‘What your instrument asks of you’ is a course of lessons and assignments to help you discover and deal with the demands your specific instrument requires from you.
The course will give you new tools to deal with those challenges.
We use WARM-UPS, READINGS, and PRACTICE TACTICS
These elements are also on video or text online. See link in red below
At the end of the course you are required to film yourself applying a warm-up and a practice tactic. Think of these as “demo” films. The participants will watch each other’s films and write a short reflection on them to hand in to the teacher.
Warm-ups:
There is a playlist of useful Warm-ups and Stretches made for you here at school.
In class we do warm-ups to find the link between postural structures and breathing.
We do often:
Space to Breathe Stretch
Unpacking the MusicianClass Videos
Practice Tactics
Things you do while working with the music
See the list and links for the Practice Tactics on the Flashcards page!
We work alot with the links under the titles:
Mental Study
Cleaning up your Technique
Frames of Attention
Click on these titles and subtitles on the Flashcards Page.
Readings
Main reading for class are:
Impulse reading
Mozart and Mental Study
See this link for other Readings if you want to expand your studies.
There are also specific films and readings for different instrument groups:
Strings: See playlist Violinist in Balance which has exercises for all strings. For violinists and violists is also a research website to look at on the Violinist in Balance research page.
Strike and Pluck:
See presentation films below for your instrument.
Voice and winds:
Reasons to Breathe reading
Plus presentations listed here below.
For everyone:
Presentation films 2019-20 These films are made available to you with full permission of the students involved.