Transform Technique with the 1-Minute Workouts
For Elementary to Advanced players and their Teachers
What are the Workouts?
They're profound, holistic substitutes for A Dozen a Day-style exercises.
What's wrong with existing exercises?
- They tend to isolate peripheral elements of the playing coordination
- They tend to detach these elements both from the whole and from musical flow
- Using them regularly risks practising coordination that bears little resemblance to real-life fluent, expressive playing
- They could cause certain aspects of your playing to deterioriate over time, whether subtly or dramatically
- For all but the most innately coordinated, they'll do little to sync up and integrate the whole-body coordination and mindsets you need to play your chosen repertoire fluently and expressively
How did the Workouts come about?
The 1-Minute Workouts result from an authentic adult journey from 'can't' to 'can' in many areas of technique. They're inspired by the pioneering central principles developed by Abby Whiteside (1881-1956). Some result ultimately from my work with Sophia Rosoff (1924-2017) - a student of Whiteside and editor of her writings - in New York in the 1990s. They've been refined over 25 years of further honest observations.
What do they do?
They address central components of efficient, expressive technique in profound, enjoyable ways. Despite being observable elements of able players' techniques, such components can be sorely neglected in pedagogy.
Who are they for?
Unusually, they're designed for both:
- Elementary players of all ages seeking to play fluently and expressively without excess tension
- Intermediate to Advanced players seeking to refine the minutest control over dynamic shaping, rhythmic evenness, phrasing, balance, cantabile, ornamentation and more
They can offer open-minded teachers fresh, exciting solutions to long-standing technical difficulties, obstacles and blocks.
How does that work?
You choose how deep you journey into self-awareness:
- Young children can be amazingly receptive to whole-body activities designed to sync up and integrate playing coordination. Sprinkling the Workouts into their playing routines little and often can be transformational without undue comment or analysis
- Intermediate to Advanced players - choose how deeply you delve into refining your coordination. Think of it as refining lifting technique with just a barbell without heavy weights!