Working Through Physical and Mental Tension
By Kevin Price

Having started as Principal Trombone of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 23, I began teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham's School of Music. I was very aware of the fact that there was only a small age difference between my RNCM pupils and myself at this time and because of this, decided to concentrate on the work at Chetham's after two years of teaching at both schools. Chets quickly became something of a passion, as it is a wonderful opportunity to develop the basic skills and habits that equip a young player for life, before the pressure of auditions and recitals eats into practice time. A balance of playing and teaching soon developed and ten years simply flew by.

During this period, the most interesting observation was that many pupils began life at Chets as natural players, with very little mental or physical tension, but as the pressure of academic work and exams increases with each year for the students, so I noticed that their playing could become correspondingly more tense and "tight" as they tried to keep up a quality practice regime, particularly at exam times. The idea of breaking down this vicious cycle became a priority. As such I began to adapt my approach, trying to lighten the pressure as the academic year progressed, with exam time being a time for keeping the "basics" of playing ticking along. Relaxation began to become increasingly important in my teaching.

My job in the RLPO was proving to be great fun and I couldn't have wished for a better life. In 1998/9 the opportunity arose to do two trials for jobs in london. I panicked, not really believing that I was "good enough" and so I started to practise all the time-between rehearsals, after concerts, simply all the time. After a few months, my body started to complain. I noticed pain in my left shoulder which eventually spread up my neck and into my face. I pulled out of trials, took some time off and worked my way through 28 specialists, finally settling on a combination of physiotherapy, running and Alexander Technique as well as using a shoulder rest designed by Mick Rath and an Ergobone harness to ease the weight on my shoulder. All of this required a total rethinking of my playing, as the balance and feel had totally changed. My teaching at Chets increased during this time off from the orchestra and I used this time to "learn to play" again with my youngest pupils, trying out the new physiotherapy stretches with them and encouraging them to try Alexander Technique with trained teachers. A new system slowly developed,with a short routine of stretches before and after each session of playing, taking away the thought of having to "fit in" the practise session with everything else in your life and leaving you feeling relaxed and fresh at the end of each session. By breaking the cycle of physical tension-worry-anxiety and replacing it with a new cycle of balance-trust-faith in yourself, not only did my playing slowly recover, but also the students at Chetham's started to lose the tendency to become more and more tense as the academic year progressed. The trombone remained a source of pleasure and relaxation for them and more of a "tool for life" rather than just another task to fit into an already hectic day. Both academic and musical results improved with this new relaxed approach.

This is an extremely simplified summary of a very long and hard period in my life, but one from which I am learning a great deal and from which I feel my pupils are now benefitting from.

Kevin Price was born in Wellington, New Zealand and studied at Otago University and the University of Auckland. He won a three year Associated Board Scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, London and in 1991 was appointed Principal Trombone of the RLPO. From September 2005 Kevin takes up the post of Head of Brass at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.