Just Play Naturally: An account of her study with Pablo Casals in the 1950's and her discovery of the resonance between his teaching and the principles of the Alexander Technique

by Vivien Mackie

"Just Play Naturally" by Vivien Mackie, in conversation with Joe Armstrong, goes very deep into the creative process by recounting the steps by which Pablo Casals taught Mackie, as a young woman, to go beyond all her formal training in order to become a r

Genres: Music, Musicians

188 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2002

Reviews

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book quite by accident, and, as someone who is not a cellist and had no previous interest or awareness of the Alexander technique, it is not a book that should have interested me. Yet, from the very first page I found myself drawn into the easy, conversational tone - the book is written as a dialogue between Vivien Mackie and Joe Armstrong - and the concepts within the book emerged naturally through the stories of Vivien's playing with Pedro Casales. Truly a delight to read.

[Robyn Hart]

This wasn’t what I expected, very chatty and doesn’t really get to the point quickly. Interesting nevertheless

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, compelling reading -- for everyone, seriously. A great narrative of one person's experience studying under the master of their chosen field. A lot of discussion about the Alexander technique, too.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every classical musician should read this book! It contains a lot of interesting info from Casals regarding how we practice, how we approach the instrument, and how we view our own potential.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valuable info about Casals' teaching.