Helping Musicians – or Swimmers – Achieve Fluency

by EMANUEL E. GARCIA, MD

Music, perhaps more than any other human activity, requires a profound synthesis of intellect, creativity and athleticism. As a physician and psychotherapist who has worked for years with classical music students, I was so convinced of the importance of connecting mind and body I urged my students to practice healthful activities such as sports and yoga. These insights also led me to devise a method of practice, designed to improve the technical and musical abilities of players of stringed instruments, the benefits of which have been confirmed by novices and experts around the world.

When I discovered Total Immersion I was delighted to recognize parallels between TI methods and my own therapeutic and educative work. Even better, after resuming regular swimming following many “dry” years, I was delighted to find a connection with the water that chased the ghosts of earlier old-school instruction and I was recently able to complete a 2.8 km open-sea competition relatively effortlessly – even if relatively slowly!
Terry, after reading a summary of my methods, felt that a comparison of its principles with those of TI would interest Total Swim readers.

First, some background. A close listener to string musicians will over time learn to distinguish superior from inferior technical ability – for the moment leaving aside creative interpretation. The superior musician plays with fluidity and ease, accuracy of pitch, and a tone that is robust even when soft. He or she can also play rapidly and softly simultaneously (it’s a whole lot easier to play loud when playing fast). Great musicians naturally use their magnificent technical skill in the service of their creative ideas. But the more technical ability at one's command, the more fully a musician can realize these ideas.

As I began working with them, I was astonished to discover that even among elite musicians very basic aspects of technique practice had been relatively neglected. This factor, coupled with the constant striving for “perfect” sound, created a vicious cycle: When "perfection" inevitably proved unattain-able, they tended to resort to unmindful over-practice, as if to force improvement through sheer dogged effort. Practice hours increased, improvement was minimal, and injury potential rose alarmingly.

My approach was to break down the basic elements of playing to allow the development of finer muscular control – and mindful concentration – by playing super-soft and super-slow. After several months players consistently reported a markedly enhanced ability to create sound with less effort, and increased dexterity. Even elite musicians discover elements of their playing that can be improved.

The method includes six basic phases or 'drills:'

Super-soft and super-slow The player is asked to select a brief musical excerpt and to play it extremely slowly and nearly inaudibly without regard for being in tune. This is a real test of the player's ability to control the bow and corresponds to TI Balance drills.

Super-soft and super-slow without vibrato Vibrato is the deliberate vibrating of the string to produce a 'live' sound – the subtle upwards and downwards distortion of the tone to produce nuances and colorings. Eliminating vibrato forces the player to concentrate on the basics of bowing and sound production.

Super-slow and super-soft without vibrato but with perfect intonation The player is asked to reintroduce an emphasis on playing the notes perfectly in tune.

Super-slow and super-soft without vibrato, with perfect intonation and with channeled bow movement The player is asked to restrict the lateral movement of the bow to a narrow channel. This further enhances muscular control and precision.

Reintroduction of vibrato and experimentation with tempo and dynamics The player is asked to add colour and to vary loudness and pace – that is, to begin playing the excerpt more as written.

Make music The player proceeds stepwise through each drill, then lets loose and plays the excerpt as musically as possible.

Over time, through mindful practice of this drill series – for no more than 20 minutes daily – playing becomes much easier, much more fluid, and much more powerful – in short, more capable of expressing the musician’s creative ideas – and thus much more satisfying!

In my own TI practice I recognized parallels to my musical drill series. As I progressed mindfully through focus on balance, body alignment, awareness of the water, integration and relaxation, etc., I felt a “correspondence of spirit” between the two approaches. When one 'brings it all together' and begins swimming the full stroke, a relatively effortless and elegant experience emerges – a fishlike feeling of gliding through the water with minimal resistance and maximal capacity for pleasure.

My discovery that Alexander Popov's coach, Gennadi Touretski advocated hours of “super-slow” practice, emphasizing high levels of precision, confirmed that skilled activities of all kinds share a fundamental foundation. If one can achieve greater precision and relaxation at very slow speeds, one's efficacy at higher speeds can reach phenomenal levels. Popov has proved it – and we lesser mortals can also benefit from observing the same principles.


Dr. Garcia (aka "Manny") is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who now makes his home in Wellington, New Zealand. From 1998 through 2005 he served as a consultant to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he helped to develop programs in health education and injury prevention for students of classical music. His interests include the psychology of creativity and the optimization of human potential. He now swims regularly in Wellington Harbour, employing TI principles.

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