Pedro de Alcantara - Indirect Procedures

INDIRECT PROCEDURES

A MUSICIANS GUIDE TO THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE

SECOND EDITION

Pedro de Alcantara

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the Universitys objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

Oxford New York

Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi

Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi

New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto

With offices in

Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece

Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore

South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam

Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries.

Published in the United States of America by

Oxford University Press

198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Oxford University Press 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above.

You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Alcantara, Pedro de, 1958

Indirect procedures : a musicians guide to the Alexander technique / Pedro de Alcantara. Second edition.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-19-538859-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-19-538860-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. MusiciansHealth and hygiene. 2. Alexander technique. I. Title. II. Title: Musicians guide to the Alexander technique.

RC965.P46A43 2013

613.02378dc23 2012035898

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

In memory of Patrick Macdonald

Several friends and colleagues expressed puzzlement when I told them I was planning to rewrite my first book, Indirect Procedures: A Musicians Guide to the Alexander Technique. They were fond of the book and seemed a little afraid I might spoil it by changing something that, in their view, didnt need changing.

The original Indirect Procedures was published in 1997. Its conception, however, dates from much earlier. In 1985, when I was training to become a teacher of the Alexander Technique, I obtained a research scholarship from a foundation in my native Brazil. The subject of research was the application of the Technique to music making. I wrote a paper at the end of my studies, and several of its ideas and formulations found their way into the original Indirect Procedures.

Fast forward to 2013, twenty-eight years later. Naturally enough, I learned many things over the decades, in good part thanks to those friends and colleagues I met following the books publication. My musical horizons expanded tremendously. I also gained experience by writing several other books, culminating with Integrated Practice: Coordination, Rhythm & Sound, which OUP published in the summer of 2011.

Given my expanded horizons, I wanted to revisit Indirect Procedures and see if I could open it up, too. Most important, I wanted Indirect Procedures and Integrated Practice to become companion volumes, so that a reader might study both together in a coherent fashion. The older book, however, would need to catch up to the new one.

I retained part of the books structure but shifted many sections around. I added new exercises and concepts throughout. The original version contained several chapters that included music examples. In this new version I regrouped everything with music examples into a single chapter. This may be helpful to nonmusicians whod like to read Indirect Procedures, because now they only need to ignore that one chapter in the whole book. The old version had a lot of quotes drawn from many sources, including the writings of F. M. Alexander and other authorities. Although the quotes were indeed interesting and useful, their sheer number seemed to suggest I myself didnt have that much to say. For better or for worse, Ive decided to use fewer quotes and share more of myself with my readers. I changed my tone of voice as well. In my youth I was quite dogmatic, and I liked using the words always, never, should, must. Now they seem too absolute and prescriptive to me. Generally speaking, I believe its more constructive to let go of certainties and explore the world of possibilities instead.

In the original version, I issued a warning about the difficulty of learning the Alexander Technique from a book, as opposed to one-on-one lessons with a teacher. Ive come to think that I was actually trying to discourage my readers from reading my own book! The new version contains no warnings of any sort. This book is for you to read and understand, or misunderstand, in any way you wish, although of course I hope that youll find it useful and enjoyable.

My friends Jodi Forrest, Rosangela Mesquita, Joo Mouro, Lindsay Newitter, and Rebecca Young provided invaluable technical support. My editor, Suzanne Ryan, makes things possible, and I cant thank her enough for it. My wife, Alexis Niki, gives me companionship, inspiration, and love. Im a lucky man.

Pedro de Alcantara
Paris and New York
April 2013

Extracts from F. Matthias Alexanders Mans Supreme Inheritance, Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual, The Universal Constant in Living, and Articles and Lectures by permission of the Estate of F. M. Alexander 2012.

Photo credits: man jumping: Jolanta Vaitkeviciene, Dreamstime.com. Child in quadrilateral action: Petr Cihak, Dreamstime.com. Boy preparing to jump: Valentyn Leshchymenko, Dreamstime.com. Archer: Dimitry Shironosov, Dreamstime.com. Smiling girl: Martin Novak, Dreamstime.com. Young girl lying on her back: Zestmarina, Dreamstime.com. Dog pulling boy: Photoeuphoria, Dreamstime.com. Man hailing taxi: Arenacreative, Dreamstime.com. Lionel Messi: Natursports, Dreamstime.com. Elderly Chinese woman: Flashon Studio, Dreamstime.com. Man raising both arms: Felix Mizioznikov, Dreamstime.com. Boy reading on lawn: Grafoo, Dreamstime.com. Couple arguing: Martha Bayona, Dreamstime.com. Ray Charles: by permission of Guy le Querrec and Magnum Photos. Marie-Madeleine Durufl: Courtesy of Archives Chevalier. Dissection of the face muscles, by Jacques Fabian Gautier dAgoty: by permission of AKG Images. Photos of F. M. Alexander 2012, The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique, London. Man looking at art: Adriano Castelli, Shutterstock.com. The Thinker by Auguste Rodin: St Niki, Shutterstock.com. Child ice skating with chair: Jason Kasumovic, Shutterstock.com. American football player: Pete Saloutos, Shutterstock.com. Man underneath car: Everett Collection, Shutterstock.com. Arthur Rubinstein: Coqueux/SPECTO.

The author has made every effort to contact all copyright owners and would be happy to amend these acknowledgments in later editions of the book.