A Brief History of the Alexander Technique

Frederick Matthias Alexander (see images below) was an actor in Australia in the late 19th Century who discovered a problem with his voice. He consulted a doctor who told him that he must rest his voice and abstain from reciting prior to a forthcoming engagement. After doing this and by the time of the recital, he found that his voice was free from hoarseness, though by the end of the performance his vocal organs were once again in a distressing condition. So Alexander returned to his Doctor and pointed out that although he had done exactly as the he had been instructed, the old condition of hoarseness had still returned during his recital. Alexander suggested that the problem was therefore caused by something which he was doing in the act of reciting. The doctor agreed to this but could not say what it was, and so Alexander set forth to discover this for himself.

Observation and experimentation

Alexander began by observing himself in a mirror both in the act of speaking and in reciting and he noticed 3 tendencies during the act of reciting - he tended to pull back the head, depress the larynx and suck in breath through the mouth resulting in a gasping sound. He also noticed these tendencies, though in a far more subtle degree, when he observed himself again in the act of everyday speech. He also noticed that these tendencies became particularly exaggerated when reciting more demanding passages of text, thus he believed he had found the root of his trouble.

He continued to experiment by trying to prevent each tendency and he found that he could only directly prevent, to some extent, the pulling back of the head, and that this in turn indirectly affected his breathing and the functioning of his voice. He also noticed that in the prevention of these tendencies, he also became less liable to hoarseness while reciting. Alexander then went on to conclude that as the prevention of putting the head back indirectly prevented the sucking in of breath and the depression of the larynx, he may be able to influence further the functioning of the vocal and respiratory mechanisms. As a result of further experimentation, he found that his head must go forward and up in relation to the neck and back, in order to prevent restriction in both vocal and respiratory processes.

'Use' of the head, neck and back

Through further experimentation, Alexander discovered that any "use of the head and neck which was associated with a depressing of the larynx was also associated with a tendency to lift the chest and shorten the stature" *1. This suggested that the functioning of the vocal organs was influenced by the use of the torso and the relationship between the head, neck and back. He further discovered that the head's going forward and up, and the back lengthening and widening, brought about the most constructive conditions for vocal production.

Faulty Sensory Awareness, Inhibition and Direction

Eventually Alexander discovered what is now often referred to as debauched kinaesthesia, or faulty sensory awareness. This is when what we think we do, is not fact, what we are actually doing! Try it out when you are next standing waiting in a queue or for a train or bus. Without looking, ask yourself what you are doing with your feet. Are they parallel to one another, are they turned in or out? Then look and see if you were right. Or, ask yourself if you are lifting your shoulders or tilting your head, then check your reflection in a window or a mirror to see.

Alexander's realisation that his sensory awareness was faulty showed him that although he thought he had his head, neck and back in a relationship which he had found to be that which is the most constructive for vocal reproduction, he had in fact reverted to his old habit of depressing the larynx. Therefore, he had first to inhibit (i.e. not react to) his response to the stimulus to speak, in order to prevent this pattern of misuse. Then he must project a series of mental orders or directions in order to maintain this relationship. In continuing this process of inhibition and direction, he would then have a choice to carry out his desired stimulus to speak, or not speak at all, or do something entirely different.

As long as he continued to project his directions for this new manner of use, he might then carry out any activity without relying on his old manner of use which was governed by his habit and habitual understanding of how he used himself.

Source 1 "The Use of the Self" by F M Alexander