Pedro de Alcantara's The Integrated String Player: Embodied Vibration is a practical guide for all string players: violinists and violists, cellists and bassists, but also gamba players and anyone who makes music drawing a bow across a string. Dozens of exercises, supported by a dedicated website with 80 video clips, cover all the basics of string playing, including left-hand articulation, vibrato, changes of position, double-stopping, sound production, string crossings, and many other techniques. Each exercise, however simple or complex, can become a meditation with the goal of integrating the musical, technical, and metaphysical aspects of a player's practice. Part I is devoted to the fundamentals of coordination, rhythm, and listening in depth. Part II focuses on the left hand, with an emphasis on healthy gestures that are charged with musicality and meaning. Part III covers the bowing arm, exploring innovative concepts such as expressive gesticulation, mechanical intelligence, and the use of the bow as the player's voice, both literally and symbolically. Part IV covers the integration of analytical thought and sensorial practice, providing an extensive study of the harmonic series, the circle of fifths, Tartini tones, and many other sonic aspects that are essential to a string player's musical freedom. In addition, the conversational, linguistic, compositional, and improvisatory dimensions of string playing are discussed and supported by multiple practical exercises. The Integrated String Player is addressed to players of all abilities and from all aesthetic backgrounds: students and professionals, teachers and performers, classically trained musicians and jazz players, chamber-music players and orchestral players.

About the Author
Pedro de Alcantara is a musician, writer, and teacher, leading workshops worldwide on the Alexander Technique. His books include Integrated Practice: Coordination, Rhythm & Sound and Indirect Procedures: A Musician's Guide to the Alexander Technique. He lives in Paris and is Visiting Professor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Reviews
The product of a lifetime of learning, thinking, playing and teaching music ... The beauty of such a book is that one can take it at any pace and investigate specific areas at leisure. It would be a perfect gift for a tertiary string student (cellists in particular), and also could be explored in a string class, or group discussion of teachers and advanced students. * Helen Tuckey, AUSTA National Journal Reviews *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199899333
Author Pedro de Alcantara
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 175mm * 249mm * 20mm