If you're anything like most e-commerce store owners –you're always on the lookout for ways to grow your business and maximize your profits.
After all, growth is an essential part of well, staying in business –and staying competitive.
While there are a number of ways that you can increase your e-commerce store's revenue, there's one especially effective and simple step that you'll want to take. That is, offering your customers an auto-ship option.
An auto-ship program with recurring billing allows your customers to set up recurring orders to be shipped at their convenience. They can select the product, quantity, and the delivery frequency. The program then sets up the delivery, collects payment, and alerts the customer of the shipment. It saves both you and your customer time and effort, and can be a great way to increase revenue, while at the same time improving customer loyalty.
With this in mind let's look at a few benefits of auto-ship programs. See why you'll want to consider setting one up –and how you can encourage your customers to opt in.
Builds Customer LoyaltyAn auto-ship option can help to build customer loyalty. Auto-ship programs rely on a set-it-and-forget-it principle. Once your customers sign up for recurring orders, you'll remove time and effort from the equation, making it much easier for them to enjoy their favorite products. And with their products showing up like clockwork, they'll be less likely to head to Google, and order from someone else.
Can Increase Your ProfitAuto-ship programs are an excellent way to increase order frequency. Instead of having a gap in between purchases, you'll be able to get customers on a rolling renewal program, generating recurring revenue and leading to increased profits.
Increase Your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)Another benefit of auto-ship is that it increases the lifetime value (LTV) of the customer. This is important since it will mean higher revenues over time, and will also show you whether you should be spending more money to acquire new customers. As a side note, a higher LTV also makes your business more attractive to potential buyers if you ever decide to sell down the road.
Saves You TimeFinally, an auto-ship programs can save you time, by eliminating the hassle of having to manually resend invoices month after month.
Of course, auto-shipping won't just benefit you; it offers tremendous benefits your customers as well.
Your job is to show your customers some of those amazing benefits.
It's ConvenientTime-savings and convenience are two important things that customers look for these days. While we all know that an auto-shop option can save your customers a lot of time, it'll also save them from frustration. No more remembering to order specific items by certain dates. Instead, the items will arrive at their door without them even having to think about it.
It Helps to Eliminate FrustrationFor customers, particularly business customers, an auto-ship option can help to save them from a tremendous amount of frustration. For example, if you have a customer who regularly orders supplies for his restaurant, opting into auto-ship will save him from running out, and having to make a last-minute supply run.
It's SafeOne objection that many people have to auto-ship programs is safety and security. By showing your customers that a recurring order system is in fact safe, and doesn't put their financial data at risk, you can help to win them over.
Get our Auto-Ship Program Worksheet delivered right to your inbox.
Ok, so we know that there are a lot of benefits to auto-ship programs, but the real question is, how do you encourage your customers to sign up for one?
Many people are leery about recurring payments, and for good reason. As Neil Patel outlines in his aptly named article, How Not to Scare Customers with Recurring Billing, "Recurring billing has the ring of a credit card scam or some interminable spiral of debt. Don't forget: There are few things people protect more aggressively than their money." Plus, there's a lot of popular financial advice out there that tells people to steer clear of auto-debits.
Your job then, is to show customers the benefits of opting into auto-ship, and to alleviate their concerns. If you can do that, you'll be able to drastically increase your chances of creating an auto-ship program that works; one that won't scare people away!
Educate ThemHelp to ease your customers' concerns by educating them on auto-ship programs. Neil Patel recommends doing this through consistent and intentional content marketing, and by creating content that outlines the benefits of your subscription service. So, for example, if you're selling running shoes, you could outline that running shoes should be replaced every six months, and highlight how having a recurring order could help to ensure that they'll never risk running in shoes that are worn out and offer little support.
Offer a DiscountEveryone loves a good discount, so offering your customers a discount just for signing up for auto-ship could give prospects the nudge that they need to try it out. The discount won't cost you much when you consider what you stand to gain by securing a longer-term customer.
Share TestimonialsTestimonials work, and are a great way to improve conversions. Testimonials that directly refer to your auto-ship program can encourage people to opt-in. Skeptical customers and those who are on the fence alike can gain confidence when reading reviews from satisfied customers.
Keep Your Invoices ConsistentAccording to one survey on recurring billing, 89 percent of the customers considered consistency to be an important factor in recurring billing. Customers don't want any unexpected surprises, especially when it comes to recurring payments, so make sure you keep your invoices consistent.
Make It Easy to Sign UpBy making it as easy as possible for your customers to sign up, you'll increase the chances of them actually going through with the opt-in process. A complicated opt-in process will only drive your customers away. As Neil Patel says, "Long forms — reminiscent of a passport application or IRS form — signal to the user that he is doing something too serious." Look to make the process as simple as possible, and remove any unnecessary decisions, steps, and hurdles.
Make It Easy to Opt OutLikewise, make it painless for your customers to opt out of your auto-ship program. If your customers are trying to opt out, and can't figure out how, they'll become stressed and frustrated. They may even head to social media to vent their frustration. Boost their confidence by informing them of your cancelation policy up front, making it clear that they can cancel any time, and then make sure the cancellation process itself is straightforward.
How to Set Up Recurring Payments?
PayPal makes it easy for you to set up recurring payments, and it costs just $10 per month in addition to the regular PayPal fees.
To get started, head over to your PayPal account "Tools" section. If you'd like to automatically create recurring payments when customers checkout from your website, PayPal provides download documentation that will show your developer how to enable this.
An ideal all-in-one solution. If you use Shopify, it's easy to set up recurring payments –and auto-shipments. The Shopify Subscription app allows single product, mixed cart, and entire cart subscriptions; and makes it easy for you to fulfill orders. See how you can set it up.
If you use Square card processing service, you can set up recurring payments there as well. They also have a helpful guide that'll show you how you can get started. With their free account option, you can send an unlimited amount of invoices for free and will only pay for invoices that are paid.
When implementing an auto-ship program, here are a few things that you'll want to keep in mind.
Consider looking for a program or service that will reauthorize the card or confirm that it's still active automatically BEFORE the rebill period comes up. This will allow you to reach out to customers before the card is declined, and can help to prevent customers from dropping out of the service due to a declined card. Sending out a reminder email before the charge hits will also reduce the number chargebacks from people who forgot that they signed up for the auto-ship or recurring billing.
It's also a good idea to include an option for recurring billing or auto-ship in the shopping cart itself, and also at the time of checkout. You could try running a split test with both options to see which one is more effective.
You could also consider sending an email out as a follow-up to any customers who don't opt in, reminding them of the auto-ship option.
Still wondering if auto-ship options are right for your e-commerce business? The answer is they almost certainly are.
If you're not sure, consider giving it a try, and promoting it for a couple of months to see what your response rate is like. Remember: if you can get some of your customers to opt into recurring payments, you'll be able to simplify your workload and save time, and could even increase revenues and boost customer loyalty. It's an option that's worth looking into and one that could benefit your business in more ways than one.
Have you considered offering your customers an auto-ship option? What's holding you back?


Now that we're (almost) through another winter, we have had a number of calls from clients who felt the cold through their wooden floors and have asked us about insulating them.
The first thing to say is that underfloor insulation can make a dramatic difference to comfort levels, particularly if you have bare suspended timber floors.
The second thing is that draughts significantly affect the performance of the insulation. This means that even if you install lots of insulation, if there are gaps which allow the cold air through, it won't improve your comfort levels as much you might have hoped. It's therefore better to close the draughts and ensure that the work is as airtight as possible. Our preferred method is to install celotex boards, cut to size to fit in between the joists, and to then tape up the junctions between the boards, the timbers and the walls.
This obviously requires all the floor boards and skirting boards to be removed. Whilst there are a number of other methods that do not require this level of disruption, they generally require the existence of a large crawl space underneath the floor. However even if a crawl space exists it can be very difficult to achieve satisfactory levels of airtightness. There are shortcuts, but nothing beats taking up the floors and ensuing that it's done properly.
This means that the work is likely to be disruptive and expensive, particularly if the flooring is tongue and groove flooring because this needs to be taken up very carefully and replaced in exactly the same way as it was installed. Very often it might be impossible to take all the boards up undamaged. Sometimes these can be replaced with reclaimed boards, or you might think of it as a good opportunity to replace all your boards. The latter option increases the material cost but can reduce the cost of installation as less care is needed when taking the boards up. This means that it's unlikely to meet the golden rule for green deal purposes, but if your ground floor is cold and uncomfortable, this work will make the floor just as comfortable as your upper floors !
If you do decide to insulate under your suspended floor, one crucial issue to consider is ventilation! If the void under the floor is not sufficiently ventilated, installing an airtight layer between the floor and the ground will trap moisture and lead to damp and the potential decay of the timbers.


Over the past several months, Cisco Talos has tracked several groups on Facebook where shady (at best) and illegal (at worst) activities frequently take place. The majority of these groups use fairly obvious group names, including "Spam Professional," "Spammer & Hacker Professional," "Buy Cvv On THIS SHOP PAYMENT BY BTC ," and "Facebook hack (Phishing)." Despite the fairly obvious names, some of these groups have managed to remain on Facebook for up to eight years, and in the process acquire tens of thousands of group members.
Talos initially attempted to take down these groups individually through Facebook's abuse reporting functionality. While some groups were removed immediately, other groups only had specific posts removed. Eventually, through contact with Facebook's security team, the majority of malicious groups was quickly taken down, however new groups continue to pop up, and some are still active as of the date of publishing. Talos continues to cooperate with Facebook to identify and take down as many of these groups as possible.
Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between Mar. 22 and Mar. 29. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key behavioral characteristics, indicators of compromise, and discussing how our customers are automatically protected from these threats.
TRU0329 – This is a JSON file that includes the IOCs referenced in this post, as well as all hashes associated with the cluster. The list is limited to 25 hashes in this blog post. As always, please remember that all IOCs contained in this document are indicators, and that one single IOC does not indicate maliciousness. See the Read More link above for more details.
Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between Apr. 12 and Apr. 19. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key behavioral characteristics, indicators of compromise, and discussing how our customers are automatically protected from these threats.
TRU041919. – This is a JSON file that includes the IOCs referenced in this post, as well as all hashes associated with the cluster. The list is limited to 25 hashes in this blog post. As always, please remember that all IOCs contained in this document are indicators, and that one single IOC does not indicate maliciousness. See the Read More link above for more details.
These vulnerabilities are being released without a patch, per our disclosure policy, after repeated attempts were made to communicate with the vendor. Get all of the details over at the Talos blog here.
Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between Apr. 5 and Apr. 12. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key behavioral characteristics, indicators of compromise, and discussing how our customers are automatically protected from these threats.
TRU04052019 – This is a JSON file that includes the IOCs referenced in this post, as well as all hashes associated with the cluster. The list is limited to 25 hashes in this blog post. As always, please remember that all IOCs contained in this document are indicators, and that one single IOC does not indicate maliciousness. See the Read More link above for more details.


Halloween week, saw some fantastic work carried out by the apprentices that attend the academy.
Each day the standard of work was amazing.
All the entries were judged on the total end look of the image.
The overall winner from the judged images went to Tiffany Leavy.
All the winners received a new hairdryer and clippers.
Both the apprentices and the academy staff, said "it was the best week ever".
Please click here to view the apprenticeships guide to changes 2017.
Employers: The New Hairdressing Standards are coming. Are you ready?
Please click here for all the answers to your questions.
Momentum Training and Consultancy recently completed their first Ofsted inspection.
I'm pleased to announce that we got Grade 2's in all four judgement areas.
All the team were and are amazing.
Tutors and assessors have good practical expertise and knowledge; they provide insightful and valuable advice and tips that help apprentices improve their practical hairdressing and barbering skills. They learn to work independently and thrive due to the encouragement of tutors.
Enthusiastic and expert demonstrations of hairdressing and barbering techniques by tutors motivate apprentices to develop their own techniques and be imaginative while still under the careful guidance of tutors.
Apprentices feel safe at work and in training. They know whom to contact if they have an issue or experience harassment or bullying.
They are respectful of each other, of staff and clients.
Managers provide good support and challenge to tutors that enables tutors to improve. Managers regularly review tutors' performance and provide the necessary support and resources to develop their tutoring and teaching skills.
Good information learning technology contributes significantly to improving their capabilities to give apprentices high quality training and learning.
Level 3 apprentices and stylists from around Essex enjoyed a masterclass on cutting with Danny Eastwell. Danny, owner of The Salon Group in Hertfordshire, inspired all that attended the seminar.
Danny said, "If you want to be a busy stylist producing the latest fashions; you must talk to your client and recommend they have a new look. Pick up your scissors and create a new style for your client".
Thank You Danny from everyone at Falltricks.
Please contact us to enquire about the current grants available for salons to access when employing an apprentice.


For those of you getting my RSS feeds, I've made a change to that, so that now only the RSS 2.0 regular feed and the comments feed are available (I took out the links to RSS .92 and ATOM). If your RSS reader is having difficulty, you may need to update the links.
This entry was posted in Blog Posts and tagged FreePress, RSS. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
\section{Introduction \label{sec1}}

Half-metallic ferromagnets, initially predicted by de Groot and
his collaborators in 1983\cite{deGroot} using first-principles
calculations are at the center of scientific research due to their
potential applications. The minority-spin electrons in these
compounds show a semiconducting electronic band-structure while
the majority-spin electrons present the usual metallic behavior of
ferromagnets. Thus such alloys would ideally exhibit a 100\% spin
polarization at the Fermi level and therefore they should have a
fully spin-polarized current and should be ideal spin injectors
into a semiconductor maximizing the efficiency of spintronic
devices.\cite{Zutic2004}

Heusler alloys are well-know for several decades and the first
Heusler compounds studied had the chemical formula  X$_2$YZ, where
X is a high valent transition or noble metal atom, Y a low-valent
transition metal atom and Z a sp element, and crystallized in the
$L2_1$ structure which consists of four fcc
sublattices.\cite{landolt,landolt2} Heusler compounds present a
series of diverse magnetic phenomena like itinerant and localized
magnetism, antiferromagnetism, helimagnetism, Pauli paramagnetism
or heavy-fermionic behavior and thus they offer the possibility to
study various phenomena in the same family of
alloys.\cite{landolt,landolt2} A second class of Heusler alloys
have the chemical formula XYZ and they crystallize in the $C1_b$
structure which consists of three fcc sublattices; they are often
called half- or semi-Heusler alloys in literature, while the
$L2_1$ compounds are referred to as full Heusler alloys. The
interest in these types of intermetallic alloys was revived after
the prediction,\cite{deGroot} using first-principles calculations,
of half-metallicity in NiMnSb, a semi-Heusler compound.

The high Curie temperatures\cite{landolt,landolt2} exhibited by
the half-metallic Heusler alloys are their main advantage with
respect to other half-metallic systems (e.g. some oxides like
CrO$_2$ and Fe$_3$O$_4$ and some manganites like
La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$).\cite{Soulen98} While for the other
compounds the Curie temperature is near the room temperature, for
the half-metal NiMnSb it is 730 K and for the half-metallic
Co$_2$MnSi it reaches the 985 K.\cite{landolt} A second advantage
of Heusler alloys for realistic applications is their structural
similarity to the zinc-blende structure, adopted by binary
semiconductors widely used in industry (such as GaAs on ZnS).
Semi-Heusler alloys have been already incorporated in several
devices as spin-filters,\cite{Kilian00} tunnel
junctions\cite{Tanaka99} and GMR devices.\cite{Caballero98}
Recently, also the half-metallic full-Heusler alloys have found
applications. The group of Westerholt has incorporated Co$_2$MnGe
in the case of spin-valves and multilayer
structures\cite{Westerholt} and the group of Reiss managed to
create magnetic tunnel junctions based on Co$_2$MnSi.
\cite{Reiss04,Reiss04b} A similar study by Sakuraba and
collaborators resulted in the fabrication of magnetic tunnel
junctions using Co$_2$MnSi as magnetic electrodes and Al-O as the
barrier and their results are consistent with the presence of
half-metallicity for Co$_2$MnSi.\cite{Sakuraba} Moreover Dong and
collaborators recently managed to inject spin-polarized current
from Co$_2$MnGe into a semiconducting structure.\cite{Dong}

 In the present contribution we review our most recent results on the electronic
properties of the half-metallic full-Heusler alloys obtained from
first-principles electronic structure calculations. In section
\ref{sec2} we summarize our older results on bulk compounds
obtained using the full-potential version of the screened
Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (KKR) method\cite{KKR} (see references
\onlinecite{Review-JPD,Springer,Nova} for an extended review). In
the next sections we overview some of our results on the defects
in the half-metallic full Heusler alloys obtained using the
full--potential nonorthogonal local--orbital minimum--basis band
structure scheme (FPLO)\cite{koepernik1,koepernik2} within the
local density approximation (LDA) \cite{LDA1,LDA2,LDA3} and
employing the coherent potential approximation (CPA) to simulate
the disorder in a random way.\cite{koepernik2} In section
\ref{sec3} we present the physics of defects in the ferromagnetic
Heusler alloys containing Co and Mn like
Co$_2$MnSi.\cite{APL,PRB-def} The study of defects, doping and
disorder is of importance to accurately control the properties of
half-metallic full-Heusler alloys.\cite{PicozziReview} In section
\ref{sec4} we demonstrate the creation of half-metallic
ferrimagnets based on the creation of Cr and Mn antisites in
Co$_2$(Cr or Mn)(Al or Si) alloys\cite{PSS-RRL,SSC} and  we expand
this study to cover the case of Co defects in ferrimagnetic
Mn$_2$VAl and Mn$_2$VSi alloys leading to full-compensated
half-metallic ferrimagnets (also-known as half-metallic
antiferromagnets).\cite{PRB-HMA} Finally in section \ref{sec5} we
summarize and conclude.

\section{Electronic and gap properties -- Slater Pauling behavior}
\label{sec2}

The electronic, magnetic and gap properties of half-metallic
full-Heusler compounds have been studied using first-principles
calculations in reference \onlinecite{GalanakisFull}. These
results have been extensively also reviewed in reference
\onlinecite{Review-JPD}, in the introductory chapter of
\onlinecite{Springer} and in a chapter in reference
\onlinecite{Nova}. The reader is directed to them for an extended
discussion.  In this section we will only briefly overview these
properties.

\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{fig1.eps}
\caption{Calculated total spin moment per unit cell in $\mu_B$ as
a function of  the total number $Z_t$ of valence electrons per
unit cell for the full Heusler alloys. The dashed line represents
the Slater-Pauling behavior.}
 \label{fig1}
\end{figure}

The electronic and magnetic properties of the full-Heusler
compounds are similar to the half-Heusler
compounds\cite{GalanakisHalf} with the additional complication of
the presence of 2 Co atoms per unit cell as in Co$_2$MnGe. In the
case of the semi-Heusler alloys there are exactly nine occupied
minority-spin electronic states; one of s character and three of
p-character provided by the sp atom and five bonding d-states
originating from the hybridization between the transition metal
atoms. In addition  to these bands, in the case of full-Heusler
alloys there are five states exclusively located at the Co sites
and near the Fermi level and the Fermi level is located among
these states so that three out of five are occupied and two of
them unoccupied leading to small energy gaps.\cite{GalanakisFull}
Now there are 12 minority-spin occupied states and the compounds
with 24 valence electrons like Fe$_2$VSb are semiconductors. If
vanadium is substituted by a higher-valent atom, spontaneous spin
polarization occurs, and the exchange splitting shifts the
majority states to lower energies. The extra electrons fill in
only majority states and the total spin moment per unit cell in
$\mu_\mathrm{B}$, $M_t$, which is the number of uncompensated
spins is the total number of valence electrons, $Z_t$, minus two
times the 12,: $M_t$=$Z_t$-24. This behavior is the so-called
Slater-Pauling behavior and e.g. half-metallic Co$_2$CrAl (27
valence electrons) has a total spin moment of 3 $\mu_\mathrm{B}$
and half-metallic Co$_2$MnSi (29 valence electrons) a spin moment
of 5 $\mu_\mathrm{B}$. This rule provides a direct connection
between the half-metallicity and the total spin moment which can
be easily determined experimentally. In figure \ref{fig1} we have
plotted the calculated total spin moments for several full-Heusler
compounds as a function of the total number of valence electrons.
The dashed line represents the Slater-Pauling rule of
half-metallic full Heusler alloys. Since 7 majority bands
(2$\times$Co $e_u$, 5$\times$Mn $d$) are unoccupied, the largest
possible moment is 7 $\mu_B$ and would occur if all majority
$d$-states were occupied. Of course it would be impossible to get
a compound with a total spin moment of 7 $\mu_B$ but even $M_t=6\
\mu_B$ is difficult to obtain. As it was shown by Wurmehl et
al.~\cite{Co2FeSi}, the on-site correlations in Co$_2$FeSi play a
critical role for this compound and calculations within the LDA+U
scheme, rather than the LDA, give a spin moment of 6 $\mu_B$. We
should also note here that  ferromagnetism is stabilized by the
inter-sublattice interactions between the Mn(Cr) and Co atoms and
between Co atoms belonging to different sublattices as shown by
first-principles calculations.\cite{GalanakisExchConst,Kurtulus}

Before closing this section we should discuss also the role of the
$sp$-elements in half-metallic Heusler alloys.  While the
$sp$-elements are not responsible for the appearance of the
minority gap, they are very important for the physical properties
of the Heusler alloys and their structural stability.  sp atoms
provide one s and three p bands per spin which lay very low in
energy and accommodate d-electrons of the transition metal atoms.
Thus the effective d-charge, which is accommodated by
transition-metal atomic d-hybrids, is  reduced stabilizing the
half-metallicity. These s- and p-states of the sp atom strongly
hybridize with the transition metal $d$-states and the charge in
these bands is delocalized and locally the sp atoms even lose
charge in favor of the transition metal atoms.

\section{Defects in full-Heuslers containing C\lowercase{o} and M\lowercase{n} \label{sec3} }

In this section we discuss results on the defects in the case of
Co$_2$MnZ alloys where Z is Al and Si.\cite{APL,PRB-def} To
simulate the doping by electrons we substitute Fe for Mn while to
simulate the doping of the alloys with holes we substitute Cr for
Mn and we have considered the cases of moderate doping
substituting 5\%\ and 10\%\ of the Mn atoms and we present our
results in figure \ref{fig2} for the Co$_2$MnSi and Co$_2$MnAl
compounds. As discussed in the previous section the gap is created
between states located exclusively at the Co sites. The states low
in energy (around -6 eV below the Fermi level) originate from the
low-lying p-states of the sp atoms and the ones at around -9 eV
below the Fermi level are the s-states of the sp-atom.  The
majority-spin occupied states form a common Mn-Co band while the
occupied minority states are mainly located at the Co sites and
the minority unoccupied states at the Mn sites. The extra electron
in the the Co$_2$MnSi alloy occupies majority states leading to an
increase of the exchange splitting between the occupied majority
and the unoccupied minority states and thus to larger gap-width
for the Si-based compound. In the case of the Al-based alloy the
bonding and antibonding minority d-hybrids almost overlap and the
gap is substituted by a region of very small minority density of
states (DOS); we will call it a pseudogap. In both cases the Fermi
level falls within the gap (Co$_2$MnSi) or the pseudogap
(Co$_2$MnAl) and an almost perfect spin-polarization at the Fermi
level is preserved.

\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{fig2a.eps}
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{fig2b.eps}
\caption{Spin-resolved density of states (DOS) for the case of
Co$_2$[Mn$_{1-x}$Cr$_x$]Si and Co$_2$[Mn$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$]Si in the
upper panel, and  Co$_2$[Mn$_{1-x}$Cr$_x$]Al and
Co$_2$[Mn$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$]Al in the lower panel for two values of
the doping concentration $x$. DOS's are compared to the one of the
undoped Co$_2$MnSi and Co$_2$MnAl alloys. The zero of the energy
axis corresponds to the Fermi energy. Positive values of the DOS
correspond to the majority-spin (spin-up) electrons and negative
values to the minority-spin (spin-down) electrons. In the insets
we present the DOS for a wider energy range.\label{fig2}}
\end{figure}

Doping the perfect ordered alloys with either Fe or Cr smoothens
the valleys and peaks along the energy axis. This is a clear sign
of the chemical disorder; Fe and Cr induce peaks at slightly
different places than the Mn atoms resulting to this smoothening
and as the doping increases this phenomenon becomes more intense.
The important detail is what happens around the Fermi level and in
what extent is the gap in the minority band affected by the
doping. So now we will concentrate only at the enlarged regions
around the Fermi level. The dashed lines represent the Cr-doping
while the dotted lines are the Fe-doped alloys. Cr-doping in
Co$_2$MnSi has only a marginal effect to the gap. Its width is
narrower with respect to the perfect compounds but overall the
compounds retain their half-metallicity. For Co$_2$MnAl the
situation is reversed with respect to the Co$_2$MnSi compound and
Cr-doping has significant effects on the pseudogap. Its width is
larger with respect to the perfect compound and becomes slightly
narrower as the degree of doping increases.

In the case of Fe-doping the situation is more complex. Adding
electrons to the system means that, in order to retain the perfect
half-metallicity, these electrons should occupy high-energy lying
antibonding majority states. This is energetically not very
favorable in the case of Co$_2$MnSi and for these moderate degrees
of doping a new shoulder appears in the unoccupied states which is
close to the right-edge of the gap; a sign of a large change in
the competition between the exchange splitting of the Mn majority
and minority states and of the Coulomb repulsion. In the case of
the 20\% Fe doping in Co$_2$MnSi (not shown here) this new peak
crosses the Fermi level and the Fermi level is no more exactly in
the gap but slightly above it. Further substitution should lead to
the complete destruction of the half-metallicity.\cite{GalaQuat}
Recent ab-initio calculations including the on-site Coulomb
repulsion (the so-called Hubbard $U$) have predicted that
Co$_2$FeSi is in reality half-metallic reaching a total spin
magnetic moment of 6 $\mu_B$ which is the largest known spin
moment for a half-metal.\cite{Co2FeSi,Wurmehl}
  Fe-doping on the other hand in Co$_2$MnAl almost does
not change the DOS around the Fermi level. The extra-electrons
occupy high-energy lying antibonding majority states but, since
Co$_2$MnAl has one valence electron less than Co$_2$MnSi,
half-metallicity remains energetically favorable and no important
changes occur upon Fe-doping and   further substitution of Fe for
Mn should retain the half-metallicity even for the Co$_2$FeAl
compound although LDA-based ab-initio calculations predict that
the limiting case of Co$_2$FeAl is almost
half-metallic.\cite{GalaQuat}

\section{Defects driven half-metallic ferrimagnetism \label{sec4}}

In the previous section we have examined the case of defects in
half-metallic ferromagnets.  Half-metallic ferrimagnetism (HMFi)
on the other hand is highly desirable since such compounds would
yield lower total spin moments than the corresponding
ferromagnets. Well-known HMFi are the perfect Heusler compounds
FeMnSb and Mn$_2$VAl.\cite{deGroot2} We will present in the first
part of this section another route to half-metallic ferrimagnetism
based on antisites created by the migration of Cr(Mn) atoms at Co
sites in the case of Co$_2$CrAl, Co$_2$CrSi, Co$_2$MnAl and
Co$_2$MnSi alloys. The ideal case for applications would be a
fully-compensated ferrimagnet,  also known as half-metallic
antiferromagnet (HMA),\cite{Leuken} since such a compound would
not give rise to stray flux and thus would lead to smaller energy
consumption in devices. In the secobd part of this section we
present a way to achieve HMA based on Co defects in half-metallic
ferrimagnets like Mn$_2$VAl.

\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{fig3.eps}
\caption{Total density of states (DOS) as a function of the
concentration $x$  for the [Co$_{1-x}$Cr$_{x}$]$_2$CrAl (upper
panel) and [Co$_{1-x}$Cr$_{x}$]$_2$CrSi (lower panel) compounds.
\label{fig_HMFi}}
\end{figure}

\begin{table}
\caption{Atom-resolved spin magnetic moments for the
[Co$_{1-x}$Cr$_x$]$_2$CrAl, [Co$_{1-x}$Cr$_x$]$_2$CrSi,
[Co$_{1-x}$Mn$_x$]$_2$MnAl and [Co$_{1-x}$Mn$_x$]$_2$MnSi
compounds (moments have been scaled to one atom). The two last
columns are the total spin moment (Total) in the unit cell
calculated as $2\times [(1-x)*m^{Co}+x*m^{Cr \:\mathrm{or}\:
Mn(imp)}]+m^{Cr(Mn)}+m^{Al\:\mathrm{or}\:Si}$ and the ideal total
spin moment predicted by the Slater-Pauling rule for half-metals
(see section \ref{sec2}). With IMP  we denote the Cr(Mn) atoms
sitting at perfect Co sites. \label{table_HMFi} }
\begin{tabular}{lcccccc}\hline\noalign{\smallskip}
Compound & Co   & IMP & Cr/Mn & Al/Si & Total &Ideal \\
Co$_2$CrAl     &  0.73 & -- &  1.63 & -0.09&3.00  & 3.00 \\

[Co$_{0.95}$Cr$_{0.05}$]$_2$CrAl & 0.71 & -1.82 & 1.62 & -0.09 & 2.70 & 2.70 \\

[Co$_{0.9}$Cr$_{0.1}$]$_2$CrAl & 0.69 & -1.85 & 1.61 & -0.08 &
2.40 &  2.40 \\

Co$_2$CrSi   & 0.95 & -- & 2.17 & -0.06 & 4.00 &  4.00 \\

[Co$_{0.95}$Cr$_{0.05}$]$_2$CrSi & 0.93 & -1.26 & 2.12 & -0.06 & 3.70 & 3.70 \\

[Co$_{0.9}$Cr$_{0.1}$]$_2$CrSi & 0.91 & -1.26 & 2.07 & -0.05 & 3.40 & 3.40 \\

Co$_2$MnAl   &  0.68  & -- & 2.82 & -0.14 & 4.04 & 4.00 \\

[Co$_{0.95}$Mn$_{0.05}$]$_2$MnAl & 0.73 & -2.59 & 2.82 & -0.13 & 3.81 & 3.80 \\

[Co$_{0.9}$Mn$_{0.1}$]$_2$MnAl & 0.78 & -2.49 & 2.83 & -0.12 & 3.61 & 3.60 \\

Co$_2$MnSi &  0.98  & -- & 3.13 & -0.09 & 5.00 & 5.00\\

[Co$_{0.95}$Mn$_{0.05}$]$_2$MnSi & 0.99 & -0.95 & 3.09 & -0.08 & 4.80 & 4.80\\

[Co$_{0.9}$Mn$_{0.1}$]$_2$MnSi & 0.99 & -0.84 & 3.06 & -0.07 & 4.60& 4.60 \\
\noalign{\smallskip}\hline

\end{tabular}
\end{table}

We will start our discussion from  the Cr-based alloys and using
Co$_2$CrAl and Co$_2$CrSi as parent compounds we create a surplus
of Cr atoms which sit at the perfect Co sites. In figure
\ref{fig_HMFi}  we present the total density of states (DOS) for
the [Co$_{1-x}$Cr$_{x}$]$_2$CrAl  and [Co$_{1-x}$Cr$_{x}$]$_2$CrSi
alloys for concentrations $x$= 0 and 0.1, and in table
\ref{table_HMFi} we have gathered the spin moments for the two
compounds under study. We will start our discussion from the DOS.
The perfect compounds show a gap in the minority-spin band and the
Fermi level falls within this gap and thus the compounds are
half-metals. When the sp atom is Si instead of Al the gap is
larger due to the extra electron which occupies majority states of
the transition metal atoms\cite{GalanakisFull} and increases the
exchange splitting between the majority occupied and the minority
unoccupied states. This electron increases the Cr spin moment by
$\sim$0.5 $\mu_B$ and the moment of each Co atom by $\sim$0.25
$\mu_B$ about. The Cr and Co majority states form a common band
and the weight at the Fermi level is mainly of Cr character. The
minority occupied states are mainly of Co character. When we
substitute Cr for Co, the effect on the atomic DOS of the Co and
Cr atoms at the perfect sites is marginal. The DOS of the impurity
Cr atoms has a completely different form from the Cr atoms at the
perfect sites due to the different symmetry of the site where they
sit. But although Cr impurity atoms at the antisites induce
minority states within the gap, there is still a tiny gap and the
Fermi level falls within this gap keeping the half-metallic
character of the parent compounds.

The discussion above on the conservation of the half-metallicity
is confirmed when we compare the calculated total moments in table
\ref{table_HMFi}  with the values predicted by the Slater Pauling
rule for the ideal half-metals. Since Cr is lighter than Co,
substitution of Cr for Co decreases the total number of valence
electrons and the total spin moment should also decrease. This is
achieved due to the antiferromagnetic coupling between the Cr
impurity atoms and the Co and Cr ones at the ideal sites, which
would have an important negative contribution to the total moment
as confirmed by the results in table \ref{table_HMFi}. Thus the
Cr-doped alloys are half-metallic ferrimagnets and their total
spin moment is considerable smaller than the perfect half-metallic
ferromagnetic parent compounds; in the case of
[Co$_{0.8}$Cr$_{0.2}$]$_2$CrAl it decreases down to 1.8 $\mu_B$
from the 3 $\mu_B$ of the perfect Co$_2$CrAl alloy. Here we have
to mention that if also Co atoms migrate to Cr sites (case of
atomic swaps) the half-metallity is lost, as it was shown by Miura
et al. \cite{Miura}, due to the energy position of the Co states
which have migrated at Cr sites.

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{fig4.eps}
\end{center}
\caption{Total density of states (DOS) around the gap region for
the [Co$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$]$_2$MnAl
 and  [Co$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$]$_2$MnSi alloys as a function of the
concentration $x$ : we denote $x=0$ with the solid line  and
$x=0.1$ with a dashed thick  line.} \label{fig_HMFi2}
\end{figure}

Similar phenomena to the discussion above occur in the
[Co$_{1-x}$Mn$_x$]$_2$MnZ compounds varying the sp atom, Z, which
is one of Al or Si.  We have taken into account five different
values for the concentration $x$; $x$= 0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2.
In figure \ref{fig_HMFi2} we have drawn the total density of
states (DOS) for both families of compounds under study and for
two different values of the concentration $x$: the perfect
compounds ($x$=0) and for one case with defects, $x$= 0.1. As
mentioned above and in agreement with previous  previous
electronic structure calculations on these compounds Co$_2$MnSi
compounds present a real gap and Co$_2$MnAl a
pseudogap.\cite{GalanakisFull,APL,Richter,JAP} When we create a
surplus of Mn atoms which migrate at sites occupied by Co atoms in
the perfect alloys, the gap persists and both compounds retain
their half-metallic character as occurs also for the Cr-based
alloys presented above. Especially for Co$_2$MnSi, the creation of
Mn antisites does not alter the width of the gap and the
half-metallicity is extremely robust in these alloys with respect
to the creation of Mn antisites. The atomic spin moments show
behavior similar to the Cr alloys as can be seen in table
\ref{table_HMFi} and the spin moments of the Mn impurity atoms are
antiferromagnetically coupled to the spin moments of the Co and Mn
atoms at the perfect sites resulting to the desired half-metallic
ferrimagnetism.

The ideal case of fully-compensated half-metallic ferrimagnet or
half-metallic antiferromagnetic (HMA) can be achieved by doping
with Co the Mn$_2$VAl and Mn$_2$VSi alloys which are well known to
be HMFi. The importance of this route stems from the existence of
Mn$_2$VAl in the Heusler $L2_1$ phase as shown by several
groups.\cite{itoh1,itoh2,itoh3} Each Mn atom has a spin moment of
around -1.5 $\mu_B$ and V atom a moment of about 0.9
$\mu_B$.\cite{itoh1,itoh2,itoh3}

 All theoretical studies on
Mn$_2$VAl agree on the half-metallic character with a gap at the
spin-up band instead of the spin-down band as for the other
half-metallic Heusler
alloys.\cite{GalanakisFull,Mn2VZ-2,Weht1,Weht2} Prior to the
presentation of our results we have to note that due to the
Slater-Pauling rule, these compounds with less than 24 valence
electrons have negative total spin moments and the gap is located
at the spin-up band. Moreover the spin-up electrons correspond to
the minority-spin electrons and the spin-down electrons to the
majority electrons contrary to the other Heusler
alloys.\cite{GalanakisFull} We have substituted Co for Mn in
Mn$_2$V(Al or Si) in a random way and in figure \ref{fig_HMA} we
present the total and atom-resolved density of states (DOS) in
[Mn$_{1-x}$Co$_x$]$_2$VAl (solid line) and
[Mn$_{1-x}$Co$_x$]$_2$VSi (dashed line) alloys for $x$=0.1. The
perfect compounds show a region of low spin-up DOS (we will call
it a ``pseudogap'') instead of a real gap. Upon doping the
pseudogap at the spin-up band persists and the quaternary alloys
keep the half-metallic character of the perfect Mn$_2$VAl and
Mn$_2$VSi compounds.  Co atoms are strongly polarized by the Mn
atoms since they occupy the same sublattice and they form Co-Mn
hybrids which afterwards interact with the V and Al or Si
states.\cite{GalanakisFull} The spin-up Co states form a common
band with the Mn ones and the spin-up DOS for both atoms has
similar shape. Mn atoms have less weight in the spin-down band
since they accommodate less charge than the heavier Co atoms.

\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{fig5.eps}
\end{center}
\caption{Total and atom-resolved DOS for the
[Mn$_{0.9}$Co$_{0.1}$]$_2$VAl and [Mn$_{0.9}$Co$_{0.1}$]$_2$VSi
compounds. Note that the atomic DOS's have been scaled to one
atom. \label{fig_HMA} }
\end{figure}

In table \ref{table_HMA} we have gathered the total and
atom-resolved spin moments for all the Co-doped compounds as a
function of the concentration. We have gone up to a concentration
which corresponds to 24 valence electrons in the unit cell, thus
up to $x$=0.5 for the [Mn$_{1-x}$Co$_x$]$_2$VAl and x=0.25 for the
[Mn$_{1-x}$Co$_x$]$_2$VSi alloys. In the last column we have
included the total spin moment predicted by the Slater-Pauling
rule for the perfect half-metals. A comparison between the
calculated and ideal total spin moments reveals that all the
compounds under study are half-metals with very small deviations
due to the existence of a pseudogap instead of a real gap. Exactly
for 24 valence electrons the total spin moment vanishes as we will
discuss in the next paragraph. Co atoms have a spin moment
parallel to the V one and antiparallel to the Mn moment, and thus
the compounds retain their ferrimagnetic character. As we increase
the concentration of the Co atoms in the alloys, each Co  has more
Co atoms as neighbors, it hybridizes stronger with them and its
spin moment increases while the spin moment of the Mn atom
decreases (these changes are not too drastic). The sp atoms have a
spin moment antiparallel to the Mn atoms as already discussed in
reference \onlinecite{Mn2VZ}.

\begin{table}
\caption{Atom-resolved spin magnetic moments for the
[Mn$_{1-x}$Co$_x$]$_2$VAl and [Mn$_{1-x}$Co$_x$]$_2$VSi compounds
(moments have been scaled to one atom). The two last columns are
the total spin moment (Total) in the unit cell calculated as
$2\times [(1-x)*m^{Mn}+x*m^{Co}]+m^V+m^{Al\:or\:Si}$ and the ideal
total spin moment predicted by the Slater-Pauling rule for
half-metals. The lattice constants have been chosen 0.605 nm for
Mn$_2$VAl and 0.6175 for Mn$_2$VSi for which both systems are
half-metals (see reference \onlinecite{Mn2VZ}) and have been kept
constant upon Co doping. } \label{table_HMA}
 \begin{tabular}{lcccccc}
 \hline\noalign{\smallskip}

 Compound & Mn   & Co & V & Al & Total &Ideal \\
Mn$_2$VAl     & -1.57  & -- & 1.08  & 0.06 & -2.00 & -2.0 \\

[Mn$_{0.9}$Co$_{0.1}$]$_2$VAl  & -1.56 & 0.340 & 1.07 & 0.07 & -1.60 & -1.6 \\

[Mn$_{0.7}$Co$_{0.3}$]$_2$VAl  & -1.48 & 0.46 & 0.95 & 0.05 & -0.80 & -0.8 \\

[Mn$_{0.5}$Co$_{0.5}$]$_2$VAl & -1.39 & 0.59 & 0.78 & 0.02 &
$\sim$0 & 0\\ \hline

Compound & Mn   & Co & V & Si & Total &Ideal \\

Mn$_2$VSi  &  -0.96 & -- & 0.86 & 0.06&-1.00 &  -1.0 \\

[Mn$_{0.9}$Co$_{0.1}$]$_2$VSi & -0.93 & 0.82 & 0.85 & 0.05 & -0.60 & -0.6 \\

[Mn$_{0.75}$Co$_{0.25}$]$_2$VSi &-0.90 & 0.94 & 0.84 & 0.04 & $\sim$0 & 0 \\
\noalign{\smallskip}\hline
\end{tabular}

\end{table}

The most interesting point in this substitution procedure is
revealed when  we increase the Co concentration to a value
corresponding to 24 valence electrons in the unit cell, thus  the
[Mn$_{0.5}$Co$_{0.5}$]$_2$VAl and [Mn$_{0.75}$Co$_{0.25}$]$_2$VSi
alloys. The Slater-Pauling rule predicts for these compounds a
zero total spin moment in the unit cell and  the electrons
population is equally divided between the two spin-bands. Our
first-principles calculations reveal that this is actually the
case. The interest arises from the fact that although the total
moment is zero, these two compounds are made up from  strongly
magnetic components. Mn atoms have a mean spin moment of
$\sim$-1.4 $\mu_B$ in [Mn$_{0.5}$Co$_{0.5}$]$_2$VAl and $\sim$-0.9
$\mu_B$ in [Mn$_{0.75}$Co$_{0.25}$]$_2$VSi. Co and V have spin
moments antiferromagnetically coupled to the Mn ones which for
[Mn$_{0.5}$Co$_{0.5}$]$_2$VAl are  $\sim$0.6 and $\sim$0.8
$\mu_B$, respectively, and for [Mn$_{0.75}$Co$_{0.25}$]$_2$VSi
$\sim$0.9 and $\sim$0.8 $\mu_B$. Thus these two compounds are
half-metallic fully-compensated ferrimagnets or as they are best
known in literature half-metallic antiferromagnets.

\section{Summary and conclusions \label{sec5}}

In this chapter we have reviewed our results on the defects in
half-metallic full-Heusler alloys. Firstly we have presented a
short overview of the electronic and magnetic properties of the
half-metallic full-Heusler alloys and have discussed in detail the
Slater-Pauling behavior of these alloys (the total spin moment
scales linearly with the total number of valence electrons as a
result of the half-metallicity). We have also studied the effect
of doping on the magnetic properties of the Co$_2$MnAl(Si)
full-Heusler alloys. Doping simulated by the substitution of Cr
and Fe for Mn overall keeps the half-metallicity and has   little
effect on the half-metallic properties of Co$_2$MnSi   and
Co$_2$MnAl compounds.

Afterwards, we have studied the effect of defects-driven
appearance of half-metallic ferrimagnetism in the case of the
Co$_2$Cr(Mn)Al(Si) Heusler alloys.  More precisely, based on
first-principles calculations we have shown that when we create
Cr(Mn) antisites at the Co sites, these impurity Cr(Mn) atoms
couple antiferromagnetically with the Co and the Cr(Mn) atoms at
the perfect sites while keeping the half-metallic character of the
parent compounds. The ideal case of half-metallic
fully-compensated ferrimagnets (also known as half-metallic
antiferromagnets) can be achieved by doping of the half-metallic
ferrimagnets Mn$_2$VAl and Mn$_2$VSi. Co substitution for Mn keeps
the half-metallic character of the parent compounds and when the
total number of valence electrons reaches the 24, the total spin
moment vanishes as predicted by the Slater-Pauling rule. Defects
are a promising alternative way to create robust half-metallic
ferrimagnets, which are crucial for magnetoelectronic
applications.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Today we welcome globe trotter Robert Sussuma! He's going to talk to us about NOT warming up, NOT repeating exercises but all the while enhancing the learning of skills. It's a great one! Click play on the player above to listen and enjoy the supporting blog below!
He's a Feldenkrais instructor and has taught workshops in many schools in America and across the world.
His life as a singer started with the influence of family. On Sundays, between dinner and dessert, they would stand around the piano and sing together. It was a very normal situation to be in!
As a boy soprano in choirs, he was singing A's and C's above top female C until his mid teens! He was keen to experiment and discovered his 'man voice' at the age of 16. At an audition were he sang in a baritone range for the first time, was given the lead role.
Robert auditioned for college in 1994 as a baritone despite wanting to retain his soprano range. Not being sure on where he fitted in vocally, an opportunity to re-audition in his junior year meant his tutors decided a counter tenor was most suitable. He was the first in the school. Later on, an interest in baroque, renaissance and medieval music led to a masters in Early Music Voice Performance.
Robert admits that after half hour of practice throughout the college years, his voice would feel hoarse and tired. He started lying about the amount of practice he was doing and an anxiety about performance came about. But luckily, he came across Feldenkrais in his college journey through a recording by Maxine Davis in an Awareness Through Movement (ATM) lesson.
The session had such a profound effect on him that he found he had a noticeable difference in his voice production over the next 4 weeks. This led to a quest to study as much as he possibly could about Feldenkrais through books and teachers. A class he took through Olivia Cheever (one of the first certified Feldenkrais practitioners in USA) suggested he would make a great practitioner and the rest is history!
So what's Feldenkrais all about?
There's no repetition used for practice?
A tactic in somatic or experiential learning is you use repetition to have a clearer view of what it is. However if you repeat things too much, over time your brain gets bored. Instead of expanding your mind, you're only seeing the same thing over and over. Musicians for example are trying to practice the end result immediately, so cutting out a lot of options to get there. Variations will help you learn the song, but not any one way.
By learning these elements differently, ie speed or different keys, we prepare ourselves for any eventuality. We can all relate to singing in our bedroom. It's a familiar situation, so to create variety in learning can help rid us of anxiety of performing outside of familiarity. If we avoid randomness, we're not giving the brain enough to perhaps make a better choice. We can choose the linear option but this causes rigidity, it's not backed up by a series of options.
How can I create this myself?
Robert suggests 'Thinking In Systems' by Donella H. Meadows as some literature that he found most helpful.
There's also a Nova special (a science programme in the US) called Chaos which you can find on YouTube. about how chaos and order is the name of the game with the brain and how learning is optimising the balance between the two.
So looking back on all of his experience, what would be some of Roberts favourite ways in creating the most efficient warm up?
"Without randomness there is no learning, I do not believe in warming up.
Robert starts a lesson straight on to a song, as it's the quickest indicator to see what's happening. In order for a 'clean experiment', you don't change the set up before you start. In addition, it's common for singers to think they need to be good at scales and that they need to be "performed", which in itself can create anxiety.
In Feldenkrais, it's common to take advantage of basic functions to organise movements such as swallowing, turning the head, chewing or looking. Lessons are designed around these in order to assist the singer. From the start of the lesson you need a reference so it's straight on to a song! The student observes themselves, and the teacher observes them. Something usually stands out (the greatest deviation from the "norm") in this moment. You're comparing the 'ideal' to what you have observed and this will become the basis of the lesson.
A little feature like the corner of the lips turning down in singing may be a starting point for exploring how the lips move for that particular person and clarify how it affects that persons voice. Just observing how they open and close their lips or where the corners of the mouth sit when closed can offer a lot of information regarding the individuals body function.
You may have one leg slightly longer than the other or an eye that's more forward than the other, however you can use your body well in function as you've learnt to balance the function, regardless of structure. We can educate the body to function well despite these things as opposed to desperately trying to "fix" the asymmetry and make everything straight. That can cause problems in itself!
The individual will 'compensate' throughout the body to create symmetry and balance.
Robert himself has numerous points of mutation within the laryngeal area. In a recent (first time) scope it became apparent that his folds are a third longer than the average male (no wonder he could hit those soprano notes!). He also has sulci on the top of his vocal folds, they appear to be abnormally thin. The false folds are abnormally distant from the true and lastly, he has an omega epiglottis, it's so cramped that it's almost folded in 2! Despite all of these things (which he never knew!), he learnt to use his voice with what he had and figured out tactics that worked for him.
Do you ever meet resistance with the Feldenkrais technique?
Unfortunately quite a bit. He admits not being in a linear way of thinking anymore, which some students/peers may find it hard to get their heads around as they want a quick fix. But some answers aren't always found via A+B=C. You don't have to understand, to do.
It's almost like a disease, I'm sure we can all admit to feeling like if we don't understand what we're doing then how can you get it right? Referring back to a previous podcast with Meribeth Dayme, she mentions that a tennis coach will never insist on you knowing the intricacies of bone and muscle tissue of your arm before you hit the ball. But for some reason, in the voice community insists on you knowing about breathing and the diaphragm, anatomy of the vocal tract and so on.
What do you recommend for a singer to do or think during a performance who may be dealing with challenging material on stage?
One of Roberts favourite books is 'The Art Of Learning' by Josh Waitzkin. It focuses a lot on performance and not anxiety, not preparation but trusting that you've put all the information in your system already and things will work out. We all know it's hard to 'practice' performing under the same conditions.
When Robert himself was suffering with performance anxiety, he paid a visit to a body psychotherapist who recommended that he find a part of the body that does not feel anxiety or stress at all. You don't think about your ankles at all in the moment, right? He would meditate, sense and think about them for, say, half an hour. Then he would compare them to the anxiety he was feeling in his chest, for example, and go between the 2. Transferring to that calming energy is so helpful, and you can do that whilst in performance too. You can keep your attention more 'skeletal'. In Feldenkrais, there's a term called the five lines. We're talking the spine, the two arms, and the two legs. You can use that as an image to get out of the muscular tension and into the skeleton.
Has that peaked your interest?
If anyone wants to get in touch with Robert for any reason, you can contact him via his website robertsussuma.com. There are also many free educational videos available here.
Upcoming international workshops are listed at www.vocallearningsystems.com. Robert will be workshopping in Spain during September 7th-9th. He will also be in London on 10th-11th of November, so we might see you there!