Reflections of the Alexander Technique: From Learning, Teaching, Training Teachers, Living, and Thinking

Reflections of the Alexander Technique contains Armstrong’s memoirs and thoughts on fifty years of living with and teaching the Alexander Technique. Armstrong describes his first lessons in 1965 and 1966, and how he put the Technique into practice during his US Army physical training. He relates his teacher training with Walter Carrington 1969–72, and presents his views of the distinction between conditions and manner of use. He details how he teaches a new pupil in the first three lessons. Following on from this, Armstrong explains the importance of working on yourself, and discusses the distinction he makes between “directing” and “ordering.” A separate chapter is dedicated to the practice of inhibition, and the importance of distinguishing between “stopping” and “pausing.” A chapter describes how he teaches walking to his students. A chapter covers working on breathing in relation to vocal production and wind-instrument playing. This includes examples of reading texts (such as poetry), the whispered “ah”, and working with other vowels. He reports on his experiences of training teachers, especially the use of the hands in teaching, and presents detailed instructions for hands on the back of the chair. He also proposes a new way of exchanging hands-on work with other teachers which consists essentially of not trying to teach during the exchange. As Armstrong is a flutist, there are throughout accounts of how the Technique influenced his playing and how the Technique generally helps musicians. In addition, a chapter discusses the use of the Technique for dealing with stress and enhancing expressiveness in performing. It includes a transcript of Armstrong teaching a cellist. In “Scientific Research” Armstrong presents twelve Alexander hypotheses, or claims, that he argues would need to be investigated for a more accurate understanding of the Alexander Technique. In the last chapter he reflects on how the Technique makes him question many of our culturally conditioned beliefs about identity and expression of affection. About the Author Joe Armstrong trained as a teacher of the Alexander Technique from 1969 to 1972 at the Constructive Teaching Centre in London. He also holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees as a flutist, and he has specialized in teaching the Alexander Technique to professional musicians in Boston and the New England area for the last fifty years. He has also collaborated with Alexander teacher colleagues in giving classes for musicians and regular Alexander students, and he has given advanced training classes for certified Alexander teachers. From 1978 to 1988 he ran an Alexander teacher training course, and in more recent years he has written fairly extensively on the Alexander Technique and music-related subjects, including his translation of French musicologist André Pirro’s The Aesthetic of Johann Sebastian Bach. His articles have appeared in The Flutist Quarterly and in STATNews and AmSAT News, the periodicals of the British and American societies of teachers of the Alexander Technique, and several of his writings have been published by STATBooks, Mouritz, and Novis.