This is the first of two articles, continuing our series from BodyMinded in Sydney1, addressing the relationship between too much tension, and too little. Muscle activity is a part of everything we do. Coordinating your movement skilfully is essential in

Ever heard the saying “all fingers and thumbs”? Today we are jumping from our previous topics of whole arm movement and postural support, to the ease of movement, control and power of the fingers and thumbs in playing a musical

“Lighter”, “easier”, “freer”, “weird”. These are the sort of things musicians (and others) say as they improve the way they sit and stand to play. It is not unusual for a real change in postural support to completely change the

Theodor Leschetizky’s career as a pedagogue spanned the better part of 75 years. In all, in excess of 1,200 students are known to have studied with him. The sheer number of students is of course striking, but more impressive is

Musicians contribute so much to the personal and cultural well-being of the community and play music because they love it. Given that, it is a shame that for some, a career and/or long-term love of playing is associated with levels

Hélène Grimaud is a woman of multiple talents, intellectually sparkling in various directions. While she is a critically acclaimed performance and recording artist, she is also a committed wildlife conservationist, and a compassionate human rights activist. She campaigns on behalf

The pianist Rudolf Buchbinder is considered one of today’s legendary performers. For over 50 years he has appeared in concerts with renowned orchestras and conductors all over the world. His broad artistic range is documented in more than 100 recordings,

Here comes a little musical quiz question. What do Mischa Elman, Efrem Zimbalist, Nathan Milstein and Jascha Heifetz have in common? They are all famous violinists, I hear you say. And while that is certainly a correct answer, I was