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Public Seminar

Feel Good, Sound Good: A Feldenkrais Workshop for Musicians

with Michael Tweed-Kent

Register now

As musicians, we want to feel good and sound good, but these two goals don’t always align. We focus on our body, but then disconnect from the music. Or we focus on the music, but then disconnect from our body. And for some of us, while performing, we disconnect from both.

In this workshop, you’ll learn to connect it all. First, you’ll clarify how you want to sound and what your instrument or voice needs to make that sound. And then, in Awareness Through Movement lessons developed specifically for musicians, you’ll explore the most comfortable and efficient ways to do it with your body.

By applying the Feldenkrais Method directly to your instrument or voice, we'll bring together body awareness, technique, self-trust and expression – so that feeling good and sounding good go hand-in-hand.

This workshop is designed for musicians of any instrument, voice and level – professional or amateur – and also for non-musician Feldenkrais practitioners or trainees who wish to deepen their work with musicians. While some lessons might appear more related to certain instruments
than others, the benefits truly apply to all – and often where we least expect. For example, a clenched hand in a singer that causes their tongue to pull back, or a clenched tongue in a violinist that causes their vibrato to tighten. Experiencing these connections will help you play and sing with your whole self.

Lesson 1 – Freeing Your Breathing

Breathing is one of the few functions we do quite well from the beginning of life. It’s only as we face the world that our breathing becomes disturbed by anxiety. We fight, flee, freeze or fawn – and this shows up in how we hold our ribs, diaphragm and pelvic floor. No matter our instrument
or voice, these patterns can intensify while we perform. We breathe too much, too little, in the wrong places or not at all. So the solution is less about learning new ways to breathe, and more about releasing old protective patterns that no longer serve us, so we can match our breathing to what our voice or instrument needs. Once we do that, fuller breathing, sound and expression come all on their own.

Lesson 2 – Supporting Your Arms

Our arms are so well designed for holding and reaching that we often over-rely on them, causing them to tighten or fatigue. But what if our arms didn’t have to carry the whole load? Fortunately, we can support and move around our instrument from anywhere in our body, especially from our pelvis. This not only makes our arms feel lighter and more elegant, it frees us to create richer, more accurate and smoother sounds too.

Lesson 3 – Releasing Your Mouth

Whether or not we use it directly on our instrument, our mouth has a profound effect on how we
feel and sound. Our oral posture shapes our overall posture. And many of us store anxiety in our jaw and tongue, so by releasing tension there, we can release tension throughout our body, to open up our sound and calm our nerves.

Lesson 4 – Sculpting Your Hands

Our hands have 27 bones each, and we tend to focus on the ones we can see. Yet the true hearts of our hands lie deep inside our palms. When we coordinate these hidden bones, our fingers become stronger and lighter, so we can play faster and cleaner. And the deeper parts of our palms root us to deeper parts of our tongue, torso and feet – with surprising effects on our posture, embouchure and voice.

This webinar will take place live via the online conference software "Zoom". It includes lessons in Awareness through Movement (so-called "ATMs"). Please make sure that you have a mat or blanket available for the exercises when the class begins. A flat pillow (for example a towel) is also advisable, just make sure it is not too thick or too soft.

You can participate in the webinar using a computer, tablet or smartphone, your camera and microphone do not need to be turned on to participate.
Please register for the webinar by clicking the "REGISTER NOW" button.

Once you have paid the registration fee, you will receive a confirmation email with your personal link for attending the webinar. Please save this link and do not share it with others.

If you are using Zoom for the first time, you will be asked to install the Zoom software or app. This is advisable for a smooth running of the session. Please allow 10 to 15 minutes for the installation of the Zoom software/ app.