INTRODUCTION

In a famous TV broadcast, Leonard Bernstein elucidated the mysteries of classical sonata form to his young audience.’ What I vividly recall about this program over thirty years later is the marvelous visual device Bernstein employed to “cue” his audience to the movement’s main structural events (the piece was Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony, K. 551, No. 41 in C, 1st movement). As a new theme or section occurred, a member of the orchestra would hold up a large cue card with the section’s name on it: “Exposition,” “First Theme,” “Second Theme,” etc.. This image allowed us “to see” Mozart’s stream of notes as a clearly structured and cohesive event. Such a representational approach to musical structure offers a metaphor for some aspects of our work and a conceptual framework for the Rolfing ten series.2

This paper’s structure, also, is intended to mirror certain aspects of sonata form. The Bernstein model, above, serves as an introduction, with thematic allusions to it returning throughout the paper. In the exposition, I introduce the main themes of sonata form’s shape and how it relates to the shape of the Rolfing ten series. The development section looks at this relationship in a more subtle way, while the recapitulation returns to initial concepts introduced in the exposition, comparing two contrasting models of how the first Rolfing hour might relate to sonata form. The brief coda provides closure while presenting possibilities for deeper thematic exploration.

EXPOSITI0N

A sonata form is a three-part melodic structure which first occurs in instrumental and vocal music of the Classical era.’ This form consists of the following sections: the exposition, the development and the recapitulation. The exposition has two main themes: a first or primary theme in the tonic and a contrasting secondary theme normally in the dominant (in the key of C-major, C is the tonic and G is the dominant). There is also transitional material that may be new or derived from the initial theme. The purpose of this material is to provide a melodic bridge between the two themes. One may also find an introductory theme at the beginning and a discrete closing theme at the end of the exposition. The middle section, the development, follows the exposition. Here, the composer reworks the exposition’s material in often far reaching tonal regions using a variety of structural and harmonic devices. In the final section, the recapitulation, the opening theme returns in the tonic. Here, the transitional material is abridged and the second theme also appears in the tonic. The recapitulation provides tonal stability and a symmetry to the sonata form (see Ex. 1 below).

<img src=’https://novo.pedroprado.com.br/imgs/1998/486-1.gif’>

This three-part structure can be linked to the Rolfing ten-series in a number of ways. We can establish connections to those basic ten-series roadmaps we received in training classes. Often, I heard my teachers speak of the ten series as a three-part structure. Here is an adaptation of their ideas using my sonata form model. In the sleeve hours (1-3) we open the body, covering all the major territory at a surface level. This superficial work resembles the exposition in that it introduces major themes that will be explored in greater detail later while providing a preliminary sense of balance and symmetry. The first session functions like the sonata form’s first theme, introducing key material we will explore later. Similarly, the transitional material, which links the upper body work to the ground, suggests the second hour. The concluding theme, like the integrative third hour, serves as a completion of the first structural unit, providing symmetry and closure. In the second section of the ten-series, the “core” hours (sessions 4-7), we explore the relationship between the inside and outside of the body, developing connections to deep structures. Musical terms used to describe the development section like: “dynamic tension” and “tonal instability,” seem apt for these core hours, as well, where complex tensional forces are activated and may remain unresolved until later in the series. Here, the connection relationship seems less literal, with the movement up from the medial malleolus through core to the cranial vault paralleling the tonal progress of the exploratory development section. The third section of the ten series is the integrative phase. These final three hours (sessions 810), like the sonata form’s recapitulation, provide a higher sense of structural symmetry. The integrative work does not merely recapitulate the sleeve sessions, but, rather serves to enrich the work we have done previously. As in the sleeve/exposition section, we can establish a direct connection between the final three hours and the general divisions of the recapitulation. I suggest a connection between 8 and the return of the primary theme, and 9 and the second theme, with 10 acting as a sort of coda, an appended closing section that provides an overall symmetry. In 10 we give the body what it needs to function on its own in the outside world, just as the composer ties together previous material for a long range sense of completeness. For both the composer and the Rolfer, the proper application of the principles of balance, symmetry, and order will determine the success of the finished product. Example 1, presents a linear model that compares the layout of both formal structures.

At a more local level, each of the three parts of the ten-series may be thought of as an abridged sonata form. This works particularly well in the sleeve sessions. The first hour functions as an exposition, introducing material that will shape the sleeve work. The second hour with its deeper and more distal connective work reflects aspects of the development section’s distant tonal migrations and eventual re transition back to familiar territory (i.e., the connecting work that lengthens the legs and integrates them to the spine). In the third hour, we return to previous material and connect the body through the lateral line. This reconnection acts as a type of recapitulation. A similar case may made for the integrative hours as another discrete mini-sonata form within the ten-series, with the upper (8th), lower (9th), and integrative 10th hour (one traditional way of organizing these hours) functioning as a modified exposition, development and recapitulation, respectively.

We may even explore how individual hours might work as sonata forms. Other small level considerations might include how the work in the first hour or second hour influences all subsequent sessions just as the nature and content of the first and second themes have long-range structural resonances in a given sonata form (see Recapitulation, below).

DEVELOPMENT SECTI0N

One of the weakness of the linear (Bernstein) model is that it misses much of the sonata form’s structural nuance. Contemporary musicologists and theorists have sought more subtle means for analyzing sonata form to gain insight into its inner workings. They focus on the impact of small harmonic and melodic gestures on large-scale form. This organic approach to form and structure allows them to shift their perspective from the global to local levels, using paradigm shifts not possible in the broadly conceived linear model.5

Rolfers are faced with a similarly difficult task of solving often highly complex structural and movement issues. Frequently, the recipes provided by our teachers offer us limited assistance when confronted with the variety of structural anomalies our clients present. Faced with this cognitive dissonance, we may fall prey to the temptation to mechanically work the prescribed territory in the hope that we will attain the desired goal. Fortunately, this approach often yields acceptable results despite its lack of subtlety, but what of the next level? One obvious response is that this is what our advanced training is all about, a more sophisticated way of seeing and working with structural and fascial relationships. Another means to this end involves expanding our vision by integrating other connective tissue systems such as cranio sacral and visceral manipulation with our traditional paradigms.’ Revising how we look at structural anatomy using an embryological paradigm may also prove useful in expanding our vision.

RECAPITULATION

How might a single Rolfing hour work as a linear and organic sonata form? One logical choice to test the merits of this notion is to focus our attention on the first Rolfing session. More than any other session, this hour introduces major thematic material that shapes the entire ten series. The first hour, “the breath session,” is a three-part session that focuses on freeing the ribcage from the pelvis.’ We begin in the shoulder girdle to release the arms from the ribcage. This repeated and symmetrical introductory theme eases sleeve holdings distally through the arms. The first major theme is the ribcage work that is also repeated for balance on each side. Thus, the first theme is repeated with minor modifications. The detailed supplemental work in the ribcage (the analog for the development section), which releases more specific holdings, develops the primary theme of the session and offers an opportunity for deeper exploration, albeit briefly. The rest of this middle section (the upper leg work) establishes links to the second session and integrates the work through the spine. This results in a rather long passage that introduces new thematic material before the spinal connective work. Acting as a recapitulation, the head, neck, spine and pelvic lengthening also introduce new thematic material that balances the work in the front and back of the body. This work integrates the body, tying together previous material through the spine and pelvis to create greater stability and order. While interesting, this version of the first Rolfing hour results in an asymmetrical sonata form with a long exposition, an odd development section that is mostly new thematic material and an anomalous recapitulation which also contains new thematic material. See Ex. 2.

<img src=’https://novo.pedroprado.com.br/imgs/1998/486-2.jpg’>

<img src=’https://novo.pedroprado.com.br/imgs/1998/486-3.jpg’>

Another approach to the first hour was suggested to me when I remembered an incident in a film of Dr. Rolf teaching a basic series class. During the lecture, she pressed a student with this question: “What is the purpose of the first hour?” As the student offered a few tentative explanations, she reiterated the question with increasing urgency. Finally the frustrated student replied: “To horizontalize the pelvis.” This was the answer she had been seeking (Ida’s true primary theme for the ten series)!! What happens to our model if we adopt this approach? We may now reinterpret the work on the arms and ribcage, upper leg work and spinal complex integration each as a horizontalization of the pelvis in three parts, all of which share a common primary theme.

In this model, the exposition consists of arm work (first subject), ribcage work (second subject and transitional material) and a closing theme derived from the second subject in which the detailed ribcage work is accomplished. The exposition “opens” the upper body, beginning to balance the pelvis (which is precisely where we begin the development). In the development section, we start the client on his side and ease the pelvis, expanding our thematic material by working distally to the knee. Our hamstring work, performed with the client on his back, moves proximally, effecting a retransition from the knee back to the pelvis, at the ischial tuberosities. This distal/proximal work parallels the tonal digressions and the re-establishment of the dominant as seen in a typical development section. Our (tonic) recapitulation offers a structural balancing of front and back to further normalize the pelvis. The head and neck work act as a varied repeat of primary material. The spine is lengthened as the ribs are eased along the back. This work acts as a secondary theme revisited, while the pelvic lift closes the session with a perfect symmetry, the true primary theme now acting as a closing theme and a final restatement of the opening. Using this “pelvic” model creates a new way of “seeing” the ten series, allowing me to now explore it as a model for each session.

CODA

This metaphor opens a wealth of possibilities for modification and reinterpretation, as I seek new ways to explore my work. It is a metaphor in search of a “meta-metaphor.” The beauty of this mental game is that I may reinterpret my themes ad infinitum, finding new relationships as I elaborate subsequent schema. My attitude to the Rolfing paradigm has undergone many reinterpretations over the past few years. Once, the specter of uncertainty unsettled me, now it increasingly becomes an opportunity for intellectual and creative play. It is precisely this sense of improvisatory delight that served as the impetus for this article. The article, in its turn, suggests a search for larger metaphors in an endless series of sonata-form variations (a synergistic interplay of new and related themes, self-referential and organically evolving). above, serves as an introduction, with thematic allusions to it returning throughout the paper. In the exposition, I introduce the main themes of sonata form’s shape and how it relates to the shape of the Rolfing ten series. The development section looks at this relationship in a more subtle way, while the recapitulation returns to initial concepts introduced in the exposition, comparing two contrasting models of how the first Rolfing hour might relate to sonata form. The brief coda provides closure while presenting possibilities for deeper thematic exploration.

EXPOSITI0N

A sonata form is a three-part melodic structure which first occurs in instrumental and vocal music of the Classical era.’ This form consists of the following sections: the exposition, the development and the recapitulation. The exposition has two main themes: a first or primary theme in the tonic and a contrasting secondary theme normally in the dominant (in the key of C-major, C is the tonic and G is the dominant). There is also transitional material that may be new or derived from the initial theme. The purpose of this material is to provide a melodic bridge between the two themes. One may also find an introductory theme at the beginning and a discrete closing theme at the end of the exposition. The middle section, the development, follows the exposition. Here, the composer reworks the exposition’s material in often far reaching tonal regions using a variety of structural and harmonic devices. In the final section, the recapitulation, the opening theme returns in the tonic. Here, the transitional material is abridged and the second theme also appears in the tonic. The recapitulation provides tonal stability and a symmetry to the sonata form (see Ex. 1 below).

<img src=’https://novo.pedroprado.com.br/imgs/1998/486-1.gif’>

This three-part structure can be linked to the Rolfing ten-series in a number of ways. We can establish connections to those basic ten-series roadmaps we received in training classes. Often, I heard my teachers speak of the ten series as a three-part structure. Here is an adaptation of their ideas using my sonata form model. In the sleeve hours (1-3) we open the body, covering all the major territory at a surface level. This superficial work resembles the exposition in that it introduces major themes that will be explored in greater detail later while providing a preliminary sense of balance and symmetry. The first session functions like the sonata form’s first theme, introducing key material we will explore later. Similarly, the transitional material, which links the upper body work to the ground, suggests the second hour. The concluding theme, like the integrative third hour, serves as a completion of the first structural unit, providing symmetry and closure. In the second section of the ten-series, the “core” hours (sessions 4-7), we explore the relationship between the inside and outside of the body, developing connections to deep structures. Musical terms used to describe the development section like: “dynamic tension” and “tonal instability,” seem apt for these core hours, as well, where complex tensional forces are activated and may remain unresolved until later in the series. Here, the connection relationship seems less literal, with the movement up from the medial malleolus through core to the cranial vault paralleling the tonal progress of the exploratory development section. The third section of the ten series is the integrative phase. These final three hours (sessions 810), like the sonata form’s recapitulation, provide a higher sense of structural symmetry. The integrative work does not merely recapitulate the sleeve sessions, but, rather serves to enrich the work we have done previously. As in the sleeve/exposition section, we can establish a direct connection between the final three hours and the general divisions of the recapitulation. I suggest a connection between 8 and the return of the primary theme, and 9 and the second theme, with 10 acting as a sort of coda, an appended closing section that provides an overall symmetry. In 10 we give the body what it needs to function on its own in the outside world, just as the composer ties together previous material for a long range sense of completeness. For both the composer and the Rolfer, the proper application of the principles of balance, symmetry, and order will determine the success of the finished product. Example 1, presents a linear model that compares the layout of both formal structures.

At a more local level, each of the three parts of the ten-series may be thought of as an abridged sonata form. This works particularly well in the sleeve sessions. The first hour functions as an exposition, introducing material that will shape the sleeve work. The second hour with its deeper and more distal connective work reflects aspects of the development section’s distant tonal migrations and eventual re transition back to familiar territory (i.e., the connecting work that lengthens the legs and integrates them to the spine). In the third hour, we return to previous material and connect the body through the lateral line. This reconnection acts as a type of recapitulation. A similar case may made for the integrative hours as another discrete mini-sonata form within the ten-series, with the upper (8th), lower (9th), and integrative 10th hour (one traditional way of organizing these hours) functioning as a modified exposition, development and recapitulation, respectively.

We may even explore how individual hours might work as sonata forms. Other small level considerations might include how the work in the first hour or second hour influences all subsequent sessions just as the nature and content of the first and second themes have long-range structural resonances in a given sonata form (see Recapitulation, below).

DEVELOPMENT SECTI0N

One of the weakness of the linear (Bernstein) model is that it misses much of the sonata form’s structural nuance. Contemporary musicologists and theorists have sought more subtle means for analyzing sonata form to gain insight into its inner workings. They focus on the impact of small harmonic and melodic gestures on large-scale form. This organic approach to form and structure allows them to shift their perspective from the global to local levels, using paradigm shifts not possible in the broadly conceived linear model.5

Rolfers are faced with a similarly difficult task of solving often highly complex structural and movement issues. Frequently, the recipes provided by our teachers offer us limited assistance when confronted with the variety of structural anomalies our clients present. Faced with this cognitive dissonance, we may fall prey to the temptation to mechanically work the prescribed territory in the hope that we will attain the desired goal. Fortunately, this approach often yields acceptable results despite its lack of subtlety, but what of the next level? One obvious response is that this is what our advanced training is all about, a more sophisticated way of seeing and working with structural and fascial relationships. Another means to this end involves expanding our vision by integrating other connective tissue systems such as cranio sacral and visceral manipulation with our traditional paradigms.’ Revising how we look at structural anatomy using an embryological paradigm may also prove useful in expanding our vision.

RECAPITULATION

How might a single Rolfing hour work as a linear and organic sonata form? One logical choice to test the merits of this notion is to focus our attention on the first Rolfing session. More than any other session, this hour introduces major thematic material that shapes the entire ten series. The first hour, “the breath session,” is a three-part session that focuses on freeing the ribcage from the pelvis.’ We begin in the shoulder girdle to release the arms from the ribcage. This repeated and symmetrical introductory theme eases sleeve holdings distally through the arms. The first major theme is the ribcage work that is also repeated for balance on each side. Thus, the first theme is repeated with minor modifications. The detailed supplemental work in the ribcage (the analog for the development section), which releases more specific holdings, develops the primary theme of the session and offers an opportunity for deeper exploration, albeit briefly. The rest of this middle section (the upper leg work) establishes links to the second session and integrates the work through the spine. This results in a rather long passage that introduces new thematic material before the spinal connective work. Acting as a recapitulation, the head, neck, spine and pelvic lengthening also introduce new thematic material that balances the work in the front and back of the body. This work integrates the body, tying together previous material through the spine and pelvis to create greater stability and order. While interesting, this version of the first Rolfing hour results in an asymmetrical sonata form with a long exposition, an odd development section that is mostly new thematic material and an anomalous recapitulation which also contains new thematic material. See Ex. 2.

<img src=’https://novo.pedroprado.com.br/imgs/1998/486-2.jpg’>

<img src=’https://novo.pedroprado.com.br/imgs/1998/486-3.jpg’>

Another approach to the first hour was suggested to me when I remembered an incident in a film of Dr. Rolf teaching a basic series class. During the lecture, she pressed a student with this question: “What is the purpose of the first hour?” As the student offered a few tentative explanations, she reiterated the question with increasing urgency. Finally the frustrated student replied: “To horizontalize the pelvis.” This was the answer she had been seeking (Ida’s true primary theme for the ten series)!! What happens to our model if we adopt this approach? We may now reinterpret the work on the arms and ribcage, upper leg work and spinal complex integration each as a horizontalization of the pelvis in three parts, all of which share a common primary theme.

In this model, the exposition consists of arm work (first subject), ribcage work (second subject and transitional material) and a closing theme derived from the second subject in which the detailed ribcage work is accomplished. The exposition “opens” the upper body, beginning to balance the pelvis (which is precisely where we begin the development). In the development section, we start the client on his side and ease the pelvis, expanding our thematic material by working distally to the knee. Our hamstring work, performed with the client on his back, moves proximally, effecting a retransition from the knee back to the pelvis, at the ischial tuberosities. This distal/proximal work parallels the tonal digressions and the re-establishment of the dominant as seen in a typical development section. Our (tonic) recapitulation offers a structural balancing of front and back to further normalize the pelvis. The head and neck work act as a varied repeat of primary material. The spine is lengthened as the ribs are eased along the back. This work acts as a secondary theme revisited, while the pelvic lift closes the session with a perfect symmetry, the true primary theme now acting as a closing theme and a final restatement of the opening. Using this “pelvic” model creates a new way of “seeing” the ten series, allowing me to now explore it as a model for each session.

CODA

This metaphor opens a wealth of possibilities for modification and reinterpretation, as I seek new ways to explore my work. It is a metaphor in search of a “meta-metaphor.” The beauty of this mental game is that I may reinterpret my themes ad infinitum, finding new relationships as I elaborate subsequent schema. My attitude to the Rolfing paradigm has undergone many reinterpretations over the past few years. Once, the specter of uncertainty unsettled me, now it increasingly becomes an opportunity for intellectual and creative play. It is precisely this sense of improvisatory delight that served as the impetus for this article. The article, in its turn, suggests a search for larger metaphors in an endless series of sonata-form variations (a synergistic interplay of new and related themes, self-referential and organically evolving).