The MBMS Prelude
Certification Program

Dear Fellow Musician,

Thanks for stopping by to learn more about the MBMS Prelude Certification Program.

This program is for musicians and music teachers who want to learn how to get out of their own way. Why? So their light can shine brighter. And their artistic voice can speak more boldly, more clearly in the world.

I invite you to read this page with your whole self. Notice any head nods (or shakes) and sensations in your body.

If you feel a strong yes to what’s on offer, I invite you to complete an application. If you’re a maybe, feel free to write me with your questions. And if you’re a clear no, I wish you the very best on your music journey.

Let’s get into the program…

What is Prelude?

Prelude is a 2-level certification program for musicians and music teachers offering in-depth training in Integrative Alexander Technique (and related fields of study like pain recovery, breathing, trauma resolution, anxiety relief, practicing, performing and more).

The majority of students do both levels of study, but it’s not required. You can do just the first level.

The Prelude Program is the gateway into (and prerequisite for) MBMS Pro, our 3-year Integrative Alexander Technique teacher training program.

A new cohort starts in September. As of this writing, 8 spots remain.

I’ve been told over and over and over that I was my own worst enemy, and that I was thinking too hard, and if I could just relax and let it happen, it would be there. I’m a very cerebral person. I rely on rational thought and logical problem-solving. And I couldn’t find a way to solve this problem. Alexander’s story mirrored mine almost exactly. Relief #1: I’m not imagining this, it’s a thing, there are reasons, and there is hope.

Kathy M. · voice

What Makes the Program Unique?

Two things.

The first is the work itself, Integrative Alexander Technique (IAT) and how it’s taught. Many students call IAT the missing link in their music education. It’s a powerful modality that any musician can use to elevate the quality of their experience making music. And in MBMS, we teach it in a highly practical way, showing you how to integrate it directly into your music and daily life.

The second unique aspect of Prelude is the community. Past participants often share it’s the most supportive group of musicians they’ve ever been a part of. We believe the work goes deeper when you are among people that share your values, that emphasize cooperation over competition and authenticity over ego. Where it’s safe enough to be yourself.

The Prelude course has been a journey where everyone within the MBMS community comes from different places, is travelling to different destinations and at different paces, but all united as good travel companions. The spirit within the walls is one of openness, positivity, generosity of spirit. It is a place to thrive in comfort and a place which brings the best out in everybody. This is in striking contrast to the outside world, full of deadlines, requirements, difficult people, agendas being driven, taking rather than giving.

Peter K. · double bass

The Curriculum

Integrative Alexander Technique is a language, the language of the self. Level I is where you learn to speak it.

Level I Primary Learning Objectives

1. Start paying attention to yourself in a more generous, present and holistic way.
2. Build an accurate map of your own physical design and practice cooperating with it.
3. Learn how to guide yourself into greater freedom and ease using constructive thinking plans.
4. Practice exercising freedom of choice in all areas of your life.

Module 1: Foundations in Integrative Alexander Technique for Musicians

• The 7 Well-Being Meta Practices (centering, breathing, listening, choosing, coordinating, resting and integrating)
• Integrative Alexander Technique for Musicians — the process and the practice
• Alexander’s story and work, including his core principles and how they help musicians
• Restorative movement and rest practices

Module 2: Our Magnificent, Moveable Human Design

• Axial structures: head, spine, ribs, thorax, torso
• Appendicular structures: arms and hands, legs and feet, jaw
• Breath week (an entire week focused on breathing)

Instead of fretting about which scale, etude or piece, my attention is now directed to how I am playing anything. Starting with a head to toe scan, of course beginning with the head neck awareness. I thought I knew about the relationship of the feet, legs, torso, back, arms to shoulders and neck but it is different now. It is more empowering, and useful to me.

Ann H. · violin

Level I gave you a solid foundation. Now, we start living the work by reinforcing new pathways in new practice and performance habits that match what you value. Level II includes a personal practice/performance project culminating in a performance of your own in April or May.

Level II Primary Learning Objectives

1. Skillfully integrate the IAT process into your music practice and performance.
2. Learn healthy and deliberate practice strategies that amplify learning.
3. Develop a more resilient, performance-ready nervous system and whole self.
4. Refine observational and listening skills throughout.

Module 3: Practicing Joy

• Learn how to reframe practice as “joyful skill-building”
• Participate in a 30-Day Practice Experiment to kick off 2027

Module 4: Performance Preparation & Practice

• How to use the 6 Lenses of Performance (spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, musical and social) to prepare and rehearse a performance plan
• The importance of pressure and adversity training in performance preparation

Module 5: Performing Freedom

• How to use your performance plan in front of an audience
• Performance readiness practices to work with music performance anxiety

Studying more about the complexity of our anatomical structures has helped me to understand how our design affects my ability to vocalize. Being introduced to the Alexander Technique has helped me to realize how habits of interference inhibit my ability to sing with ease. I have found a way to return to the joyful ease of singing.

Tiffany C. · voice

Classes & Events

Weekly Sessions

The things that I can point to that impacted me were… practicing bringing a teacup to our lips while keeping our head properly aligned, exploring what happens to our singing if we move one joint and then another, using the image of a starfish to cue our bodies to coordinate.

Jane R. · voice & conducting

A Week in the Life

The community class is the throughline. Tuesday or Thursday, 90 minutes, your pick. You’re welcome at both if you have the time and the appetite.

Everything else you choose from the options above. Plan on average about 3.5 hours of class time a week. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

Plan for about 30–45 minutes a week to consume light material (readings, videos, audio) outside of class time.

The rest of your “homework” is applying the work to what you’re already doing. Your practice, your teaching, your commute, your morning, your relationships. That’s why this program can work for busy people (and we have plenty of them).

What About In-Person Study?

In Level II, we strongly encourage you to attend at least one 2-day weekend immersion in a regional location. This is where you experience one of the most special parts of Alexander work: touch communication, a way of helping you find your best coordination with the hands-on support of a trained teacher. It’s non-invasive, light, and almost everyone loves it. Past students report in-person work as one of the most rewarding parts of the program.

Hands-on work is always by consent.

For the 2027 immersions (when Level II happens), we’re planning Minneapolis–St. Paul in January, the Nashville/Atlanta area in February, the Bay Area in March, and East Coast weekends in both April and May. Exact dates and venues are coming soon.

If travel isn’t possible for whatever reason, it is possible to earn enough hours in Level II through online coursework.

The highlight of the year for me were the in-person immersions… I was able to gain an even deeper understanding of the hands-on aspect of Alexander training. There I was able to interact with my fellow students and learn through direct experience the benefits of Alexander work.

Miki R. · voice

How Does Certification Work?

Certification Requirements

• Attend 80% of your training hours for each level synchronously
• Write a reflection paper at the end of each level, or blog your progress throughout
• Be a contributing member of the community

What Certification Means

You’ll receive a hand-signed certificate of completion for each level of study once you’ve met the requirements. The certificate signifies that you have a basic yet solid and embodied understanding of the core principles of Integrative Alexander Technique as it applies to music making. If you teach, it also allows you to teach any MBMS exercises, practices and ideas you learn in Prelude to your students.

This program does not certify you as a teacher of the Alexander Technique. MBMS offers professional teacher training in Integrative Alexander Technique, and Prelude is the prerequisite to be considered for it.

Who Teaches the Program?

I, Peter, am the primary instructor.

Juliana Marin, our resident teacher (and 2023 graduate of MBMS Pro), will be assisting me and leading some of her own classes.

Michael Hanko, visiting faculty and a longtime collaborator of the school, will also be teaching classes throughout the year.

Special guest teachers will be invited in on an occasional basis.

Nobody is trying to restructure the way you teach. Nobody is trying to say you have bad habits, or that you are doing it wrong. What is happening here is self-discovery of how we can find what is going to improve our relationships with our students. Especially for the old me, who thought, well, 40 years of teaching means that I was successful at doing this, when what I really needed to think was, wow, something new that works for me as a singer might be great for my students too.

Martha S. · piano & voice

Are You a Good Fit?

We want every Prelude student to be set up for success, which is why we take great care checking for fit and in curating the community. The students who do well here have several things in common.

We welcome anybody to apply who sees themselves in these three things, regardless of age, training or background.

No prior Alexander Technique study is required. We always start with, and return to, the fundamentals.

Two more things.

First, we all have different bodies and different abilities. This work can be adapted for any body, regardless of its shape, size, mobility, etc. I’ve never met a person who can’t take advantage of this work.

Second, you should already be convinced that this work is worth something. You don’t need prior study, but you do need to have felt enough of it, in a class or a workshop or a lesson, to want more. This isn’t the place to find out whether Alexander Technique is for you.

That said, if you see the potential but aren’t totally on board yet, apply anyway. We can talk it through in your application conversation.

After a year of being part of MBMS I have come to realise that parallel with this love has been a set of self-limiting beliefs. These beliefs are voices deeply ingrained in me. You shouldn’t draw attention to yourself. Don’t be a show-off. Why would anyone want to listen to you. You’re not good enough. And, most insidiously, you’ll be found out. A year in MBMS has enabled me to allow them to float to the surface, acknowledge that they don’t serve me and, not yet but maybe someday soon, begin to discard them.

Rachel G. · voice

What Kind of People Join This Program?

One thing that makes our learning community so alive is that it contains people with a variety of life experience, skill levels and goals.

Here are three recurring student profiles I’ve seen over the past 12 years who tend to do well in Prelude.

(If you don’t see yourself in any one of these but feel drawn to the program, who knows? Maybe you’re a trailblazer!)

The most surprising and profound thing that I learned during this first level was recognizing that my primary job as a teacher is to first take care of myself. It is only when we are grounded in this as the central focus that we will be able to make space for and be present with our students, to really listen to them and respond to what they desire to learn.

Natalie S. · voice teacher

I rejoined the choir I sung with for more than 20 years, which was now under a new director, and decided to try for a solo, just to learn another beautiful song, no expectations. To my surprise, and excitement, I got the solo — my first solo with the choir, after so many years singing with the group. The new director didn’t know me, had no reasons to prefer me. He just liked my voice.

Avital G. · voice

Thank you for helping me get over my teacher’s imposter syndrome and making me feel like I really belong to a community of musicians and music teachers.

Stephanie W. · cello

Tuition

Includes all online coursework and unlimited attendance at weekend immersions (space permitting) between September and May. (Books, travel and lodging are your own.)

Most students pay monthly. Level I, for example, would be 5 payments of $320 from August through December.

Some students prefer to pay upfront for the term, which is also an option.

Participants in the June term courses, summer retreat or Mind. Body. Music! 5-day online immersion receive a $95 tuition credit.

If your employer offers professional development funding, we can invoice directly and work with purchase orders.

Limited need-based scholarships are available. Just note that on the application.

You Made It!

Most people don’t get this far. But you’re still reading, which could mean something here is calling to you.

If so, I invite you to apply. If you still have questions, you can write to me anytime (see P.S. for email). And if this isn’t your time or your thing, I respect that 100%.

Either way, I appreciate you taking the time to learn more about the Prelude Program.

P.S. Questions? Email me at peter@mindbodymusicschool.com.

P.P.S. A few more testimonials from students over the years. (You’ll note they’re all vocalists. That’s because until 3 years ago our school only worked with singers.)