Janet Davies

Somatic education in string teaching using Alexander Technique principles

Somatic education, which trains kinaesthetic sensitivity and perceptual accuracy, should be crucial in string teaching, as movement and sensory perception are fundamental to our art. Additionally, changes in bodily organization can directly affect the quality of musical performance.

Some specific areas which can be informed by somatic training are:
– Spatial awareness, bow distribution and direction, fingerboard geography
– Accuracy of aural perception
– Calibration of necessary force
– Organisation of optimal balance and efficient movement patterns.

The Alexander Technique (AT) is a form of somatic training often used by musicians, yet Alexander himself rejected any notion of the body as separate from the mind, instead perceiving the “self” as a unified system, where the mechanism for learning and change might now be described as “neuroplasticity”.

This presentation will introduce The Resonant Body Method (TRB), which has been developed to assist in the practical application of AT to string teaching and playing. We will look at AT principles through the lenses of neuroplasticity, bio-tensegrity (where power, intensity, and the structural integrity of the body can be accessed via “good tension”) and Body Mapping (the importance of developing accurate “body maps” through training in functional anatomy).

About Janet Davies

Janet Davies is currently Lecturer in Violin at Sydney Conservatorium, where she has taught violin, chamber music, orchestral studies and string pedagogy over several years. As a professional player Janet was a core member of ACO. She has traveled widely to observe many of the world’s finest violin teachers in action. Her students hold prominent positions in leading orchestras and are regular prize winners in major competitions, including the National Youth Concerto, KPO Concerto and Kendall National Violin Competitions. Janet is also a fully qualified Alexander Technique (AT) teacher. Based on her extensive experience working with musicians, she has devised a unique method – The Resonant Body – which elucidates the principles of AT so they are directly applicable to playing. These principles inform every aspect of her violin teaching. As a researcher, she has published on risk factors for playing-related injuries and the effects of purpose-designed AT classes for tertiary and professional musicians.
Janet teaches AT to Sydney Conservatorium students as well as musicians of the Sydney Symphony and Opera Australia Orchestras. In her private practice, she teaches violin students of all ages and works with professionals on concert and audition preparation, technique modification and injury rehabilitation.