Tag Archives: breathing

Musicians of all instruments, levels, and genres are welcome!

Association for Body Mapping Education logo

Prevent injuries, tension, and discomfort caused by playing music! Learn about the relationship between your body and your instrument!

  • Understand and experience how the body moves by following its natural design.
  • Identify your own patterns of movement and learn how to transform them for playing free of tension.
  • Discover the benefits of being aware of your body!

We will explore:

Morning session: Continue reading Musicians of all instruments, levels, and genres are welcome!

How Does Your Body React When You’re Stressed in a Music Setting?

Cat's face expression of surprise

There are numerous stories in our journey of music making. Some of them make us feel complete and encourage us to keep going and enjoy our music. However, there are also times when we face situations that make us believe that we are not talented (“enough”) and lose our confidence.

If you want to know how these experiences feel in your body, try the next exercise!

Continue reading How Does Your Body React When You’re Stressed in a Music Setting?

Are you tense in your neck?

Picture of a woman's neck.

A few days ago I remembered how important it is to know the right way to use our tools, so that we don’t hurt ourselves. By tools I mean several things, from a hammer and pliers to the instruments we play, sticks and mallets, bows, microphones, etc. Mics weren’t in my awareness until the last time that I went to a show. Continue reading Are you tense in your neck?

Recharge with Five Minutes of Constructive Rest

Winter landscape

It is the end of the year, winter is starting and the day light savings and the upcoming solstice are making me feel drained. It doesn’t matter how important or exciting the events in my life are, my body is tired.

We are so used to demanding a lot from ourselves and in this thinking sometimes we believe that sleeping and resting less would increase our productivity. Productivity meaning: practicing more, playing more, planning classes, writing, sending emails, etc. Continue reading Recharge with Five Minutes of Constructive Rest

3 Suggestions for Percussionists (and Other Musicians ) to Avoid Tension

Concert hall with percussion instruments and Gabriela playing vibraphone

1) Be in balance while standing

If you have pain in your lower back or your legs feel tired after practicing while standing, it’s likely that your body is not balanced. This means that some parts of your body are doing extra work. They try to do the functions that other structures should be doing. Continue reading 3 Suggestions for Percussionists (and Other Musicians ) to Avoid Tension