In the last blog post, I suggested that musicians should not perform or practice while in pain. In his blog, “Better Movement: Seven Things you Should Know About Pain” (posted on Posted on June 24, 2010), Todd Hargrove listed seven basic ideas from the latest pain research. All of the items are interesting but I will only touch on numbers five and six, because they are the most relevant for us. Continue reading

I’ve been reading and doing research from sources outside the realms of music and the Feldenkrais Method.® The world of sports has changed much in the past years and can offer some important insights for musicians. For example, one topic that seems to pop up frequently is the issue of pain. Continue reading

This phenomena shows up a lot in my private Feldenkrais Practice. A client has been playing in pain for many years and the pain just seems to stick. Even when things start to get better, it takes just the slightest irritation to reactivate the pain. This interesting article sheds some light on why that might be happening. Continue reading

Improvisation is spontaneous composition and is ultimately expressed through the performer’s thinking, sensing and movement. Using the Feldenkrais Method, participants will discover greater possibilities for these three elements, leading to an increase in musical options to improvise and play with. Continue reading

Behold the beauty and power of metaphor. In it lies the essence of self-expression, which initially brought you to the trombone, and which will continually nurture your spirit. (from "Metaphor Your Music," by Dr. Tom Gibson) Continue reading

When your breathing improves, everything else tends to fall into place! Continue reading

I thought my new website might be of interest to you and your readers. All free, no gimmicks. Any questions I'd be happy to answer them. Continue reading

Ribs are designed to move by virtue of their attachment to the sternum via the costal cartiledge and their attachment to the spine via joints. The costal cartiledge is spongy and flexible, allowing the ribs to swing up and out. In fact, when the ribs swing up and out upon inhalation, they twist the cartiledge, storing energy in the cartiledge. When we exhale, the energy is released, in a phenomenon known as elastic recoil. Continue reading

In producer/director Irene Gutteridge’s words: via www.janetlansbury.com Here's a nice and light hearted example of moving into deep practice. It's about 3'20" and fun to watch. Enjoy, John Continue reading

For now, I'll eagerly await the arrival of the ERGObrass and will write more about it after I've had the chance to test it out. Continue reading

As I write in the article, this is one of the greatest applications of the FM for musicians. Continue reading

-Learn to practice in ways that are more fulfilling, enjoyable, and effective! -Have strategies and tools to take your playing to the next level! -Experience better posture, ease, and support while playing and performing! Continue reading

Two weeks ago, one of my trombone students came in and said he could show me how his posture (what I call Dynamic Stability) could influence his sound quality. Continue reading

Download Dynamic Resonance demonstrated Dear Readers, One of my students, Yannick came in the other day and proclaimed that he could show me how his posture affected his sound. Naturally, I was delighted and said, "let 'er rip." He showed and made audible the concept so clearly that I had... Continue reading

So I'm curious, what's your 80/20? How do you get your greatest results from your 20%? Continue reading

Dear Freinds, I've heard from several of you who were not able to open the documents from the google page so I've posted them here in this not yet active blog. Thanks, and let me know if it works. All the best, John Article in PDF form Download Embodying deep... Continue reading

After my “discovery” of DR this summer, I began experimenting with ways to improve and refine this idea. Working with myself, I often found that subtle changes in the way I stand could have noticeable effects on my sound quality.... Continue reading

Which brings me to my point; your body function's in a somewhat similar fashion when playing an instrument. If most of your muscles are flexed while playing, you are replicating an anechoic chamber. As more muscles are put into a relaxed mode you are dialing up more reverberation. When all muscles are relaxed except those of the embouchure, you are producing an acoustic which is the equivalent of halls such as the Musikverein in Vienna, or the Concertgebow in Amsterdam, two of the most reverberant concert halls in the world. Continue reading

While working with my students in ensemble for a series of upcoming concerts, I found that the students demonstrate a greater presence in the rehearsals. They possess a richer palette and more beautiful sound quality. Additionally, their abilities for greater expression have increased and while conducting, it seems as if the energy between us flows more intensely. Continue reading

Classical music interview: How the Feldenkrais Method improves the physical and artistic sides of making music. Part 2 of 2. Continue reading

How does the Feldenkrais Method apply to music? To string players? To other instrumentalists or singers? Since our real instrument is our body, the sound that our instruments produce, depends on the way we move and activate the instrument. It is extremely important that we keep upgrading and refining our movement abilities. A heightened awareness to minute changes in movement while playing, allows the player to become more flexible. Continue reading

“Learning how to learn has maximized my practice time and study efforts. I can understand the ebb and flow of intake and be aware of when enough is enough… Most of my repetitive motion complaints have disappeared; I can practice for six hours without pain whereas two would have been my limit six months ago. I’m definitely a more comfortable player now. Everything has changed from the way I carry my instrument to how I carry a tune.” Continue reading

Hello Out There, I've been enjoying writing new posts on my main blog, the "Dynamic Musician Series" and wanted to start a new blog for my renewed interest in trombone performance. In this forum, I'll just write about what's interesting to me as a musician who happens to play the... Continue reading

Many dedicated music students believe that if they can get through a piece in practice, they should necessarily be able to perform the piece on stage. via musiciansway.com I've been reading about deep practice and finding it's correlation to the... Continue reading

A while back, I said that I would write a review of the Ergobone support system for trombonists. I’ve used the Ergobone some myself and had my students try it as well. Last year, teaching at the public music school,... Continue reading