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About the Alexander Technique
Why is the Alexander Technique so very rewarding to explore? Because it is about us--our habits, our reactions, about how, from one moment to the next, we pay attention to our activities. As musicians, we express ourselves through our instrument, and as players we hold it close to ourselves. It becomes, in time, a part of us. The Alexander Technique is a means to explore this relationship, its quirks, its habits, its good and not-so-good aspects.
How many of us can say that we are in harmony with our instrument, that we can allow the music to be spoken fully in the moment? That we enjoy playing and singing and do so with ease?
F.M. Alexander spent the better part of nine years observing himself, formulating and refining his Technique, which he referred to as "the use of the self". He was led to his discoveries by the loss of his stage voice, caused by his poor habits of reciting.
What are the fundamentals of the Alexander Technique? For our attention to remain free, the relationship between the head, neck and spine must be allowed to function without interference. This freedom of attention and movement can, in most cases, be recovered through conscious application of the principles of the Technique.
The Alexander Technique re-educates our sensory awareness and our inner "pitch". We become “re-tuned” through lessons, more sensitive to how we move and how our attention is directed. It is a rediscovery of what Nature intended for us, on a conscious level.
How does this fit in with music? If you tune your instrument to render what you play sweeter and more fitting, or vocalize to prepare to sing, why not take it one step further and tune into the self that makes your music?
About Selma Gokcen
Selma Gokcen obtained her STAT teaching certificate at the Centre for the Alexander Technique in London. Her teachers include Eleanor and Peter Ribeaux, Margaret Goldie, Ted Macnamara and Marjory Barlow.
A member of the Alexander Technique faculty of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, Selma is also professor of violoncello. She works with instrumentalists and singers, and incorporates the Alexander Technique as part of her cello classes.
Selma is an accomplished performer who has travelled around the world giving cello master classes and concerts, as well as workshops in the Alexander Technique. She holds three degrees, including Doctor of Musical Arts, from the Juilliard School and a First Prize from the Geneva Conservatoire of Music.
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