I had the pleasure of coaching/accompanying high school students for the Vocal Arts Camp at BG this past week. But I'm left feeling a little disturbed. While so many of the kids were really talented and had good musical foundations, so many of them had also already developed deeply ingrained tension in the way they produce sound. One of my girls contorted her hands unnaturally when she went into her high register. A boy I taught was so obsessed with breathing the right way that his whole body tensed whenever he inhaled. Remember these kids are only 16 or 17.
Why is this problem not something we address in music lessons from the very beginning? I can't totally blame these students' teachers. Only so much can be transmitted from teacher to student through vocabulary, and only the student can truly feel for himself what it's like to sing or play an instrument in a physically free way. Still, I think the vast majority of music educators do not think of music performance as physical activity. They're content not to (or maybe afraid to) assume responsibility when students have physical problems. Or worse, they teach techniques emphasizing end-gaining that are meant to solve the problem but that actually abuse the body.
I do believe teachers need to be equipped to talk about the physicality of their craft. So many teachers came to their positions because they were naturally at ease with their instrument or voice and find it hard to discuss technique other than an outward description of what they're doing. And this is fine (and perhaps desired--see below). Many of the best teachers only talk about issues in the music itself and they have important wisdom to impart. I just think in that case, teachers need to have a list of references to send students to in case of problems (Alexander Technique teachers, yoga studios, other teachers). What they need NOT to do is to fixate on the issue to the point that the student can't think about anything else. Some voice teachers obsess over getting a big breath. Some piano teachers obsess over developing strong fingers. Both of these things, in excess and without a sense of healthy physical coordination and with a dose of anxiety, can lead to injury.
I would actually propose NOT talking about technique too much in lessons. It can be overwhelming for a student to take in so much information; trying to manipulate their body in the "correct" way often just causes problems. Rather, letting the student find their own natural movements to create the desired sound can be much more effective (I call this a sound-based technique). Sometimes, problems involving posture or excess tension can be solved just by creating a safe environment for the student free of fear/anxiety.
I believe most problems of technique are caused by an emotional reaction to the environment. I've read about studies that prove an infant actually possesses the strength and physical coordination needed to play the piano, and that nonmusicians and classically trained pianists tested the same in finger agility/speed (the pianist simply had better coordination). A Russian construction worker/amateur pianist I met insisted he had no technique whatsoever because he was self-taught. When he sat down to play one of his compositions, his hands looked beautifully natural and free, and he was able to produce the sounds he wanted.
We become stiff when we're taught that mistakes are BAD. We become stiff when a teacher tells us to mold our hands to look a certain way rather than find our own way to produce the sound that feels good. We become stiff when our musical craft becomes less enjoyable and more a need to do well or impress a teacher or audience. I haven't come up with the magic balance between criticism to keep a student improving and encouragement to keep them feeling safe. I know it would just create a whole heap of different problems to never point out a mistake, ever, and I'm not proposing that. I also don't necessarily think every discipline needs to be gentler on its students (I haven't thought about writing yet...maybe more on that later). But music is art, and I truly believe music schools and private music educators would do well to move away from the emphasis on right vs. wrong and good vs. bad when we talk about technique. Lazy people with potential might suffer without the fear of being bad waiting to kick them in the ass, but motivated people who have hard teachers but who are even harder on themselves would likely find themselves liberated, free to contribute themselves and their genuine art to the world.
