Gabriella Minnes Brandes
Applying Alexander Technique principles in a high school choir setting: Lessons learned
In this presentation I share findings that stem from a seven-week research
project undertaken in a secondary school in Vancouver, Canada. The purpose of this study was to examine the application of the Alexander Technique in a high school choir and to describe the teacher's and students' perceptions of its effects on the development of students' vocal skills. The choir teacher had weekly Alexander lessons with me prior to the outset of the study and on-going discussions throughout the time of the study. Within the data collection period the choir had bi-weekly warm up sessions consisting of 20-30 minutes of Alexander instruction that I taught.
All 58 choral students participated in the study, eight students kept weekly journals and of them four were also interviewed. The students, the choir teacher and the Alexander teacher reflected on their experiences orally and in writing.
In this session I will share insights from the study as we explore the possibilities and challenges of integrating Alexander Technique into singing
in a choir. For example, the students' perceptions of how they used their
bodies as musical instruments grew as they learned to describe what was taking place in their bodies when they sang. Implications for further research and Alexander work will also be discussed.
Dr. Gabriella Minnes Brandes has been teaching the Alexander Technique since 1988 after graduating from the Alexander Technique Training course in Haifa, Israel. She has maintained an active practice at the Alexander Technique Centre in Vancouver since 1990. Gaby taught the Alexander Technique as a part of the curriculum in an experimental elementary school. She also worked with physicians who were interested in exploring the effects of the Alexander Technique on patients with particular illnesses (e.g. chronic fatigue syndrome) as well as orthopedic surgeons who focused on rehabilitation. She has run many Alexander workshops for musicians, singers, horseback riders as well as introductory workshops for the general public.
Gaby is the co-director of the Vancouver School of the Alexander Technique - a CANSTAT certified school. She also holds a Ph.D. in education and teaches in the Faculty of Education at UBC.
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