RESONANCE TRAINING FOR MUSICIANS
Resonance Training, the applied physiology of music, was founded and developed by violinist Thomas Lange in the 1980’s. It is a sound-and-body orientated musical-artistic teaching for players of all instruments, singers and conductors.
Resonance Training addresses musicians who are longing to find a movement quality that enables them to:
- fulfill their unique musical-artistic potential
- find more trust and freedom in situations of mental pressure
- improve their sound quality.
One of the most important foundations of Resonance Training is to acknowledge the close connection between the musician’s quality of sound and his muscular condition. Physical tension, cramp and pain are usually represented in a sound that is poor in resonance. The same is true conversely: The more resonant the sound, the more effortless and effective the musical movement. Musical movement and sound are seen as one entity. Once the body is in a sound supporting condition, the musical emotion can easily flow into the sound wave in the room and reach the listener’s ear.
Players of all instruments, singers and conductors who are longing to
- enhance their quality of sound through richness in frequencies
- experience greater freedom in the musical movement and overcome stage fright
- release tension, cramp or pain
- bring their authentic emotion into the sound wave and enjoy a more resonant connection with the audience.
As a Resonance Teacher I am trained to compare the musician‘s movement patterns with the sound and to find ways to optimize both in relation to each other. I work with players of all instruments. Up until now this has been: violin, viola, double bass, piano, harp, accordion, oboe, saxophone, jazz guitar, ukulele, singing and speaking.
Resonance Training offers tools and exercises (multi-dimensionally balanced sound movements) that enable you to use your whole body as a resonance factor in addition to the resonance factors instrument and room. You will gain a body condition that allows the sound wave to vibrate evenly through the whole body. Technical issues and limitations in the sound quality can generally be traced back to a disbalance in the body. Any disbalance to your musical body condition can be rebalanced through spreading the muscular engagement over the whole body, so all muscles can optimally play together and support each other.
Resonance Training makes use of the audio-motoric system. It is a physical fact that our balance system connects the ear with every muscle of the body. This means by listening to the sound in open awareness and balancing the body in a sound permeable way we can influence and change the sound anytime as desired.
The foundational principle of movement as applied with Resonance Training is the physical law: “A mass is most easily moved over it‘s centre of gravity.“ This is applicable for the whole body. Any movement is led and multi-dimensionally balanced over the centre of gravity and parts of the body are moved over the segment‘s centres of gravity. This way we gain a body mobility that continuously balances the complexity of musical movement. Muscular elasticity allows us to find the optimum combination between robustness and sensitivity that the ever-changing sound situation requires.
The movement quality as offered with Resonance Training leads to open joints, balanced muscles, a free flow of breathing and greater flexibility. The space within the body gently expands.
It is suggested to practice the sound movements (a set of body exercises) on a regular basis in order to internalize a new quality of organic musical movement. This high quality of movement can be present at all times in daily life, meaning that when you are on the concert stage it will require no other particular movement quality.
There are three forms of Resonance teaching, to be combined
- Working on musical material: The sound movements as offered with Resonance Training are directly applicable when playing the instrument / singing. Any change in the quality of movement will immediately be represented in the sound.
- Body exercises: Multi-dimensionally balanced sound movements that support you to reach an organic, musical body condition and to internalize sound-supporting movement habits.
- Hands-on work: A relaxation treatment where the musician is being moved according to the principles of Resonance by the Resonance Trainer. This deepens the learning through another entry into the musician´s system. It is also recommended as support in the case of pain or prior to a concert or audition.
In a Resonance workshop there is space for individual sessions in front of the group as well as body work in group sessions. The advantage of a workshop is that participants have the opportunity to experience the work from both sides, having a real audience and being the audience that experiences how Resonance is applied with others.
Do you want to book your session? Call Wiebke on +49 172 59 30 887 or send an email to motion@renner-resonanz.com .
I am based in Berlin.
If you are not in Berlin and you have a number of interested people, I am more than happy to set up a workshop in your area. Feel free to contact me to discuss the possibilities.
„By the way, I just wanted to say that Wiebke who took the Resonance workshop is wonderful. Everything she did made a huge difference. I would definitely suggest having her back in future, and maybe holding a few workshops over a days, as there is quite a lot of information to take in!“
Clara Kanter, postgraduate student at Guildhall School of Music and Drama London
„Just a quick note to say that Wiebke Renner - the Resonance Training woman who came in and did a workshop that I sang in a few days ago - is a genius. I don’t really know what to say other than I think she may have unlocked the secret of making my singing way less effortful. I would highly recommend that you get her back to do more workshops with the GSMD vocal students.
In one day she transformed my singing. I think one issue I have had is not having much in the way of contact with the floor but she basically taught us how to access low frequencies that we were not accessing before.
Anyway, just a heads up that if she came in to Guildhall two or three times a year, I think GSMD would lap all other music colleges in the country, even more so than it is already doing.“
Sam Carl, postgraduate student at Guildhall School of Music and Drama London
„Thank you for reminding me of the joy that's at the root of everything.“
Course participant, London
"Resonance Training means for me easiness, sound, colour, floating, gravity, listening, experiencing, discovery, saving, flexibility, laughter, freedom, spontaneity, body awareness, relief, understanding, well being, depth, surprise... and having found a person who gave me back the ability to enjoy music, my voice and my singing. Wiebke is special and unique, loving and simply incredible! She gave me permission to find my own music without apology or shame. Wiebke has led me and encouraged me to go the way I always wanted to go. She is exactly the person I was always searching for! Working with her is touching and empowering. She understands me as musician and as human being. She knows what my needs are. She supports my own way of being a musician and how I express the music. With her I don't have to function as a singer anymore, instead I can sing and be alive at the same time. I can work like I want to, such as, allowing free improvisation and expression of my emotions to find my own authentic sound."
Sabrina Friedrich, singer, Berlin