Body Mapping

[allchopin]

I am soon going to start studying body mapping with Kathryn Woodard (the only certified teacher in the southwest US, apparently) which I believe is closely related to Alexander Technique.  Does anyone know about this and/or have personal experience with this?  Was it helpful? (eddie, I need your feedback on the Alx. Tech.)

-thx

[faulty_damper]

Body Mapping?  As in measuring the body?

[Saturn]

One person who I know would know about this is xvimbi, but I haven't seen a post from him in a little while.

Try check out this site:

https://www.pianomap.com/bodymap.html

[Shagdac]

This is really interesting. I had never heard of this before, but was on the public learning channel several months ago. It was talking about how musician (or actually all of us) move, thinking we are put together one way, when in actuality, we are constructed completely differently. And by understanding this, we can prevent, injury and pain. They said that unfortunately most people find out about this and begin studying body mapping when they are already in pain.

They discussed at great lenth the Alexander technique, and explained that he used to be an actor who suffered from lanyngitis at some point. As he studied his actual reaction when suffering from this he was able to determine the root cause of the problem, not just the fact that "he couldn't speak". So he thought differently when he would initiate the act of speaking, to actually do it differently thereby eliminating the true cause. Over much trial and error, he developed the first system to actually allow one to change what they were thinking in order to change the actions. It is somewhat related to all that we hear about things being "ergonomically correct". Doing things the right way, in order to preven injury and pain.

Many have reported success as far as treating carpel-tunnel syndrome and tonitis. It is also supposed to be excellent at reducing tension and stress, which would be beneficial to ones playing.

Frank Shelton is an instructor of this I believe, and there are several in the Boston area I think. Also, many of the more prominent music conservatories are teaching some of these methods as well, or will be (or so they stated).

Usually you can order the video of the programs off the channel. Next time they give their number...I will get it and post it for you AllChopin.

Please let us know what you think when you start your studies! Good luck!

S

[janice]

Many have reported success as far as treating carpel-tunnel syndrome and tonitis.

You mean tinnitus, right?

[Shagdac]

Sorry Janbo....

I meant to write "Dystonia".
It's my Friday, guess my brain is tired huh! Hmmmm.....
see, if I had gone to the gym today, I wouldn't be making these mistakes!!!!

S

[allchopin]

Saturn: Acually, I'm going to be studying that book you sent the link for (I believe). If I remember, I'll post how it goes.

Shagdac: I wouldve loved to catch this program.. but it may not come on in my area.  I'll have to keep up with my tv guide to see it in my area. But yes, this is exactly what Body mapping is for as well as Alexander Technique.  I'm wondering if shes' going to go into this stuff in detail though...

Janice: Tinnitus is the phenomenon of having a slight ringing in your ears at random times.  But you were close  

I still havent started yet - I start Wednesday.

[allchopin]

Well, first session was off to an interesting start (I didnt really get much out of it, but I'm sure she get into it within the next few sessions or so).  She did a little powerpoint which was essentially useless and time-wasting, then she had us all (about 9 of us) sit up too straight, to feel how it is incorrect.  Then I volunteered to play something and she then had me replay it, except the second time being aware of more parts of my body (legs, torso, etc).  Anyone know when the magic happens?

[xvimbi]

One person who I know would know about this is xvimbi, but I haven't seen a post from him in a little while.

Sorry, just came back from an Alaska trip. Need to re-map my body now.

Anyone know when the magic happens?

Don't expect immediate results from something that is so fundamental. Body-mapping is nothing magical. It is in fact entirely natural, but attaching names like "body-mapping" gives it an esoteric appearance. It simply means that we should be aware of where our various body parts end up in three-dimensional space when we move around joints. The idea is to learn to place any body part wherever we want to without actually looking. This is not restricted to piano playing, of course, but will help in all aspects of life. If you read carefully through all posts on this forum that deal with technique, you will find many indirect references to "body-mapping". Juggling and martial arts (favorites of Bernhard's for developing co-ordination) are prime examples where body-mapping needs to be very well developped.

Like going from bad posture to good posture requires months of gradual changes, developing a thorough body-map will require months of careful observation and practice. You won't regret it if you stick to it.

[allchopin]

Yes we started going over posture in the lesson, where the balance of the head on the neck is on an axis through your ears.  I can see this as a very important thing to keep aware of, as a sore neck can result from a misaligned head.
As for kinesthesis, is this relating to being able to hit notes in one hand without looking at them (ie, accuracy)?  How can one study this, and/or make it an actual developed skill?

[xvimbi]

As for kinesthesis, is this relating to being able to hit notes in one hand without looking at them (ie, accuracy)?  How can one study this, and/or make it an actual developed skill?

As I said before: juggling, martial arts, climbing, balancing, anything that requires advanced coordination. If you want to deal only with piano playing, you could play blindfolded. Since you are studying body-mapping, you should ask your teacher.