Healthful Band Technique
Did you know that 76% of collegiate musicians have played through pain at some point in their musical career? This doesn’t have to happen! Long gone are the days of the “No pain, no gain” mentality for physical activity of all types.
The Healthful Band Technique clinic teaches and reviews posture and proper performance technique while incorporating breathing, stretching and mindfulness. What’s even better is that a relaxed, injury-free performer SOUNDS BETTER with a more resonate, relaxed tone and isn’t that every band director wants?!
Breathing, stretching and mindfulness – wait, isn’t that yoga? Shhhhh…. it is but don’t say that. You might scare the musicians into thinking they have to chant and put their foot behind their head. :-)
Musicians are athletes and band directors are essentially an entire coaching staff in one person. By introducing Healthful Band Technique, I can be your athletic trainer while giving your students the tools to help themselves. Healthful Band Technique is great at all levels but is better suited to high school and college music students where bad habits may have developed while performing more physically demanding music.
Healthful Band Technique is different than Yoga for Musicians because we review and discuss proper hand positions, instrument carriage, and posture in addition to breathing/stretching/mindfulness.
Why should you have Healthful Band Technique come to your band room?
A little backstory on how this all developed……
After obtaining my 200 hour yoga certification, I wanted a way to combine that knowledge with the 25 years as a middle school band director. I fell down a rabbit hole of sorts, learning that musician health is a relatively new field and about 25 years behind sports medicine. As a result of this new interest, I’ve completed additional coursework in anatomy, yoga for athletes, and I am certified in Essentials of Performing Arts Medicine by the Performing Arts Medicine Association. I’ve developed Healthful Band Technique as a way to help band directors help their students be healthy AND sound great. I continue to develop the program through further reading and research regarding musician health as well as continuing my yoga education by pursuing my 500 hour certification.
The Healthful Band Technique clinic teaches and reviews posture and proper performance technique while incorporating breathing, stretching and mindfulness. What’s even better is that a relaxed, injury-free performer SOUNDS BETTER with a more resonate, relaxed tone and isn’t that every band director wants?!
Breathing, stretching and mindfulness – wait, isn’t that yoga? Shhhhh…. it is but don’t say that. You might scare the musicians into thinking they have to chant and put their foot behind their head. :-)
Musicians are athletes and band directors are essentially an entire coaching staff in one person. By introducing Healthful Band Technique, I can be your athletic trainer while giving your students the tools to help themselves. Healthful Band Technique is great at all levels but is better suited to high school and college music students where bad habits may have developed while performing more physically demanding music.
Healthful Band Technique is different than Yoga for Musicians because we review and discuss proper hand positions, instrument carriage, and posture in addition to breathing/stretching/mindfulness.
Why should you have Healthful Band Technique come to your band room?
- Your students will sound better.
- Your students will feel better, both physically and mentally.
- You will help your student be injury-free performers.
A little backstory on how this all developed……
After obtaining my 200 hour yoga certification, I wanted a way to combine that knowledge with the 25 years as a middle school band director. I fell down a rabbit hole of sorts, learning that musician health is a relatively new field and about 25 years behind sports medicine. As a result of this new interest, I’ve completed additional coursework in anatomy, yoga for athletes, and I am certified in Essentials of Performing Arts Medicine by the Performing Arts Medicine Association. I’ve developed Healthful Band Technique as a way to help band directors help their students be healthy AND sound great. I continue to develop the program through further reading and research regarding musician health as well as continuing my yoga education by pursuing my 500 hour certification.