7notemode and Barbara Lister-Sink

As you know I have been trawling through lots of jazz based sites lately and there are a number of fantastic Youtube based player/teachers uploading thoroughly helpful and informative renditions and explanations of standards. Some examples include Lot2learn, jazz2511 and 7notemode. Anyway 7notemode is an advocate of the Barbara Lister-Sink method and uploaded this vid of a session he had with her which led me to investigating further what she has to say about playing the piano too. It is well worth viewing her YouTube videos and in particular that in which she plays Debussy and Rachmaninoff where her silky, smooth and seemingly effortless technique is a delight to watch and listen too.

Her method is based round her own ideas, the Alexander Technique and Russian Release method of piano pedagogy. I know a bit about Alexander Technique as my first guitar teacher ended up training as one so I was exposed to it and still use the little I have learnt today for myself and in my teaching.

During my training as a guitarist with my second and main teacher Stephan Bulmer, I was taught much of what she speaks about in reference to the use of the whole body in relation to the instrument and tension free structures. So I have been able to apply a little of what she talks about and I think it has already made some difference. Well worth a look!