I’ve been talking about my Timani Training since June (maybe May?). I’m excited to finally share why I signed up for something virtually unheard of in the United States. I'll do my best to explain a tiny bit of the magical powers of Timani.

Brief Recap:

I wrote a post last summer (you can read it here) about my very first Timani experience and lessons with Tina Margareta Nilssen, the creator of Timani. Tina came to LA to present at the PAMA conference, and lucky me, I managed to sneak in 2 lessons, one private session and one joint class with a colleague. I also observed a session with a bassoonist. I joined the Timani Community, which provides emails with more information and exercises and access to a private group on Facebook. I kept in touch with Tina and had another lesson with her a few months later. It was all so fascinating, and I fell in love, and I knew I had to do the training. The post link above articulates my honeymoon phase and early enthusiasm well.

Our incredible teacher Lotta - explaining some core principles of Timani.

Fast forward to this summer. Every morning for about 2 weeks, I sat at my kitchen table with a fresh cup of coffee, ready to start class at 6am. My classmates logged in from the Netherlands, England, Sweden, Norway, and beyond. I can't explain it, but by the end of those two weeks, I felt like these were some of my closest friends, and I haven't met any of them in person yet.

I knew it was a 3-year training to become a master teacher. I signed up for the first year with the idea that I didn't have to continue if I did't like it, but knowing it would still be a good experience. Now, level 2 can't come soon enough. If you get me started on the topic, it is tough to make me stop gushing about how incredible it is and how everyone needs this information. If you're not careful, I will probably beg you to schedule a zoom call with me just so I can keep talking about it. (Take this as your warning).

Before I say more about Timani, you should know, I probably have an above-average enthusiasm for musician's health and movement.

I've done lots of reading and research.

I wrote my dissertation about using Iyengar yoga to enhance violin playing.

I co-founded corpSonore – sound | body | wellness, a platform for musician's health and wellness.

I've attended yoga retreats for musicians.

I attended the PAMA conference.

I'm on the PAMA Young Professionals committee.

I'm working on a Yoga Teacher Certificate.

I’ve taken Alexander Technique and Body Mapping classes.

You name it, I’ve dipped at least a toe in it.

But none of these answer my questions the way Timani does.

Timani does something no other method does. It synthesizes information, research, exercises, training, and movement from a wide variety of modalities and applies it specifically to the needs of musicians…in extreme detail. It draws on a considerable wealth of resources and knowledge to suit precisely what musicians need. It is a method of muscle differentiation that optimizes musical performance. And what a difference it makes.

The fun thing is, you don’t have to spend hours at the gym or do yoga to feel these effects. You don’t have to have rocking abs to develop a strong Timani core. The notion that we HAD to work out to play music used to be appealing to me – because I like to sweat – but at some point, it stopped making much sense. It didn't add up when I thought about my favorite musicians and how much yoga they didn't and don't do. I'm not sure I've ever heard Itzhak Perlman talk about his workout routine. If I missed it, please send me that article/podcast/video. It begs the question: How come his body is working in his favor, and the rest of us have to hit the gym? Turns out, maybe we don't. Unless you want to, of course. I am certainly not advocating for an inactive lifestyle. I love moving my body. I just don't think you should have to be in marathon shape to play a violin concerto.

Let me explain.

Sometimes we get so distracted and excited about tight, weak, or injured muscles that we forget or don’t consider what muscle should or could be doing a specific task. For example, as a violinist, I need to stabilize my instrument AND move the bow (and left hand). Ideally, I need to recruit different muscles to do these jobs. I need my stabilizers to stabilize so my movers can move. The problem is, we musicians often recruit movers to stabilize. In doing so, we set up compensation patterns that can cause fatigue, pain, discomfort, and a whole host of other issues and ailments. Fortunately, our bodies are perfectly capable of making music with optimal muscle engagement as long as we don't get in the way. Timani, among other things, provides a series of exercises to retrain the musical body to recruit muscles more efficiently and effectively.

Sounds easy and obvious, right? So why haven't we all been taught this in our musical training?

Let me tell you a little about my frustrations with musical training at this point. I apologize for this next bit because it really gets me fired up and tends to turn into a rant.

The hand of a violinist (with a watch tan/freckle line)

What I learned in level 1 Timani training this summer broke my heart. It broke my heart because it made me realize how much we trust our music teachers with our bodies. Still, rarely can our music educators tell us very much about how the body works. For example, it wasn’t until this summer that I finally learned about the muscles in the hands.… AND I PLAY VIOLIN!!!! When you think about it, doesn’t that just seem wrong?

For decades, I've had violin teachers tell me what I "should" be doing with my hands and fingers based on what they've been told, or based on some bygone teaching guru. We've been upholding these “rules” without questioning them. Until very recently, I included myself in this category, by the way. But the information provided by music teachers is usually not based on the anatomical principles of how the hands actually work. Even if we have teachers who "know," they typically don't really have any idea at all. So as good students, we slave for hours to squeeze our bodies into shapes that are ultimately inefficient and can even cause damage and injury. Simply because that’s what our teachers told us to do and our teachers don't know any better.

How is it that our music education system thinks this is okay? How did it happen that our highest-paid, most sought-after teachers assign intricate repertoire to practice every week, but they can't explain how the fingers bend? Does this seem right to you? Essentially, our current musical training system works if you’re lucky. The dogma of elite training is stacked against the human body's natural functions and shapes. It needs to stop.

Thank you, body, for getting the job done, now let's do it well.

Since the course ended, I've been doing my Timani exercises regularly since then. Already, I can hear the change in my sound. Some of the Timani exercises are for the feet. You spend 15 minutes exercising your toes, then pick up your instrument, and boom! This huge new sound comes barreling out of the F-holes. To traditional music training, this seems to make no sense. But Timani turns music-making into a full-body experience. Everything is vibrating, everything is working, nothing feels fatigued, and you create sound more effortlessly than you could ever imagine.

How is that possible?

You're simply using the right muscles for the right jobs.

That big sound?

That's your body saying thank you and rewarding you for working smarter.

Aren’t you intrigued? Don’t you want to feel that too? The incredible thing is that you don’t have to be injured or in pain to feel and experience the benefits of Timani. It optimizes what is already working well AND improves what might be holding you back. As musicians, we are accustomed to working hard and practicing for our entire careers. It comes with the job. So why not learn how to do it effectively and efficiently? Why not take your beautiful tone and use your whole body to make it better? Do you need to warm up for hours before a performance? Perhaps there is a way to activate some of those much-needed stabilizing muscles without breaking a pre-concert sweat.

The answer is Timani.

If you want to know more, please send me a message, drop me a line, leave a comment, etc. I love talking about this stuff and want to share it with you.

The Timani Post I've meant to write for months.