Through Movement” and Functional Integration® are registered ser- ‘mats of The Feldenkrais Guild) Glenn Gordon attended the Curtis Institute of Music and studied with Roger Scent, Since 1995, he has been living in Novas: plaving double bass in the Oslo Philharmonic. He is studving the Feldenkrais Method in Basel. Switzerland, For more information, sow can check out The Feldenkrais Meth ct wos felenkrsiscom. Also, look for Moshe Feldenkrais” books The Elusive Obvious,” “Awareness Dhrcugh Movement,” “The Patent Self land “Boal and Mature Behavior‘tis no secret that musicians of any age may routinely experience pain, cramps and inflammation, often as a result of chronic muscle fatigue. In recent years more |help has been available for sufferers within educational ‘environments. Music colleges are now far more aware of the problems of too much playing and muscular stress, and, like specialist music schools, they routinely offer lessons in Alexander Technique in an attempt to make young players more aware of their bodies. ‘The Feldenkrais Method is not a treatment but a process of re-learning: it depends on developing awareness of how we do what we do. The focus in Feldenkrais is on the actual movements we make when carrying out an intention. For ‘example, does a movement flow smoothly through the body. or is it blocked at some point? The method is based on the principle that every part of the body should be made avail able to pull its relative weight in every movement we make. 5 Aboc:2 ashe Fldonkrats, who developed a ovotiton=ry method ‘tpaycho-saical education. Oppones sm parece Trough ‘iowemon clue ind by Fattorkaele. Toes cusses csconrogs Sacer 'oeacover Saree ways of fneloning 350 Feldenkrais Professional Training Programs David Zemach-Bersin Educational Director ‘59 Pebble Woods Drive Doylestown, PA. 18901 (215) 230-9208 ~ Cause and eftec With muscular problems plaguing many instrumentalists, musicians are increasingly turning to the Feldenkrais Method. Anne Inglis discovers how minimum actions can produce maximum effects Ttrelies on how one feels from the inside and on what sort of movements release tension, The method was conceived by Dr Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-84). Trained as a physicist and engineer, he was also {an exceptional judo practitioner, earning himself a black belt during his pre-war years in Paris. In the early 1940s he moved to London and worked for the British Admirality, helping to develop sonar and other means of submarine detection. An accident aggravated an old knee injury and he was given 2.50 per cent chance of a successful operation ‘© put it right, odds he considered quite unsatisfactory. So he set to work on exploring his owa tiny movements and taught himself to walk again. Feldenkrais studied the movements of small children and based his Awareness Through Movement classes on the playful, fully absorbed way ia which they experiment and learn, and on the simplicity and ease of their actions. Anyone approaching the Feldenkrais Method for the frst {ime will be astonished at how minimal the actions are. In a world where regular exercise in a gym three times a week is expected to give some benefit to general levels of Stuess,here is an environment in which, while lying on the floor making very little physical movement, you ean subtly invent ‘new ways of moving parts of the body, inerease ease and range of movement, improve flexibility and co-ordination and rediscover efficiency of movement. The whole process is tied to ‘functional awareness’ -an education in how the body works, Feldenkrais encourages you to explore two or three different ways of doing everything so you can choose the simplest and most logical - even if it feels strange at first. This stimulates your whole system and reminds it of ‘forgotten patterns of movement, For Roselyn Walter, Feldenkrais was the only solution to 2 long-term problem that arose ater she took up the cello as an. sdult beginner: A pianist and music therapist for most of her ‘working life, she found that the speed of learning the cello, 2 large instrament for her small frame, contributed to a badly frozen shoulder. The problem spread and led to severe {inflammation of the muscles. Conventional medicine delivered the verdict of a virus, and, pumped through with drugs, she lay on the loor for 18 months, unable even to bold a cup of tea. A chance sighting of the Feldenkrais Method on television alerted her to its possibilities, and her participation in a class prompted an extraordinary and apparently unlikely recovery “The condition was rather like severe arthritis,’ she says. “My muscles had atrophied, possibly because of all the drugs, and I thought [ would never play music again ~ or do much else for that matter. Feldenkrais helped my rehabilitation, I ‘not only masle a complete recovery from the virus, but I play ‘much better now than before and am healthier. When my shoulder hurts, for instance, ! know how to help myself But you don't have to be full of aches and strains to benefit from Feldenkrais: it can help proveat injury or be used simply to promote pleasure in everyday life and reduce stress. All ‘musicians should be aware of what the body is designed to do, and Walter feels that! teachers fil to recognise that the exact way they play may not be possible for th z 0 learn how to teach training course at the t Sussex dertaki {UK training cont he Ansel ch by sng wy te phys nveret. “Rulers eaplore arnt eye cf oun prea ‘mebeoy a pocest annua Scone sean rheumatologist of the British Performing Arts Medicine ‘Trust, Dr Kit Wynn Parry. Parry has seen countless sufferers of chronic muscle fatigue, the prime area of problems for musicians. I started being impressed with Feldenkrais when I saw it helping patients with dystonia. This is a type of eramping musicians ‘experience in mid-career which affects certain of the fingers. It is asi the control mechanism is fatigued after many years, of work. Generally, musicians are very unfit people. They don't take much exercise and spend a lot of time hunched over their instruments. The body just isn’t made to sit for hours at an instrument. Musicians also tend to be very tense — it is a fearful lifestyle — and it is no wonder that muscles become so tight. Feldenkrais helps players to relieve tension; it gives them their movement back and teaches them better body control. At the end of carrying out some Feldenkrais ‘movements they invariably feel lighter and more aligned.” ‘The Feldenkrais Method also helped Josephine Horder, a freelance professional cellist and teacher. Due toa chronic inflammation in the forearm tendon down to the third finger, which had dogged her on and off for about 20 years, her cello ‘career was very much in the balance, Feldenkrais was the enabling factor in allowing her to continue playing. She describes her visit to Walter as a last-gasp attempt to solve the problem. But after half-a-dozen lessons, more than a year go, the inflammation has not re-surfaced in spite of some heavy playing. “Tt was 2 two-way approach,’ says Hordes. ‘Ros worked quite a lot with me sitting atthe cello, We looked at my play {ing and sitting positions and how I used my arms. Then we did a series of exercises with the whole body, creating an, awareness of movement ~ it was all extraordinarily helpful Since then I have been increasing my awareness all the time, ‘educating myself. Its an ever-expanding process. Ie was through visiting Walter for a Feldenkrais some vears ago that I had my Birst experience of She asked me to get on toa couch and pretend I was lying in deep sand, We turned our attention to my faet: how were they lying: which way were they turniag; how they positioned? ¥ had tom mptions with« 1g and most of my answers were quite wide of the anark. [tis perfectly natural to think you know your body: how it fels we‘he Foetal Meth ope to retee aches and stains prevent injry, reducs sess are! tnprove genera wel-blng to walk, lift your arm, bend your knee. But one of the first realisations in a Feldenkrais lesson is, conversely, how unfa- niliar your body is. We looked at swinging movements, the ‘position ofthe waistline and the relationship of head to neck. {learnt to think about different ways of breathing, of synchro: nising breathing with movements and standing with the feet further apart to give the body a stable structure More recently I attended 2 group Awareness Through Movement day led by Nicholas Conran, a music lecturer at Surrey University. Conran is passionate about imparting the Feldenkrais way of thinking to his students, although, through pressures om time and money, it remains a voluntary part of the syllabus. On this occasion, however, the course as mainly for established or student Feldenkrals practition- crs. We met in a church hall and were each given a blanket to lie on and access to.a chai. ‘We started by lying on the floor, putting our hands around one knee and raising it up slowly and then down again. ‘How does your leg feel” we were asked, Longer, was the answer ~ unlikely, bot ineseapably trne. We then practised the exercise ae other knee to match up the length. Nest, we created an. i side of our bodies, first by turning or yes t0 the let, then cur heads and then following through managed to swing the head to the aht. ‘Notice ‘our breathing and how the pelvis is moving. The role and movement of the pelvis is notably important in Feldenkoais, Later in the session we tried to measure the length ofthe upper am stretching to the eollar bone, How many hand ‘widths coukd we fit in? I was gradually becoming attuned tothe time scale ofthe actions ~ or rather inactions ~ required. For ‘over an hour we lay onthe floor, feet on a chair, making a frame ‘with the right and left hands holding opposite elbows. We then Dractised tiny tilting movements, fonrards end backwards in an are, which encouraged the shoulder blades to rotate. Iwas learn ng about and reacting to different patterns of weight shifting, hhow the most minute movements in one direction have an eect (on the other in order to createa natural balance in the body. Ie is this lack of cause and effect in body movements which can cause such distressing muscular problems. Freedom of movement is essential. One look at these Feldenkcuis practitioners and students told a story of complete body relaxation; sifiness hed been banished to another world, For farther information contact The Feldenkreis Gud. Te: 800 2115 (US and Canad 0181 488 9900 (CX) We hove ten copies of Practical Feldeakeas f by Steven Shafesmar (Thorson, 1988) 0 give cay 1 posteard before & May to Roldenkn's Offer age 24%, xiving your name and adress. Dynamic Heslta sin ong, snd