The new year is traditionally a time for making resolutions, often with self-improvement in mind. It might be a promise to get fitter or to eat less chocolate, or maybe an assertion that you’ll practise more and improve your recorder playing. If you find yourself making the latter resolution every year this new series of blog posts is designed to help you.
The Technique Zone will be an ongoing series devoted to different aspects of recorder technique. I don’t have all the answers, but hopefully my tips may help you to better understand what you could do to become a better player.
How to use this series
It’s easy when you’re filled with new year enthusiasm to promise yourself you’ll work on every aspect of your playing this year. After all, the elements of recorder playing – breathing, tone production, articulation, fingering etc. – are all interlinked. However, if you wish retain some sanity I would warn against this! Instead, take a few minutes to think about your playing. Which elements of technique do you find hardest? Be honest about your weaknesses. Pick one area to focus on and hone for a while before you then move on to tackle something else.
We all know how difficult it is to multitask. Trying to work on too many things at once brings a distinct danger of doing nothing really well. Instead, take time to really polish one aspect of your playing – your tone, for instance – to the point where the good habits you’ve learnt become second nature. At that point you can consider another area of your technique, safe in the knowledge that you’ll maintain the good habits you’ve already built up while learning something new.
Alongside the Technique Zone I plan to run another series of posts, devoted to the thorny issue of practising effectively and efficiently. But more on these in due course….
The subject of this first Technique Zone post will be posture and remaining relaxed while playing, so let’s get started….
Let’s warm up
Photograph by Zoltan Tasi
It’s easy to throw yourself into practising without a second thought, filled with enthusiasm to make immediate progress. Don’t neglect the process of warming up first though. A runner would never begin their training with a high speed sprint. Instead, they’ll start with a gentle jog to warm up. Likewise, a gymnast or ballet dancer will do some stretches to limber up their muscles, ready for the demands they’ll make of their bodies. Even cats stretch when they wake up - they must instinctively know it’s good for their wellbeing!
Playing a musical instrument may not seem quite as physical as running a marathon or dancing a jive, but its repetitive nature can be equally damaging over long periods. It’s easy to get caught up in the music you’re practising and before you know it an hour has gone by, leaving you feeling tired and stiff. Instead, take a few minutes before you begin to stretch, making sure the key muscles you need are warm and relaxed. Tension is one of your biggest enemies and you’ll always play better when you’re relaxed.
An excellent resource for this is a sheet of warm ups published by the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine. Why not print a copy to keep in your recorder case for reference?
Before I move on to talk about posture, can I also urge you to take regular breaks whenever you’re playing. This is important whether you’re practising alone at home or playing with others. Sitting still for too long takes a huge toll on our bodies. It’s important to get up, walk around and stretch for a few minutes every half hour or so. Your body will thank you and your concentration levels will benefit too.
Are you sitting comfortably?
Most of us do much of our playing sitting down, especially when rehearsing with others. If you generally sit to practise I encourage you to sometimes ditch the chair and stand for a while if you can. Standing restricts your breathing less, encourages you to move more often, increases blood flow around the body and will help your concentration too. Give it a try. There’s no need to ban yourself from sitting entirely, but it’s good to change things up from time to time.
Having said all that, a lot of what I’m about to say is equally applicable whether you’re sitting or standing. But let’s take a moment to think about the part of our posture which does change when we sit – our lower body and legs.
Setting good foundations
If you’re sitting down, please stand up for a moment and consider your lower body posture. You don’t need a recorder for this – just your body and some self awareness. You might find it helpful to stand in front of a long mirror if you have one.
Stand as though you were about to play the recorder and look down at your feet. Are they close together or spread far apart? Move them into different positions and note the effect this has on your stability and balance. With your feet very close together your core muscles have to work harder to maintain your balance. Remember, you use these same core muscles to control your breathing, so you don’t want to overwork them.
Now move your feet a little further from each other – about hip width apart – and see how much more stable you feel. While you’re there, spread your feet even further apart and note the way your upper leg muscles then have to work harder.
While you’re standing, consider your knees. I know you don’t use your knees to play the recorder, but if you have them locked and stiff that makes your leg muscles work harder, increasing tension. Instead, keep them slightly soft so you’re not stiffly locked in position.
Please take a seat….
Now we’ve set the foundations, let’s sit down and consider the effect this has on our balance and posture.
When you play sitting down do you use the back rest of your seat? In many places recorder players meet to rehearse we’re provided with cheap, moulded plastic chairs. Heaven knows who such seats were designed for, but I’m pretty certain it wasn’t the human form! If you sit back in many of these chairs it’s almost impossible not to slouch. Instead I encourage you to sit forward a little on your seat. You don’t need to be perched on the edge, but leave a little fresh air between your back and the chair so you can use your body’s own balance mechanisms.
Now you’re sitting down, keep your feet about hip width apart and place them beneath your knees, so you have a right angle at both your knees and hips. Note how this gives you a feeling of stability and balance. Now try tucking your feet beneath your chair or stretching them languidly out in front of you. Both of these actions deprive you of balance, don’t they? Tucking your feet under your seat tips your upper body forwards, while stretching the legs throws you backwards. Either way, you have to engage your core muscles (the ones you’ll be using to breath and blow) much more to maintain an upright playing position.
Bring yourself back to that balanced position – feet beneath your knees, with right angles at knees and hips. Now gently rock your upper body back and forth a little, gradually reducing the movement until you come to rest in the centre. Think of the Weeble toys made for children from the 1970s and you’ll have an idea what I mean. If you’re of the wrong generation to recall Weebles you can see what I mean here!
When you reach the centre you’ve found your ischial tuberosities – your sitting bones. You’re now sitting in a balanced way, as nature intended. By doing this you minimise the work the muscles in your back and core need to do.
Let’s return to the back of your seat again for a moment. If you can sit back and use the backrest for gentle support while sitting well, that’s great, but remember this isn’t possible with all chair designs. I almost always sit forward on my seat while playing because doing so puts less strain on my body than fighting a badly designed chair. Don’t forget you can always relax back into the chair during rests!
If you’d like to see a visual demonstration of the ideas I’ve just talked about this short video may be helpful:
Find a balance between relaxation and sitting up straight
We’ve all been told at some point in our lives (often by parents or school teachers) to, “Sit up straight!” But just how straight should you be? If you actively try to straighten your back you’re almost certainly going to end up with tense, sore muscles after a while. Our spines have their own natural curves which we shouldn’t attempt to expunge. Instead, try a method often espoused by Alexander Technique teachers. Imagine a thread running right along your spine, through your head and out of the top of your crown. Feel this thread gently lifting you, so you feel taller, but without straining to do so. Sitting well should use as little effort as possible, while avoiding being so relaxed that you slouch!
Head up, chin in, shoulders down!
It’s very easy to get into bad habits with your upper body while playing the recorder. We naturally feel an instinct to reach for the mouthpiece, stretching our chin forward. When we get tired and tense our shoulders will rise and in moments of stress (such as that tricky bit with all the accidentals!) we forget to check our posture.
Use a mirror to observe the position of your shoulders when you’ve been playing for a while. Now roll them in a circular motion, back and forth, dropping your arms at your sides, so gravity pulls their weight gently downwards. Are your shoulders further from your earlobes than they were a few moments ago? I bet they are! While you’re here, are your shoulders back and inline with your body, allowing your shoulder blades to form a V shape? Or maybe they’re rounded and pulled forwards. If you’re not sure, try rolling them forwards and see how much more strain that puts on your upper back muscles. A physiotherapist who used to treat my back would often say, “Shoulders back, boobs out!” to remind me to maintain good upper body posture. Now I realise this phrase only works for 50% of the population, but gents can try “shoulders back, chest out” instead!
Finally, think about the position of your chin. We spend too much of our lives today with our heads down over computers and mobile phones, often sticking our chins forward. The average human head weighs 5 kilos, so sitting with your head stretched forward puts enormous strain on your neck, often resulting in tension and headaches. As someone who has an unusually flexible spine and neck I’m frequently painfully aware of this fact because my natural vulnerability to overextension.
Try instead to tuck your chin in and keep your head lifted rather than bent forward. Doing this not only allows a freer path for the air passing through your windway when playing your recorder, but also helps you avoid tension headaches and knots in your neck and shoulder muscles. It may be you need to lift your music stand a little higher to encourage a healthy head position when playing, although I’m aware this can cause problems seeing the music with certain types of glasses.
Next time you play your recorders, try to be more aware of your head, chin and shoulders, focusing on keeping your chin tucked in, shoulders low and relaxed. Most importantly, make sure you always bring the recorder’s mouthpiece to you, rather than stretching your body towards it. This is particularly important for bass recorders and larger.
Knick basses or those with crooks have lots of points of adjustment and don’t overlook the way you support the recorder either. A sling can be helpful in taking the weight of the instrument, but maybe try it slung diagonally across your body if it causes discomfort when hung around your neck. Another option is a spike attached to the bottom of your bass, so the floor takes the weight, rather than you. With bigger basses make sure your seat is at the right height to allow you to play comfortably without having to actively stretch to reach the mouthpiece.
Are you now sitting more comfortably?
All the tips I’ve shared with you today are things I’ve picked up during over forty years of playing, as I’ve learnt to be comfortable in my own body. None of them are groundbreaking concepts, but they are easily overlooked.
When music making is your passion it’s easy to get caught up in the moment, neglecting your physical wellbeing. We spend many hours of our lives making repetitive movements. This can be damaging, but it needn’t be if you simply think about what you’re doing a little more.
How to practise what you’ve learnt…
Practising good posture shouldn’t be something you only consider when playing your recorder. Instead, make a point of sitting really well for some time every single day. OK, there will be times when you just want to lounge languidly on the sofa, and that’s absolutely fine! But find moments in the day when you’re doing something simple (maybe while you’re eating breakfast or as you sit on the platform waiting for a train) and consciously check your posture. Find your ischial tuberosities, drop your shoulders, lift your head and take some deep, relaxed breaths. Doesn’t it feel marvellous?! Try to bring this habit into your practice time too. Maybe follow some deep, relaxed breathing with a few minutes of long notes or a simple folk tune where you can think about how you’re sitting without the distraction of other technical challenges.
Have you picked up other useful tips on maintaining good posture while playing? If so please do share them with us in the comments below so others can benefit too. I’d love these Technique Zone posts to become an interactive resource where we can all learn from each other. In the meantime, keep relaxed and tension-free and I’ll see you again soon in the Technique Zone!