Review: Alcantara: Indirect Procedures

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Alexander Technique Review 8.11.23

Reviews

Pedro de Alcantara*

Indirect Procedures
- A Musician's Guide to the Alexander Technique

1997 hb + pb, 313+xiv pages, 23 illustrations, 258 x 136 mm, index, UK: Oxford University Press, USA: Oxford University Press. 0198165692.

In print.

1. Review by Malcolm Williamson

2. Review by Alexander Murray

1. Review by Malcolm Williamson

First published in The Alexander Journal, no. 15, 1997.

Pedro de Alcantara is a “cellist, singer and Alexander teacher living and working in Paris.” Self-effacingly, he states, “I do not say anything in this book that hasn’t been said before.” However, in the composition of his material de Alcantara has produced a masterpiece of not only infinite variety and subtlety but also practical good sense.

The author writes with the authority and understanding of an accomplished performer. Most musicians, whether or not they have experience of Alexander lessons, will relate to what he says. Advice stays true to the principles of the unity of life and attention to the general use of the self.

So often, when life becomes difficult, we look for something or someone else to blame. With musicians it can be pushy parents, demanding and unreasonable record executives and conductors, small hands, or badly designed chairs. Alexander, however, took a different view, which called for a radically different approach, when he experienced personal problems as a young actor : “Alexander found the cause of our troubles not in what is done to us, but in what we do to ourselves” (p. 5).

The book has three main sections. Part 1 deals with the principles of the Alexander Technique: The Use of the Self and the Unity of Life; Intelligence and Posture; Tension and Relaxation; Use and Function; and Primary Control.

Part 2 deals with procedures. Not surprisingly, an instrumentalist’s attention is first and foremost directed towards his hands and arms and he invariably fails to consider the use of arms and hands in relation to the rest of the self” (p. 143). De Alcantara emphasises the importance of establishing such a relationship and to this purpose includes a detailed account of Alexander’s “hands on the back of a chair” procedure including step-by-step photographic illustrations. Instrumentalists (other than wind players) likewise fail to appreciate the relevance of breathing to their playing. This subject is covered as is the “whispered ah”.

Part 3, entitled “Applications”, is the section that I as a musician found the most enjoyable and stimulating. Surprisingly we are given headings like: Aesthetic Judgement; Spontaneity; Normal and Natural; Instinct and Intuition. And under “Interpretation” is included: Delayed Continuity; Variables and Contrasts; and “Trampoline”’ (“. . . the note before the high note is the most important” [Caruso] p. 248). It ends with a chapter on every performer’s bete noir, Stage Fright. At last we have a writer who widens the horizons of applying the Technique beyond alleviating sore shoulders and stiff necks.

Musical technique and artistry are described as a manifestation of the good use of the self (p. 174), echoing Harold Taylor’s observation that talent itself is the capacity for co-ordination: “Fine piano playing results from fine co-ordination, a particular interaction of brain, body and keyboard which intrinsically precludes any misdirected effort”. (The Pianist’s Talent, 1979)

De Alcantara has addressed all the usual confusions that one comes across when teaching the Technique to musicians. For instance, all musicians know, because their teachers have told them repeatedly, that they must not raise their shoulders or tense the arms. Individuals with poor use will, however, often interpret this as over-relaxing the arms and divorcing them from the supporting action of the back muscles. Within the context of the book, this is explained thoroughly: “to use the arms well does not mean to leave them relaxed, but to direct with necessary tension”. (pp. 133-4).

The author backs up his arguments with an impressive array of quotations taken mostly from artists and teachers of the past hundred years, but also as far back as Leonardo, to illustrate the innate rightness of good use that holds true for all situations and for all times. He is at his best when defining the terms and concepts commonly found in the vocabulary of musicians and music teaching. He cuts through vagary and muddled thinking with dazzling precision. The resulting essays each sparkle with a crystal clarity of thoughtfulness and wit. Some examples are: de Alcantara’s definition of technique which includes a quote by the 19th century pianist Busoni: “Technique does not depend solely on fingers and wrists, strength and persistence. It is seated in the brain.” (p. 171); his distinction between complex and complicated activities; or the differences between natural, normal, spontaneous, intuitive and instinctive. These words are often used as if they were interchangeable which creates misconceptions leading to objections such as, ‘Oh, I’ve got no time for the Alexander Technique, it’s all so unnatural’. (A comment which was made to me by a colleague when I told her I was leaving the orchestra to train as an Alexander teacher.)

The book goes far beyond “pure” Alexander work and is a feast of ideas and insights into the role of good use for the musician developing himself/herself as a channel through which to communicate a composer’s intentions. Musicians will often object that the Technique is liable to restrict spontaneity and emotional expression. De Alcantara has convincing arguments why this is not necessarily so. To the numerous young cellists one comes across who want to emulate the theatrical gestures of, say, a Jacqueline du Pre one might suggest reflecting on a pithy quote from the singing teacher, Cornelius L. Reid, “Physical evidence of work is tantamount to a struggle” (p. 214). That is not to say one should totally ignore the usefulness of theatricality to satisfy an audience’s need for entertainment, so long as the actions are performed with freedom and good use.

The advice on good practising technique is probably some of the most important any musician can receive, given the amount of time most spend in this activity. The author identifies the “greater Alexander challenge” as being able to “think up” as you play or sing, otherwise, as he says, your “thinking up” is nearly useless (p. 229). And he has plenty of arguments to counter the objections from a practice addict who plays six to eight hours a day: “The objective of daily practice should be to cultivate the best possible use of the self on a general basis, and to apply it correctly on a specific basis, to playing, singing, or conducting”. He suggests a reversal of the usual priorities: to break up the time spent working on improving one’s use with short periods of practice (p. 196). This advice is supported by a quote from Jascha Heifetz, the paragon among violinists, whose practice time apparently never amounted to more than three hours a day with frequent intervals for relaxation. Most importantly, de Alcantara points out that “the ideal warm-up is not a series of physical or technical exercises, which would deny the wholeness of your being, but a simpler version of a gesture which affirms your wholeness” (p. 196). At times the reader might think there is a danger of becoming too ascetic, too obsessed with Alexander work: “Strive to be able to perform by yourself all the procedures outlined in this book. . . Working on yourself is delightful at times, and arduous, boring, discouraging, and even painful at other times” (p. 164). But on reflection, this might be no bad plan for many music students!

It is inevitable that, as an Alexander teacher, your reviewer finds himself taking issue with some details in the descriptions of procedures (Chapters 9 to 12) but, even where one disagrees, the author states his case with such clarity that in disagreeing one’s own assumptions are evaluated and understanding deepened. The usual criticism could be raised about the Alexander Technique being impossible to describe in words but I find that this book, as much as any other and more than most, emphasises the need to work with a teacher.

There are reminders of the importance of enjoying your music-making and a brief section deals with the Medical Perspective. When we learn that fifty-seven per cent of musicians suffer with medical problems that have affected their work; a fifth of musicians need prescription drugs before taking the stage; at least ten per cent experience frequent moderate to severe stress associated with performing and other factors connected with work; and that eighty-three per cent of musicians feel their training has not adequately prepared them for their careers, then there is obvious room for improvement in the way musicians are educated. (Statistics taken from the 1997 Survey of 56 orchestras around the world by the Federation Internationale des Musiciens.)

The Technique is taught in every U.K. music conservatory but is often somewhat marginalised. This book makes the Technique more approachable and sets out its relevance and importance to every aspect of musical education. I hope that it becomes required reading for all students. It is to be thoroughly recommended not only to professionals but to everyone interested in applying the Alexander Technique to living in general and music in particular.

2. Review by Alexander Murray

First published in NASTAT News, no. 36, Spring 1997.

This is unquestionably the best account of the Alexander Technique, as I understand it. An introduction by Sir Colin Davis brings his forty years of experience with the Technique in the prose of F. M. Alexander and the poetry of W. B. Yeats. In what follows, up to and including the four Appendices, which deal with some of the most controversial issues facing our community, the author has brought information, intelligence and logic to his task.

Non-musicians need not fear the brief but important applications to music making. Even these technical descriptions can be easily understood from the text in the way that some scientific writing can be read by the layman without acquaintance with mathematical shorthand.

The Introduction states the problems of musicians (and the rest of humanity) and then the Alexander solution. Stress is distinguished from strain, the former a vital state, the latter a problem. “[Alexander] saw that the problem was not in the stimulation of modern life, but in our response to it; not in the stress, but in the straining. The straining he called misuse of the self, its cause not human design, but end-gaining.”

Part I, Principles, contains an elucidation of these terms and the other limited but vital expressions used by Alexander. The Primary Control, Sensory Awareness and Conception, Inhibition, Direction, Action.

Part II is devoted to the Procedures, beginning with The Lesson. The sub-headings: Education and Therapy, Emotions, The Absence of Exercises, The Hands-on Approach, The Applications Approach and Group Work, Positions of Mechanical Advantage, indicate the aspects on which the author shines the light of reason, dispelling the darkness and some of the heat which often accompanies discussion of these topics.

The illustrations are delightful.

The author’s intent is aptly summed up in a brief Preface. “This book is not a do-it-yourself manual. It is meant as a guide to people who have studied the Alexander Technique or who are studying it now. It is also meant to awaken the curiosity of readers who have never had an Alexander lesson; I sincerely hope that such readers will go on to take lessons in the Technique - the only way of learning it.” The future of the Alexander Technique lies in the thinking and actions of teachers who consider the principles, procedures and applications of the Alexander Technique with the seriousness and good humor of Pedro de Alcantara.