When I saw this video on facebook I just could not resist the tempation to put this up on this blog. It is a long story how I came across this video by Fat Freddy’s Drop. I was introduced to this video by one of my very best friends (actually the same one who introduced me to my now husband!). Well, she came across Fat Freddy’s drop from her boyfriend, who found out about it from his sister who lives in Wellington, New Zealand. Fat Freddy’s Drop are from Wellington. I almost said then that I’m from Wellington, but that’s not quite true, although it sometimes feels like that. I lived in Wellington for almost 10 years when I moved down there to study and then stayed on to work.  To see more on Fat Freddy’s Drop, click <here> to visit their website.

It was when I was at the Governor General’s House attending a dinner in honour of Prince William who was in Wellington at the time and supporting the British Lions at the big Rugby game. During that month, Wellington in particular had been invaded by the British, mostly men and mostly young, who had come to support their favourite team. We met quite a few different people while we were out in town. Quite a number of which were in their GAP year or taking time off after finishing their studies. Getting back to the Governor General’s House, the evening was very enjoyable. It started with Singapore slings and finger food, followed by speeches, dinner and then dancing all night. I received my invitation from the Governor General through my work, and around ten of us from work attended. It seems that a number of invitations had been given to people in a selection of government departments, the chamber of commerce and legal sections. While I was there I bumped into a lot of people I knew from law school days. What a very small world.

The band at the Governor General’s house was playing a sort of jazzy, soul, funk pieces, and I was intrigued by them. It was perfect background music, but also very popular with everyone to dance to. The lead guy of the band who also sang reminded me a lot of one of my best and dearest friends Nardus. They didn’t look similar exactly, or maybe not at all, but there was something about this lead guy that reminded me of Nardus. The name of that band was Fat Freddy’s Drop. Ever since then, one of my most favourite bands of all time has been and still is Fat Freddy’s Drop.

When I went home that evening to report on events to my friends, I could not get the band Fat Freddy’s Drop out of my mind. Naturally I had to go searching for their CDs and have been collecting them with each new release. Since then I was very happy to see Fat Freddy’s Drop again in the harbour area beside the Wellington rowing club as part of a outside festival that was being held there. The weather was blue skies, warm and sunny, and with the music, the ideal way to pass your time. Oh, those were the days

ALICE: I understand you’re writing a book, please tell me more?

FRAN: I actually have two books and I might combine them. One is something I’ve been giving out to my students that I’m making into a print-on-demand book. The other was an article for smart people that got too long to be an article so I decided to turn it into an e-book. Both are slightly different to what is already available. Different because I give the benefit of the doubt to the public for being smart learners. In the book one, there are three sections; theory, comments and experiments. The long article is a fast ride of the complete picture. As in any field, there are specialised terms and some of these terms may be some confusing. So I spell these out in both books.

—– Part Seven —–

ALICE: Would you please explain some of these terms?

FRAN: I’ll explain the most important one. It’s about how a cat learns the right moment to spring for the mouse, instead of jumping at any old time just because the cat is hungry. In Alexander Technique, we call this “inhibition.” Inhibition is not just hangups, impulse control, or self-control. Control is a limiting word. Alexander’s idea of inhibition is about freedom. The basic idea is: can you pause before doing the old same thing the old same way? If so, then you can free your routines to choose a better means.

Alexander found that tricking his habits stopped them from running the show. Once habit is interrupted, what you want do happens sort of accidentally on purpose. It’s a wonderful feeling.

For instance, a musician in the workshop complained how he had learnt all these improvements to put into place in the singing workshop, but he couldn’t do get himself to do them when he needed them to work. Once he started singing, his old habits were irresistible .

—– Part Eight —–

“Inhibition is the most important key of Alexander Technique.” said Fran

The secret is to find a way to interrupt the routine that flies under the radar. If the old habit doesn’t notice there’s a need for it to happen, it is isn’t triggered. The skill of inhibition prevents, sneaks under, fools or just stops outdated routines – so we can perform however we want.

ALICE: What can people do now to practise this?

FRAN: Alexander Technique is about a bunch of these principles, working together. Alexander Technique is different because it is meant to be used during any action. It’s generally not something with a form like yoga or Tai Chi that takes a special hour out of your day to practice because it has no exercises. Forms of movement are not it’s content, strangely enough.

A very simple thing teachers recommend people do is to take a break regularly. Everyone learns this studying Alexander Technique. It’s really a way to practice inhibition, because if you do it, you’ll learn the value of interrupting your routines. This tip isn’t an exercise because there are no movements involved, only thinking. It’s practised by merely lying down on your back on a firm surface, with a book under your head and your knees in the air. The function of the book under your head is to raise your head a little, in relation to the width of your rib cage. There’s actually more than one youtube video about this subject you can learn from, if you’d like to know more. If you can’t lie on your back because it hurts, then ask a properly trained Alexander teacher for help tailored to your needs.

The time you spend can be just 90 seconds or twenty minutes, it doesn’t matter how long the break lasts. It’s remembering to do it that matters. Just lie down for a moment to pay attention to your head and neck and how much of your back is lying on the surface. Pay attention to how your hips and arms feel. Think your body is getting longer.

ALICE: Longer? What does that mean?

FRAN: Remember how when muscles lengthen, they feel like nothing? Turns out that purely thinking about it will lengthen your muscles. Sense where in your body that you feel you are doing “something” and tell those muscles to get longer, to lengthen. That’s all. Just think. Don’t try to “relax” yourself. You are just lying down and thinking of the lengthening of muscles. You don’t have to feel it happening. You’re undoing it.

If you feel some sort of a catch or tension, then that means that part of your body is not following your intention. Somehow, you have trained yourself to add another habit pulling in the opposite direction. It can be very innocent things. Maybe you cut your hand so had to hold your hand up; even though your hand healed, you still hold up in the air. There you are with your hand up for no reason. Habits disappear, that’s how humans are made. Forgive yourself for being human.

You can just rest for a moment and tell your muscles they don’t have to try so hard. Give them a break. We don’t have to leave the kitchen lights on all the time. We can turn them off when we go out of the room and then turn them back on when we want some light again.

—– Part Nine —–

ALICE: People do seem to leave on kitchen lights. This could be very relevant to people suffering from sore muscles who usually go to Physiotherapists, Massage Therapists, and Acupuncturists.

FRAN: The Alexander Technique is not a substitution for the benefits of doctors & other specialised healers. It can only free up how you respond, which can be significant. It’s especially useful when you get mystery tension or stiffness problems with no specific cause. Or when a doctor tells you “since it hurts, don’t do that action again”. It can’t change structural problems, but it can help people cope with them.

—– Part Ten —–

ALICE: Can you give me some more details about your new book?

FRAN: When I write, I try to simplify ideas. The Alexander Technique is a very subjective, complex topic. I would like it if readers could just look at captions with pictures, and understand the content. I’m not sure if I can show everything effectively that way, but I’d like it to be as easy to read as a comic book. But right now I’ve only got ten illustrations and I’d like three times as many more. I can illustrate, but coming up with ideas to communicate complex abstract concepts such as “effortlessness” without “end-gaining” – It’s challenging.

ALICE: That is very clever. Yes I know people learn in different ways. Some people are aural learners, some are kinaesthetic, and some are visual.
FRAN: Yes. People learn in different ways. The more ways you can teach, the more people you can reach.

ALICE: What topics do you cover in your book?

FRAN: Hey – for many computer people, this interview is almost a book! Well, we just talked about one principle of inhibition. There are more. Then there is how they all work together. You’ll learn that. These are principles that all Alexander teachers do, no matter what their style or who trained them. Unlike other books on the market, this book doesn’t “talk down” to the beginner. My book gives you the secrets of how to practice for yourself. This book will make you curious – and you will want to get lessons from the hands-on of a properly trained Alexander teacher. It will help you make sense out of lessons and be able to explain what you’re learning to someone else. You’ll learn faster because of it.

Great ideas make no difference if you can’t remember it exists and can use it. So my book is designed towards helping the reader remember it. My book distils Alexander technique into only three steps. These three steps become richer and expand with meaning as you do them again and again and the sky is the limit. Or you can use it once in awhile when you think it would be handy tool to use and it will work.

—– Part Eleven —–

ALICE: You said when we talked before that Alexander Technique is not a form of exercises like yoga, but more like experimenting. Are there videos available for people to watch, like you would get on a Pilates or yoga video?

FRAN: There are lots of Alexander videos on youtube. But these videos are not made for people to copy body positions. Most are introductions. Many videos on Alexander’s work seem like a sales pitch of testimonials. Some of the videos document the process of teaching & learning, but you can’t tell what is happening. It’s tricky to catch the significance of what is going on, because the medium is only very slightly visual. It’s my speculation that, among other discoveries, Alexander actually invented the field of visualization. Because he was dominantly an auditory learner and speaker, he described what we now call visualization, only in terms of deliberately influencing the words he thought to himself. So, how do you see thoughts?!

Some of the best Alexander Technique videos are demonstrations about a spin-off field that was designed by musicians called “Body Mapping.” These are sort of a living anatomy course. Turns out that how you think you should move, it shapes how you actually do move. Watching these, you’ll get a jewel you can use. For instance, some adult musicians can still be holding their instrument how they did when they were kids.

Worth seeing is a double video set made after there was a study published in the British Medical Journal in August 2008. A randomised trial that found the Alexander Technique was extremely effective for lower back pain. Feeling younger without pain is only one application of Alexander Technique, but it’s getting lots of attention.
So – pain relief, performance skills, learn poise and effortlessness, an integrated mind-body practice offering psychological maturity and longevity. It makes you taller – sounds like snake oil! [laughs] Well, hope we’ve said enough for you to want to check this out. Join an ongoing class or get at least twenty private lessons to give yourself a chance to learn it. Alexander Technique – It’s the real deal.

You can get in touch with me and get my new book when it’s available at my blog from my website: www.franis.org My next round of classes are in the CA SFBay area, but I live in Hawaii Jan-Sept.

ALICE: I’ll be sure to look it up. Thank you very much for your time Fran. Good Bye.

—– End of Interview —–

This was a day I had been looking forward to, as I would finally get the chance to interviewFran and learn some more about the Alexander Technique. The last time we had scheduled our interview I had to cancel it because I came down with laryngitis of all things. I’m all better now though thankfully.My teacher Paul Lanfear first introduced me to the Alexander Technique at the time he introduced me to the Grindea Technique that her learnt from his teacher Carola Grindea.

I am very grateful to Fran for taking the time to talk with me. Our interview lasted just over one hour. It was fascinating to learn from an experienced teacher and writer on the technique. Fran has written numerous articles and books on the Alexander Technique. She also has a comprehensive blog on the Technique that is full of resources.

During our interview Fran explains the benefits to voice students and singers, as well as to those suffering from physical injury and sports injury. She also distinguishes the difference between the Alexander Technique and Pilates and Tai Chi and so on.

“An Alexander teacher is a human gait lab; they’re fantastic observers for their
students – and they teach effortlessness” said Fran

FRAN: Before Alexander’s work was only taught in private lessons. Now people can learn quite a bit about the Alexander Technique by watching, reading and listening. Classroom-type work is just now spreading into the field of Alexander Technique. Studying Alexander Technique is like studying ourselves as if we are a musical instrument. Singers and actors do use their body as their instrument. Everyone should learn to play themselves.

ALICE: Can you explain how the Alexander Technique helps singers in particular?

FRAN: Well, anyone has to make sense of what their teachers tell them to do. People do little things, not productive things, to breath and sing at the same time. It pays off to breathe freely, especially if you are a singer. Singers carry unnecessary habits of breathing, posture and how they talk into their singing without realizing it, just like most people do. So then adding all these suggestions about learning to sing better on top of that – confusing.

—– Part Three —–

“The challenge is, how do we notice what we might not know we’re doing? Being
willing to experiment helps & knowing how to spot what is new. It’s very
easy to miss!” says Fran

ALICE: It’s unfamiliar?

FRAN: Yes, it would be unfamiliar, disorienting, strange, it would feel wrong. So any time when you are experimenting, when you feel something different or weird, it means you may have discovered something new.

ALICE: So how do we tell when something good is improving and it’s not just some weird thing?

FRAN: Well, success really means more result with less effort. You’re asking what is our criteria for success. After the experiment, we’d be asking ourselves, “Is it easier?”

Because what is new feels wrong, usually people will straight away put themselves back to a position that feels more familiar. When conducting experiments with Alexander Technique, we look for unnecessary things we’re doing automatically without noticing, an old routine in progress. Once the habit stops, we feel more lively and we can hear our voice free up. We’ve broken the chain of habit. So that’s how we know we did what we wanted to do.

ALICE: So, how do you do that?

FRAN: Well, it definitely works to get private lessons!

When you’re working with an Alexander teacher, you can rely on the teacher’s observations. To learn to use this for yourself, your own self-observation is the most important skill. Most of the time when people observe themselves, they don’t know what to say or do. It’s part of why people get self-conscious.

In my classes, we spend quite a bit of time on how to observe. I give students categories so they learn to describe. It helps to watch others too. These categories are four: quality, sequence, timing, and direction. The students go through these four. So we talk about how to come up with words for a quality of movement as we do something everybody does – such as walking. These words about quality are mostly adverbs. Because Sequence is a story, we tell stories about what comes first and next and what’s after that. To tell a story we sort and select for relative importance. Sometimes sequence can be a kind of “cause & effect.”

Then we do experiments about how to integrate a sense of timing with some moving around. Then for direction, we reveal a key about what Alexander Teachers call Primary Control. Its a principle of Alexander Technique about how effortlessness happens. Its best if you think of it as an experiment, rather than a perfect ideal to copy. We can try this experiment if you’d like?

ALICE: Let’s do that.

—– Part Four —–

FRAN: To conduct an experiment we usually need to know a few ground rules and we need to be able to ask good questions. Questions point to what we find.
In Alexander Technique the exercises and examples are not the content. The contents are abstract principles that can be applied in any situation. So, in Alexander Technique you would select a movement sort of as a baseline control, then you design an experiment. Alexander teachers select the movement for you because it doesn’t matter so much what movement you use. So I’m going to select a really simple and useful experiment here, then we’re going to see how it affects walking. You might get up and take a few steps and see if you can describe anything about how you walk before starting.

So, while you’re walking around, it’s handy to remember two facts:

1. Muscles contract & get shorter when they’re working. When they stop contracting, they naturally return to being longer. When muscles contract and pull against each other, you’ll feel a pulling sensation. When a muscle is working without conflict, it feels like nothing. You’re just moving.

2. When you learn something and it becomes a habit, the habit disappears. Habits disappear as they become innate. That is how you can build one habit into becoming a skill of many habits. Once a successfully installed habit is triggered, you will not feel yourself doing it, it will go off as it was designed to do.

If you haven’t had injuries to your neck, try this experiment while standing. Some people can also do this sitting, but come away from the chair back. Make it safe for yourself so you won’t fall over backwards.

OK, now look up to the ceiling or sky, tilting your head back. OK, are you looking up now with your eyes? Now drop your face and tilt your head forwards again. See if you can notice how your body moves slightly to counterbalance your head as it goes over the top of the arc from back to front. Somewhere in the middle from back to front, there is a tipping point where your body starts to move, very slight, as your weight shifts.

If you can’t sense your body moving in response to your head tipping, you can stand near a wall. Brush it. Then you’ll feel the sensation of your skin brushing slightly against what you’re next to – as your whole body compensates to what how your head it tipping.

It is subtle. It’s a kind of listing you’ll want to notice. Describe it. It’s a very slight move, like a palm tree when it blows and the whole tree moves, a very subtle movement. Most people don’t know their body always slightly moves to follow their head moving. Did you?

ALICE: Like this?

FRAN: Yes. Now, we’re going to use this “listing.” We’re going to launch into a walk. Tilt your head back again while standing, drop your face forward, and use that ‘coming loose’ listing movement to think up. Don’t walk yet!

Now, do it again, think up as you go over the top of the arc, and this time, launch into a walk. It’s a sort of nonchalant launch into movement. If you can start moving in this way, it’s like driving a car, letting out the clutch very easily. The force comes after you start, because then the clutch engages. Try it a number of times. Now, can you describe any changes in your walk from the first time?

That is a little experiment how some people can sense what Alexander Technique has to offer without a teacher’s hands-on. If it doesn’t work for you, maybe you need the help of hands-on. In class, we learn to practise and use this launching into motion. Later we do it without having to tip our heads, just by thinking of going up. Since the head moving first determines all other responses that follow, Alexander called this principle Primary Control.

—– Part Five —–

ALICE: In your seminar with the singers you talked about integrating timing? How do you integrate timing?

FRAN: We had people walk across the room. We had a very long area, so we had people walking around the lobby at the Gates Performing Arts centre using this tipping of the head to launch into motion. The challenge is, once you launch like this and get some improvement, how do you continue the effortlessness? After a few steps, you’re back where you started. So this challenge has to do with timing.

So, first we clapped to mark when a foot lands on the carpet. No problem. So when the foot comes down we make a sound, then we open up our hands on the upbeat before the other foot comes down. Clapping needs some practice, because there is the time you open your hands to clap, and then the time the sound is made from closing your hands to clap. Then we reverse the timing of the clap and opening of the hands. We clap on the off beat and open our hands when our foot hits the ground.

Although it sounds simple, it turns out to be tricky to coordinate, even for musicians. Most people usually don’t walk and play their instrument at the same time. Singers stand still or sit.

ALICE: Why would rhythm be important?

FRAN: Because the way you begin to do something will influence how it continues to go. The more beginnings you can make, the more you can insert anything else. Being able to note anything rhythmically will allow you to to make a space for it.
Multi-tasking is confusing, but you can insert a new thing, moment by moment, bit by bit pretty easily. Repeating something regularly will set any new thing into being a skill; it’s called a behaviour chain. You need to do it only about six or seven times the same way and anything weird will start to feel familiar. Musicians get this.

 

This is the new piece that I was given today to learn. It starts at 5.28 if you fast forward you can get straight to the Prelude and it finishes somewhere just after 7 minutes. It is this Prelude, No. 7 from Ten Pieces, Op.12, of Sergey Prokofiev.

This next one is Scarlatti, Sonata in B minor

Engel has been creatively active continuously from a very young age.

Houston grew up on the family farm near Timaru. His Mother taught Houston’s older siblings to play the piano. However, when Michael was older he just sat down at the piano and played it. He was able to reproduce the songs he heard on the radio and was able to correct his mistakes. By the time he turned five, Houston was asking for piano lessons. To begin with he took lessons from a local lady who played the hymns at the church. But she soon discovered Houston was too advanced. Houston is also blessed to possess a photographic memory.Houston’s parents went to the convent. The Sister who taught him was tasked to correct his technique. To begin with Houston refused to listen to what Sister was asking him to do, so Sister asked his Mother to come in for a chat. As a result, Houston’s Mother told him to either listen to what the Sister is telling him, or she would stop the music lessons. This was a reality wake up call for Houston who then promised he would listen to the Sister, and from then on he did very well.The Sister said Houston had a tremendous gift. She said “He was lovely to teach, he would cooperate all the way with me, and then he just went off leaps and bounds. I encouraged him to go out of Dunedin for competitions and all around, and he won them all. I recognised that as a teacher, I never taught him, I only guided him. He was so special.” Houston attended Claremont School. His teacher at that school, Ian Dando was in charge of the choir, which often gave full concerts. At these concerts Houston frequently played solos.

However, Houston was exposed to ridicule and teasing from other boys because he played the piano, so he ‘pretty quickly learnt to keep quiet’ (said Houston). Even Houston’s father, who was a hard working New Zealand farmer, was concerned that Houston’s piano playing was somehow abnormal. In stark contrast however, Houston’s Mother was a great fan of music and she was very supportive of Houston’s musical talents. Houston’s father worked regular hours, leaving the house in the morning and not returning until dinner. So to accommodate this, Houston would practise the piano every day before dinner, and would stop practising before his Father arrived home for dinner. Houston said “I never practised when my Father was in the house”. So far many years, Houston’s Father had literally never heard him play the piano.

In 1970 Houston went to Auckland. He was 17 years old and was competing against older students who were university trained. This was certainly a major testing ground for him. The competition was very tough, but even so, Houston won the competition! That accomplishment was very affirming to Houston, who did not know anybody in Auckland. When Houston went up to Auckland with his Mother and Sister, they stayed the YWCA. During the competition, Houston met another contestant who was older than Houston. His name was Ivan and he was a student from Auckland University. Ivan took Houston under his wings and introduced him to the Auckland scene. Houston met all of Ivan’s friends, and went to a café for the first time in his life. In that one week in Auckland Houston said he got an idea of a larger life and grew up immensely. Houston was in his element.

Beethoven Sonatas

In playing the piano, Houston describes the process as ‘projecting’ a feeling, rather than trying to capture it. Houston explained that when he is performing on stage, he is very sensitive, where “every nerve is working and every pore is open, it is a heightened state, and therefore you pick up these ambiences very quickly”.

Houston devised a project where he would tour the country performing all 32 Beethoven Sonatas in one concert. This extraordinary feat displays the stamina he possesses, as he took just three weeks to memorise 800 pages of manuscript, in what would take most pianists seven months. The Beethoven Sonata cycle has been described as the ‘Everest’ for most pianists. Houston is intrigued with “Beethoven’s delineations of us, human character”. In studying Beethoven’s music, Houston ponders what it is that Beethoven is “getting at” with these phrases? Just what are his themes? Ian Fraser (former manager of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra) said he was deeply affected by the response to Houston when at the end of the concert the audience threw flowers onto the stage. Morrison & Co Trust have recorded Houston’s performances of these Beethoven Sonatas and the CDs are now available from their website by clicking <here>.

Health issues

In early 2000 Houston was struck down with a disabling neurological disorder that rendered his right hand almost useless. This was a key moment to a concert pianist. Houston said there were “no big public announcements, people gradually got to know about it”.

It started off with Houston experiencing problems playing a descending scale, the e flat major scale that he couldn’t get down without a bump. He tried to find ways to practise to get rid of the bump, but everything he tried, “probably quietly started to make it worse”. Later on, Houston’s problems with his right hand started to “manifest itself in other pieces, in other scales, I started to lose my octave playing”. Houston said that apart from Bach, all other composers use octaves, and if he cannot play octaves then he cannot perform on the concert stage. Houston discovered that he had all but lost the use of his right hand. It was absolutely devastating.

The standard prognosis was not good. Houston was told he had an incurable disease. He said his neurologist said to him that he should “give up the piano and get a real job”. Regardless of this dire prediction, Houston did not give up, and instead he enlisted the help of four people who have been key to his recovery. He has had a lot of treatment from Simon Lauman, and Glen Williams (osteopath), Dale Speedy (sports doctor), and a piano teacher from Auckland University.

His piano teacher was reluctant due to Houston’s prominence, but she suggested that he change his technique. She was impressed with Houston because he has been so open and so receptive to these changes. Houston treats this whole thing as a learning process. To begin with, Houston started by playing five notes each day, so progress was slow. His progress was very gradual and was a day by day process.

Over the next five years Houston’s medical recovery was led by sports doctor Dale Speedy. Dale explained that Houston had just overloaded his muscles. Houston had knots everywhere and was out of alignment. Speedy went on to explain that if a pianist practises over and over again, they can develop the areas of the digits so that there is overlap, and there can be abnormal movements as signals between the brain and fingers. Houston’s treatment continued over the next five years.

Today Houston is back performing on the concert stage again.

For more information on the life and times of Michael Houston visit his official website by clicking <here>.