Photo by Ashley Batz on Unsplash
Whether you’re a musician or simply a lover of life, the Alexander Technique offers tools that can be utilized by anyone looking to bring more ease, clarity, and joy to all they do in life. This time-tested and research-proven awareness and movement discipline offers holistic solutions to common obstacles with mind-body awareness techniques that are helpful for everyone, not just musicians. International award-winning violinist and Alexander Technique coach, Jennifer Roig-FrancolĂ, reveals the secrets behind her #1 Amazon Bestseller, “Make Great Music with Ease!” Discover how her innovative methods can bring accelerated success in all areas of your life, both personal and professional , and ever-increasing balance, mindful presence, and joy in your relationships and daily activities.  🎻
Guest
My guest today is an international award-winning violinist and holistic double-certified Alexander Technique Coach. Jennifer Roig-Francolà has been featured at Carnegie Hall and in TIME Magazine. She’s been an educator on university faculties. She recently wrote a #1 Amazon Bestseller book called “Make Great Music with Ease! The Secret to Smarter Practice, Confident Performance, and Living a Happier Life.” Jennifer’s coaching methods empower creatives with tools for artistic success AND personal fulfillment.
Notes
We discuss:
- What is The Alexander Technique? What is Primal Alexander?
- Who Jennifer’s book is for: Humans (no musical experience needed to benefit)! While Jennifer works closely with musicians, anyone can benefit from the content of her book. In fact, in 2010, she designed a successful pilot study on the Alexander Technique to help surgeons while performing laparoscopic surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The research paper won a prize at the American Academy of Pediatrics, was presented at two national medical conferences, and was published in the top journal for urology in the world.
- What brought Jennifer to the Alexander Technique (after trying it twice and dismissing it as unpleasant and “not for me”!).
- Thinking of your whole self as your primary instrument; primary practice is how we are coordinating our thinking and movements and behaviors in life, not just in our musical instrument.
- Some of Mindy’s favorite quotes from the book:
- “Musicians and non-musicians alike get to partake in the beauty, power, and grace innate to music. In a similar way, the lessons to be learned in this book are techniques and strategies that can be put to use by anyone looking to bring more ease, clarity, and joy to all the things they do in their life.” (Mio Morales, Foreword to Make Great Music with Ease!)
- “In fact, all of our problems as people and artists stem from a profound lack of self-knowledge, a misunderstanding of who we are in relation to the world, and a general lack of awareness in the moment.” (Jennifer Roig-Francoli, Make Great Music with Ease!)
Connect/Other Resources
- Jennifer’s website: https://www.ArtofFreedom.me
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JenniferRoigFrancoli
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jroigfrancoli
- Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/J30DPC/
- Jennifer’s book, Make Great Music with Ease! The Secret to Smarter Practice, Confident Performance, and Living a Happier Life
- Link to the 5-Day Challenge Jennifer mentions: https://artoffreedom.mykajabi.com/cycle-warmup-challenge
Other episodes we mentioned or that you may enjoy:
- Ep. 139: What is Dalcroze Eurhythmics, and what are its benefits? With Anthony Molinaro
- Ep. 180: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness – Renee Fleming’s comprehensive interdisciplinary anthology
- Ep. 179: How We Human – Fostering mental wellbeing specifically for creatives; with Tasha Golden, PhD
- Ep. 167: Having Surgery? Use music to reduce anxiety and pain perception; with Alice Cash, PhD, LCSW
- View all episodes related to Science & Health or Education & Community
In-Episode Promo
SHEET MUSIC DIRECT: One of my favorite places to turn for instant gratification and a dopamine hit is browsing digital sheet music at SheetMusicDirect.com. This online store is powered by music publisher Hal Leonard, and it has over a million arrangements that you can view, listen to, and download. No need to buy an entire book for that one song you love. Create your own library from selections representing all levels, instruments, genres, and holidays. Prices start at $0.99 and you can both print your purchases and access them on any device, which is really handy for those of us who travel or are trying to go paperless.
I would say this is my guilty pleasure, but it’s actually a guilt-free pleasure. There are so many brain benefits to reading music, making music, and experiencing NEW music. Instead of subscribing to another streaming platform, subscribe to Sheet Music Direct to treat yourself and your kids to real brain food and a guilt-free pleasure. Access the latest hits and yesterday’s classics at sheetmusicdirect.com.
The Business Side of Music podcast
Coda
Jennifer shares about playing the Minor Swing:
Closing Words
And that is a little bit of Jennifer playing Minor Swing; you can listen to the full song with the YouTube video in the show notes. Thank you to Jennifer for all she does to enhance the lives of musicians and non-musicians alike with her coaching and book and other tools. You’ll find links in the show notes to Jennifer’s website, her book, the free 5-Day Challenge she mentioned, and other ways to connect with Jennifer and her work.
You’ll also find a transcript of this episode and links to related episodes you may enjoy. All Enhance Life with Music episodes are evergreen; so check out the back catalogue for more ways that music can make your life better. If you haven’t already done so, be sure to hit the Follow/+ button in whatever podcast app you use to listen. This is FREE and conveniently delivers each new episode to your device when it releases, so you don’t have to search for it.
You can always connect with me on email (mindy@mpetersonmusic.com), Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
Thank you so much for joining me today. Until next time, may your life be enhanced with music.
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