The Alexander Journal

The Alexander Technique and Associationist Learning Theory

Malcolm Williamson — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0500

When, in 1894, F. Matthias Alexander set out as a ‘natural elocutionist’ (Alexander, 1995, p. 3), little could he have guessed what lay ahead—that in his search for a sore throat cure he had hit upon a new and thoroughly practical understanding of how the human being functions as an integrated whole and to a technique for ‘The development of the control of human reaction’ (Alexander, 2000, p. 88). Central to the way the Alexander Technique is framed is the concept of habits of thought or action as some kind of chain reaction of associated events—one giving rise to the next, and so on. It is well-documented that around 1900 Alexander became acquainted with William James’ book, Principles of Psychology. James’ theory of habit provided a sound theoretical basis for Alexander’s empirical discoveries.1 As with any new theory, James built on the ideas of others. This article traces ideas from the eighteenth-century English physician David Hartley—the acknowledged founder of associationism—through to Alexander and the present day. There is also obvious relevance to nineteenth-century ideo-motor theory, but this is not included as it has been discussed elsewhere (Ballard, 2015, p. 49-71; Williamson, 2017, p. 18-28).

Connected Lives

Ruth Diamond — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0500

In 2017, when the American Center for the Alexander Technique (ACAT) closed after more than 50 years, I decided to write a book celebrating its history and accomplishments. As I started my research, it became clear to me that a chain of interconnected women––Ethel Webb, Margaret Naumburg, Irene Tasker, Alma Frank, Henriette Michelson, Debbie Caplan, and Judith Leibowitz––played significant roles in bringing the Alexander Technique to the United States and establishing it in New York City. This first article in the series, looks at the life and work of Ethel Webb.

Connected Lives

Ruth Diamond — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This is the second in a series of articles exploring the lives of a small group of women who played pivotal roles in the events leading to the birth of the American Center for the Alexander Technique (ACAT). The first article in this series [“Connected Lives,” AmSAT Journal No.17 (Fall 2020)] was devoted to Ethel Webb, who taught on Alexander’s practice in New York from 1914 to 1922 and participated in the training of Frank Pierce Jones. This piece centers on Margaret Naumburg, an American psychologist who brought Alexander to America, introduced him to John Dewey, and began a train of events that led to the founding of ACAT.

Connected Lives

Ruth Diamond — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This is the third in a series of articles about women who played important roles leading to the founding of the American Center for the Alexander Technique (ACAT). The first article in this series, “Connected Lives,” AmSAT Journal, no. 17 (Fall 2020), was devoted to Ethel Webb, who taught in Alexander’s practice in New York from 1914 to 1922 and participated in the training of Frank Pierce Jones. The second article, “Margaret Naumburg and the Alexander Technique, Part 2,” AmSAT Journal, no. 18 (Spring 2021), focused on Naumburg’s introduction of the Technique into New York classrooms and the early history of the Alexander Technique in New York City. This article explores the life of Irene Tasker, who met Naumburg and Webb in Rome in 1913 at the first international Montessori Training. Tasker was F.M. Alexander’s assistant, and she and Webb edited Alexander’s books. She introduced the Technique into childhood education, and she was the first to teach it in a group, using everyday activities.

Signpost to an Undiscovered Land

Ted Dimon — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0500

“What is the Alexander Technique?” Those of us who have studied or taught this work have all been asked this question and it is not easy to answer. In one sense, the answer is simple enough: the Alexander Technique is a way of learning to move and do things with less tension—we’ve seen the many videos and books that depict the Alexander Technique as a form of movement awareness that addresses the problem of misuse in action. The basic image is familiar to all of us: the student is asked to stand in front of a chair and to sit down. Pointing out how the student pulls his head back and arches his back, the teacher then asks him to pause before sitting down, and shows him how to direct the head and neck in order to reduce the harmful tension. By being shown how to perform the action more efficiently, to use the joints instead of muscle tension, the student learns to perform actions more effortlessly, and to notice the tensions and holdings that interfere with free and easy movement.

Investigating FM Alexander's Human Voice

Michele Capalbo — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0500

An aspiring young actor, producer, and impresario with a few provincial credits to his name, F.M. Alexander likely found that he needed to teach in order to support himself. Like many performers from any period, teaching voice was a logical and practical extension of his artistic activities. Few artifacts exist that provide us with clues regarding what a singing lesson with F.M. Alexander might have entailed. His early pamphlet circa 1900, The Human Voice Cultivated and Developed for Speaking and Singing (HV), leaves us a few clues.

Whispered Vowels for Singers

Michele Capalbo — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0500

The whispered “ah,” (represented throughout with the International Phonetic Alphabet symbol /ɑ/) is a traditional Alexander Technique procedure, and has been represented as an effective way to improve functional singing issues, including respiration (Heirich 2011, 85; Kleinman and Buckoke 2013, 101) and phonation (Dimon 2015; Murdock 2009; McCallion 1988, 26–28; Jones 1976, 21). However, the use of whispering as an effective voice-building tool for singers has been consistently challenged over time (Titze and Verdolini Abbott 2012, 264). Due to the scarcity of quantitative findings, and conflicting anecdotal evidence, the tension between the pro- and antiwhispering advocates persists. This article examines current research in conjunction with multiple pedagogical perspectives to explore the whispered “ah” from a singer-centric perspective. Practical adaptations for singers are proposed through the exploration of al-ternate vowels, emotional affect, and shifting vocal color. Specific exercises for the articulators (tongue, jaw, and lips) both for tension release and/or adequate vocal tract tonus reintegration are proposed.

STAT FM Alexander Memorial Lecture 2021

Peter Buckoke — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This is a transcript of the 2021 Memorial Lecture of the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT). The original lecture was presented as a video online. The lecture included excerpts from other video interviews and performances which have not been transcribed. Links to these videos have been included as footnotes in the text. The original presentation can be accessed in full by following the link in the end notes.

STAT FM Alexander Memorial Lecture 2022

Richard Casebow — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This is a transcript of talk that was presented to the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT) in July 2022

Editorial

Joe Alberti, Genoa Davidson, Jamie Fellside, Paul Marsh — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0500