Abstract for the dissertation The Alexander Technique and the Art of Teaching Voice by Maria Weiss (D.M.A.) Boston University, 2005

This paper focuses on the principles and applications of the Alexander Technique and how they can be used to influence and affect the teaching of voice. Maria Weiss, a certified Alexander teacher, uses her knowledge of the Alexander Technique together with her knowledge of different body-mind techniques and of vocal pedagogy to compare these various techniques and vocal approaches to the Alexander Technique.

In the first part of the thesis she offers background knowledge about the Alexander Technique. She searched for sources in the vocal pedagogy literature to find support for F. M. Alexander's ideas. She uses sources from vocal teachers such as Pietro Francesco Tosi, Manuel Garcia, Kristin Linklater, and Olga Averino, to name just a few, to show that the principles of F. M. Alexander's teachings can be discovered in vocal writings. She also compares some of the few sources of vocal teachers who teach singing as Alexander teachers themselves, such as Beret Arcaya or Jane Heirich. She clarifies the principles and applications of the Alexander Technique mainly against the background of the different body-mind methods, especially Feldenkrais and Archery by Eugen Herrigel. She points out similarities and contrasts among these techniques.

The second part of the thesis deals with topics related to singing such as 'posture', breathing, practicing and performing. The author discusses them from the viewpoint of F. M. Alexander, various Alexander teachers, body-mind techniques, vocal teachers and singers. In addition to the already mentioned body-mind techniques of Feldenkrais and Eugen Herrigel, she uses writings about Tai Chi and the breathing work of Carl Stough. She includes anatomical details to shed light on some misconceptions concerning 'posture' and breathing. She writes about the connection between conscious controlled practicing and performance. The dissertation does not intend to go into detailed vocal exercises.

Maria Weiss includes a detailed bibliography of written sources about the Alexander Technique, body-mind technique, voice books, anatomy and vocal science books. She indicates the first three sources in the bibliography with special marks to clarify to which field the book belongs.

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