My Timani Lesson

This year I (finally) had the good fortune of attending the Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA) Symposium. When I discovered that it was going to be held at UCLA this year, I jumped at the chance to be there. I read and reread the schedule and topics presented and planned out my days. The symposium ran from Friday - Monday morning with a certificate course, “The Essentials of Performing Arts Health” scheduled for the Thursday before. I relied heavily on their journal, Medical Problems of Performing Artists(MPPA), for source material when I was researching my dissertation, “Using Iyengar Yoga to Enhance Violin Playing.” It is by far the most comprehensive source for articles about musicians health. 

The Workshop

One of the Seminars was lead by Tina Margareta Nilssen, from Norway. Her workshop was titled “How Can We Help to Prevent Repetitive Strain Injury in Music Students While Simultaneously Enhancing Musical Expression,” and took place on Saturday afternoon. I was excited to attend her workshop because Tina and I had connected via social media, and it is not every day you meet someone also invested in Musicians Health and Wellness in person.

Her workshop politely blew my mind. While her workshop title is long and kind of ungainly, she emphasizes “Anatomical knowledge and physical implementation to create freedom and joy of playing.” Her workshop was upbeat and engaging. She has the type of presentation that is compelling and instantly makes you feel like you know her but also that you want to know more. I pretty much rushed the stage afterward to pepper her with more questions, and she (shockingly) asked if I would like to meet outside of the symposium to do more work (so I said yes, duh).

The Lesson

We met at Disney Hall for a private lesson and in true music student fashion (I got nervous beforehand). The first thing we did was discuss the ideal body of a musician (turns out it’s a chocolate-covered caramel – delicious) before I played for her, and she videotaped it. When I watched the footage, I thought my posture looked pretty good, but after 20-30 minutes or so of work together, I could see a subtle but dynamic difference in my playing. It was shocking.

We worked for approximately another hour, going over sitting posture and standing posture, and subtle cues to bring awareness back to areas of my body I was neglecting. After I played, we did not run scales and talk about technique or wrist placement, or anything most violin teachers narrow in on. Instead, we worked on how to breathe 3-dimensionally. We also talked about the appropriate musculature necessary for playing the violin, the function of specific muscles, and which muscles should be holding and supporting versus moving and applying pressure. I have news for you: much of violin pedagogy and what you are/have been taught by violin teachers with no anatomy knowledge or training can be damaging and does not provide optimal motion. This rocked my boat. For years during graduate school I had a teacher who was so “right” about alignment and somatic integration for violinists and being the good student that I was, I tried to do everything he asked by at least 110%. Come to find out that a teacher who is only partially informed and armed with an overabundance of confidence (and an exacting attitude) can do more harm than good. He celebrated my posture but chastised my performance nerves. I felt betrayed when I discussed this with Tina. For years, in an attempt to do what is correct, I was doing what is incorrect.

I always felt reasonably competent when it comes to filling my lungs, particularly in the front and sides. I have worked on this, for seemingly countless yoga hours. What I quickly realized is that I do not breathe into the back of my chest and ribcage. Also, I have always received praise for my great posture when I play. People point it out onstage, and I took pride in my stance, either seated or standing. But very subtly it is not so great. My chest and lower ribs jut forward, and my bottom pops out making it difficult to breathe into my back and also puts a strain on my Psoas muscle (which, incidentally, I learned quite a bit about at a different PAMA Symposium workshop). When I get nervous, which I was, it makes it even more difficult to breathe, make a good sound, and remain calm. It also exacerbates the nerves because again, as I discovered at the symposium, the Psoas muscle is intricately connected to the body’s fight or flight response. So everything I thought I was doing “right” was hindering my internal alignment and putting a considerable strain on my whole system making playing the violin, particularly when nervous even harder! This type of revelation makes me want to turn back the clock and redo all those silly auditions where I was so nervous and desperate to find control, without realizing I’m impeding my body’s natural wellbeing.

Alex Rosales Garcia working with Tina Nilssen on sitting posture at Disney Hall

I stayed after my lesson to observe her work with a bassoon player. Our instruments have different demands, but the improvement in sound with just a small amount of breath and posture work was so profound it was almost hilarious. To the untrained eye, it might appear that not much had changed, but internally, his body was supporting his breath and instrument more fully resulting in a tone that was large, round, and singing. It was beautiful and sounded so natural and free.

I would have stayed even longer to see another violinist have a lesson, but I had to run off to a gig. Tina graciously agreed to meet with us the next day and continue working together. It was fun, and the group setting (there were two of us plus Tina) had a relaxed workshop feel where we could freely ask questions as they arose and learned different applicable exercises or practices. She kept having to remind us that we were skipping around in her typical training but still, we could see and hear results. I was so excited to go home and practice because I LOVED my sound. My violin was singing, and I had a positive full-body experience while playing. How many of my colleagues can relate to that last statement? Sometimes I love to play but am sore afterward. Sometimes I play and feel great but am disconnected from the sound. These two days opened my eyes to the sensation of fully feeling the music pass through me and my instrument. It feels borderline profound, and I wish I could explain it better.

Tina is the first musician I have encountered that synthesizes information in a way that is practical, attainable, easy to understand and apply, and musically focused. I have tried Alexander technique, some body mapping, yoga, etc. but this is the first time I have experienced the results so immediately and thoroughly in a manner that focuses on optimal musical expression by the performer.

I signed up for the Timani community after our work together so I could learn more and keep improving. The last thing I want to do is mismanage my body in the practice room, or even worse – pass on incorrect information to my students. As I internalize some of these points, I want to incorporate them into my own teaching and pass them on to my students. You can check out more about Tina click here and Timani here, and you can sign up for the community (the first month is free and packed full of useful information) here.