7/26/2019 Alexander Technique for Singers

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Alexander Technique for Singers

Alexander Technique can be a highly useful tool in the voice studio. Alexander

Technique is taught through a series of lessons by a certified instructor in which the student is

highly involved in the educational process. The goal is to access full body awareness of habits,

 posture, and movement in whatever the student pursues. This was developed by F.M. Alexander,

an Australian actor who frequently lost his voice when performing and developed hoarseness as a

result. Through selfobservation, he found his tension was created by a tendency to pull the head

 bac!wards and downwards in preparation of phonation. "e hypothesi#ed this tendency to be the

source of his vocal issues. "is recurrent voice loss was resolved through experimentation, and

furthermore, he found that his practices improved his everyday life.

For singers, the instructor would have the student lie on his or her bac! with !nees up to

experience the body$s neutral state of function, therefore showing the student where they hold

tension and how to release it. The singer then wor!s on repertoire while the instructors assists in

diagnosing potential issues with posture and alignment, and wor!s with the student to recogni#e

and prevent habitual tension. %nstructors will develop and utili#e an exercise to support the

 process of removing the habit. The singer often uses a mirror to be able to spot these issues, as

selfexamination is one of the !ey ideologies of Alexander Technique.

This topic is quite fascinating and has become a leading technique in the modern voice

studio. Alexander Technique not only assists the student with their vocal production and overall

connection to the body, but the tools and exercises learned also help & and even require & the

instructor to access the same voicebody freedom. This opens the door for students to become

selfobservant, independent singers and may also inspire students to pursue a career in teaching.