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The Problem
Musicians all over America are suffering
from pain and limitation in their playing and singing, many
to the point of losing their careers. Most of these musicians
hurt because they misuse their bodies, not because of disease
or structural anomalies. Music medicine is relevant to a minority
of suffering musicians; most only require information and
retraining.
Music teachers have long had to teach without an effective
way of conveying information about the instrument that every
musician plays--the body. Until now, music teachers had to
convey information about movement intuitively, sometimes with
misuse built in.
The Resource - Body Mapping
The information provided in the course
and text What Every Musician Needs to Know about the Body
emphasizes the importance of the body map to musicians.
Body Mapping is the conscious correcting
and refining of one's body map to produce efficient, graceful,
and coordinated movement. The body map is one's self-representation
in one's own brain, one's assumptions or conception of what
one's body is like, in whole or part. If our representation
is accurate, movement is good. If our representation is faulty,
movement suffers. When our map is corrected, the movement
improves. Progress can be very rapid and a musician can, over
time, learn to play like a natural.
Our body maps are like directions to a
gig. If the directions are good, you will arrive easily and
in plenty of time. But if the directions are incomplete or
wrong, you might end up being late or not arriving at all!
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
" PART ONE: ABOUT MOVEMENT, YOUR
SENSES, AND ATTENTION IN PLAYING & SINGING. Training musicians'
movement by cultivating an accurate and adequate Body Map.
Training sensory discernment and responsiveness. Training
attention.
" PART TWO: THE CORE OF THE BODY
AND THE PLACES OF BALANCE. The spine; the balance of the head
on the spine; the balance of the head and thorax on the lumbar
vertebrae; the balance of the torso on the legs; balance at
the knee; balance at the ankle; balance on the arch of the
foot; and the balance of the arm structure.
" PART THREE: THE MOVEMENT OF BREATHING.
Mapping the structures of breathing and the movement of breathing,
including a dynamic, lengthening and gathering core.
" PART FOUR: YOUR FOUR ARM JOINTS
AND HOW TO USE THEM. The four arm joints; the organization
from the tip of the little finger to the tip of the shoulderblade;
support for arm movement by a dynamic, lengthening and gathering
core.
" PART FIVE: YOUR LEGS AND HOW THEY
MOVE AS YOU PLAY. The three leg joints; the organization of
the musculature; support for leg movement by a dynamic, lengthening
and gathering core; the reflex that gives us a spring in the
step.
" PART SIX: HOW TO. How to use your
nervous system to train or retrain movement. How to cultivate
sensory discernment and responsiveness in yourself and others;
how to train or retrain inclusive, fluid attention.
More Information
For more information
on Body Mapping you can either send a note to info@amylikar.com
or visit www.bodymap.org.
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Revelation!
"
I observed Amy Likar's Body Mapping course and found
it to be a revelation.
Not only was it informative in great detail, and relevant
in some or all points to all people who walk on two
feet, but it was fascinating in the way it dispelled
myths most of us carry about our anatomies.
Few laypersons
take the opportunity to learn what is connected to what
skeletally, and the consequences of those often surprising
connections.
Whether
you have a physical problem or wish to avoid one, this
class will give you the tools that may help you ward
off pain that results from misunderstanding and misuse
of your body. It has broad applications for people of
all
professions."
- Martha
Aarons, Second Flute, Cleveland Orchestra
Big Hit!
"[Dr.
Likar's] workshop was a big hit! The mix of information,
demonstration, and group activities was most effective.
All those that attended raved about the day and want
[her] to return.
I can also tell you that the course has made a huge
difference in the body use of my students, both in the
short and the long term. They now have a heightened
awareness of how they use their bodies that is ongoing.
They also had fun with the course and have continued
to experiment with the information provided..."
- Dr. Nancy Andrew, Associate Professor of Flute, Youngstown
State University
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As
a certified Andover Educator, Ms. Likar has presented "What
Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body" at The Ohio State
University, Ashland University, Youngstown State University, The
University of Akron, Kent State University, the Juilliard School,
the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and other venues across
the county and Europe. Ms. Likar presented a morning warm-up entitled
"The Movement of Breathing" at the National Flute Association
1999 Atlanta Convention and a Body Mapping masterclass at the 2004
Nashville Convention. She collaborates with Lea Pearson, Sandy Seefeld
and Liisa Ruoho in the summer master class "What Every Flutist
Needs to Know About the Body." 
