Coordinate Movement Program for Pianists

Discover Freedom of Movement and Expression While Pursuing Your Degree

If you are a pianist, and experience pain or tension in your playing, you are not alone. Injury among musicians is well documented, and studies show that as many as 40% of pianists suffer from physical symptoms that affect their playing. Fortunately, change based on the incorporation of sound physiological principles has successfull rehabilitated many pianists. In fact, the application of these principles for musicians represents some of the most important new thinking in the field of music education today. These concepts also guide teachers in developing a pedagogical approach which prevents injury.

Portland State University now offers a curriculum based on these proven somatic principles. The program allows a limited number of applicants to pursue a degree option while recovering from pain, injury and physical limitations. Participants also include teachers and pianists who wish to develop their technique with attention to anatomical knowledge and coordinate use of the body. Courses are designed to teach participants about the structure and function of the body as it applies to playing, and how to make the changes necessary to become free of pain and injury. The curriculum includes the study of anatomy, physiology and piano technique from a somatic perspective, with attention to daily living activities such as handwriting and use of the computer. Students will also complete the program with an understanding of how to teach these principles.

As you achieve efficient, coordinated movement at the piano, you will also experience increased ease and freedom. Most importantly, all that you learn about movement at the instrument will be consistently and profoundly united with artistic expression; a continuity will be established between freedom of movement and artistic expression. This is the pedagogy of the twenty-first century.

Purpose of the Program

To retrain injured pianists and to train teachers using proven somatic principles as they pursue their degree in a university setting. This program is designed for pianists limited by pain, tension, or fatigue and for teachers interested in music training based on a somatic foundation.

Student Selection Process

A maximum of ten students will be enrolled at any one time. Students will be selected for the program based on previous or current demonstration of ability, an essay detailing the reason for the candidate's application, a list of repertoire studied in the past two years, an interview with the program faculty and the Department of Music's application form.

Applicants will complete the audition process as defined by the Department of Music or submit a tape of a recent performance if unable to audition due to physical limitation. Students applying from out of state may submit a video or audio tape of a recent performance in lieu of an audition and interview with the program faculty. Applicants will submit an essay detailing their reasons for applying to the Coordinate Movement Program.

Topics of Study

• Piano technique: tone production, alignment, forearm rotation, arm position and height, maintaining a neutral hand position, scales, arpeggios, chords, octaves, legato and staccato playing, achieving dynamic range without tension, application to literature.
• Body mapping: sensory discernment and responsiveness, the core of the body and places of balance, how to sit and stand, the four arm joints, whole body support for arm function, the structures and movements of breathing, leg movement in pedaling, handwriting, computer keyboard skills, activities of daily living.
• Musicianship: performance anxiety, the self-map of the artist, learning and memorizing, the piano map.
• Health and well being: anti-inflammatory therapies, exercise routines, constructive rest, nutrition, how to warm up and practice, injury support concepts.

Curriculum

• Private lessons: Students will receive a one hour lesson weekly with Lisa Marsh.
• Coordinate Movement Master Classes: Students will attend a two hour class each week where curriculum concepts are presented in lecture format and explored in lab sessions.
• Juries and performance requirements for the first year will be determined by the progress of the student.
• Students will complete course work for their degree while participating in the Coordinate Movement Program for Pianists. For information about specific degree programs offered at Portland State University please consult our web page at http://www.pdx.edu/music.

Course Materials

Text: Mark, Thomas. What Every Pianists Needs to Know About the Body. Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc. Recommended reading: Conable, Barbara. What Every Musician needs to Know About the Body, Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc. Conable, Barbara. How to Learn the Alexander Technique. Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc.

Course Evaluation

Videotapes and written evaluations will provide data to track the effectiveness of program courses.

Teacher Training

Selected students will be invited to return to the class for a second and third year to serve as teaching assistants. In this capacity students will deepen their knowledge of course concepts while participating in lecturing, coaching other students and assisting with course research.

Medical Referrals

The Coordinate Movement Program interfaces with the Portland State University Health Service and local physical therapy and hand surgery consultants. Referrals are also available for alternative therapies including massage, acupuncture and naturopathic physicians.

Program Faculty

Lisa Marsh, Program Director, is a member of the adjunct piano faculty at Portland State University, Marylhurst University, and Portland Community College. As Director of the Coordinate Movement Program for Pianists at Portland State University she specializes in retraining injured pianists. She received her Bachelor of Science in Music and Master of Music in Performance from Portland State University. Additional background in somatic education includes 19 years as a Registered Nurse in the fields of Neurosurgery and Emergency Medicine, 8 years of piano technique study at the Taubman Institute of Piano and 5 years of study of the Alexander Technique and Body Mapping with Barbara Conable. Ms. Marsh is a certified Andover Educator. Ms. Marsh is Principle Keyboard with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, and also performs regularly with the Marsh- Titterington Piano Duo.

Barbara Conable, consultant, is founder and president of Andover Educators, a network of music teachers saving, securing and enhancing musical careers with accurate information about the body in movement. She is an active member of the American Society for the Alexander Technique and of Alexander Technique International. She is the author of How to Learn the Alexander Technique: A Manual for Students, What Every Musician Needs to Know about he Body, and The Structures and Movement of Breathing: A Primer for Choirs and Choruses. Ms. Conable conducts intensive workshops each year, which have included presentations at the Westminster Choir College, University of Iowa, Kalamazoo College, University of Northern Iowa, Willamette University, Central Michigan University, The University of Colorado and the University of Oklahoma. She taught theater movement at the Cincinnati Conservatory for a number of years, and in 1988 she won the William Redding Memorial Prize for poetry.

Testimonials from Students

• “Before beginning the Coordinate Movement Program I was unable to play due to tendonitis in my right shoulder and general tension that had become severely debilitating. Lisa's ability to pinpoint weaknesses in my technique made it possible for me to free up my arms, hands and fingers to such a degree that I was able to play again. With the addition of the Body Mapping information my physical freedom at the piano has increased significantly. Understanding the relationship between movement and expression at the piano has enhanced my abilities in practice and performance. The healthy environment promoted by Lisa Marsh and Barbara Conable is an essential factor in the recovery of musicians limited by pain or injury." -Monica- Graduate Student.
  
  
• "For nine years I was unable to play the piano without constant, sharp pain in my right arm and elbow. Since working with the instructors of the Coordinate Movement Program I have made many changes in the way I play and rarely experience any discomfort. I find it strange that pianists know very little about anatomy. The courses in this program present movement anatomy in a very basic way, then students can apply the information directly to playing. We also work on maintaining awareness of our entire body, all of our senses and our emotions. I feel more freedom when I play and my recent performances have been more musical and without memory slips. I would strongly recommend this program to anyone serious about creating beautiful music, injured or not." -Chantal- Graduate Student.
  
  
• This course has been so valuable in many ways. Through discussions with fellow pianists I have learned about what it means to be an artist and musician and the feelings we share with one another. By having to articulate concepts about the anatomy of our bodies I have a much clearer sense of these things and plan to continue to explore and fine tune my knowledge. I have never experienced such a "team-like" feeling of support amongst musicians before. In performing I have found that when I feel tension or anxiety I can go to different places in my brain to deal with it and make adjustments. It is a continual process of sensing, feedback and adjustment. This couldn't have happened at a better time for me and I am truly grateful to have been part of this enlightening group." -Juli- Undergraduate Student.
  

A large proportion of serious and professional musicians play in pain and experience injuries. Yet most do not know that precise movement techniques can help them. Marsh and other teachers at Portland State hope to change that. Their program, in its first year, saved Halseth's musical career. A year ago, her hands moved over the keys like claws- stiff, slow, clumsy. Sometimes her fingers went numb. Tendinitis pain needled her right shoulder. "I couldn't produce the sounds I wanted," recalls Halseth, 30, who has played the piano since age 5."I couldn't play fast, I couldn't play accurately." Today Halseth plays without pain. Her fingers dash over the keyboard, deftly delivering a fast and complicated Beethoven sonata that will be part of her final recital next fall for her master's degree in music teaching."

Contact Information:
Lisa Marsh, Program Director
Phone: 503-227-6699 Email: Lmarsh@pdx.edu