Thinking up on the cornetto: How to apply the Alexander Technique to cornetto playing by Carlos Rivero Moreno

With the rediscovery of the cornetto at the beginning of the Early Music movement in the 20th century, the first players solved the technical difficulties of this instrument in very different ways, resulting in a great diversity of techniques today. During my bachelor studies with the cornetto, I discovered and learned the Alexander Method with individual and group lessons. For this master's studies, I actively researched how to connect the Alexander principles of inhibition and direction with my cornetto playing. I did a case study with myself, exploring at the practice room to find the desired sound result by applying the Alexandrian principles. I continuously documented the process with notes after each AT and cornetto lesson, and during my daily practice, to observe how this connection affects my development as a player. A part of the research has been the understanding and description of the Alexander Method to share this knowledge with other cornetto players, as I have found that this technique is unknown among most cornetto students and teachers. Learning to play a musical instrument is never easy, but knowing a little better about how the human body works, understanding the body and mind as a unity, and learning to use it in a more efficient and coordinated way has made playing the cornetto much easier for me, obtaining full body resonance, achieving comfort while playing, expanding artistic possibilities, and preventing injuries and body pain.

Introduction

Cornetto has not been played for centuries, and with the birth of the Early Music movement in the XX Century, the first players solved the difficulties of this instrument in very different ways. I first experienced the Alexander Technique (in short AT as will be used in the rest of this exposition) in the Hochschule für Musik Bremen (Germany) with the Alexander teacher at the same institution, Bryan Mckenna. That was at the beginning of my bachelor studies on the cornetto with Gebhard David, my main subject teacher, and it was clear to me that I wanted to learn how to apply that fantastic feeling to myself while playing and, eventually, to my daily life. At that time I was also curious to know how renowned European cornetto players, besides my main teacher, developed their technique and how this instrument is taught in leading educational institutions these days. Thus, I discovered that the Alexander Technique is entirely unknown among both cornetto teachers and students, and I have seen that it often results in injuries from playing music (such as tendonitis or chronic back pain) that cornetto players consider normal, but where the AT has shown great effectiveness in preventing them. Of course, this is not the only method developed to improve body awareness and coordination, instrument practice, or our musical abilities, and many have points in common with AT. However, comparing the different methods would be a research itself. Since what I have studied has been the Alexander Technique, I preferred to focus only on that in my Master's studies and this research, with no intention of diminishing the relevance of other methods.

Research question: “How to apply the Alexander Technique to the cornetto playing?”

That was my purpose with this research: to understand deeper and explain how I can apply the Alexander Technique to master cornetto playing. So I hope it serves as an introduction to the Technique and thus awakens the curiosity to find a certified teacher to learn for people who love the sound of the cornetto like me and who struggle to progress as a player, or maybe want to find more ease in their lives as cornetto students or professional players. And if that path has already begun, may my work serve as support for learning. This subject can be expanded considerably and I have chosen to leave certain aspects out of this exposition so as not to make it too long. Even so, I explained what I consider to be the basis of AT. Thus, those who are interested in expanding their knowledge can refer to the bibliography.

And for this, I’ve been documenting the process with notes (what I have been doing since my previous studies) after AT and cornetto lessons, and in my daily practice, to find out which ideas work better than others for playing, since my AT teacher does not know the details of playing cornetto, and my current cornetto teacher, Doron Sherwin, does not know AT.

Although the research has been done only with myself, my motivation for writing about it is to help the spread of the Alexander Technique among the cornetto community. Therefore, I will use the plural form to generalize instead of the first person in singular when writing, because from what I have seen in Alexander Technique groups over many years, from my cornetto colleagues, and real cases explained in the available literature, many problems are common to most people. The tips and the information I give may also be useful for most cornetto players, and therefore I would like to address every reader interested in this subject.

Thus, In chapters 1 and 2, I will explain the Alexander Technique, as much as possible in my own words, as the result of what I have learned mainly through my experience in AT lessons and from my practice, and to a lesser extent from the literature I have studied on the subject. That overview may help the reader to understand Chapter 3, where I will explain different aspects of the cornetto technique and how the AT can help with them. The exercises and tips presented in this exposition come from my Alexander Technique lessons with Bryan McKenna unless otherwise indicated by quotations. In Chapter 4, I will explain my evolution as a musician during this research and how I changed with the help of Alexander's Method.

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Carlos Rivero Moreno - Thinking up on the cornetto: How to apply the Alexander Technique to cornetto playing - 2025