I recently picked up a new student who has had a stroke and has a lot of trouble with left hand mobility. I've showed a couple exercises to help with independent finger movement, showed proper posture, and explained what muscles should be in use more than other muscles. But it looks like I need to try something else. Does anyone have any suggestions or experience with helping people with strokes rebuild neurological pathways?

I think the best person for you to ask for advice is a qualified therapist. Does your student undergo any therapy? If so ask them if you can contact them and discuss what would be the best way for you to go about teaching them. Any advice I might give would only be guessing in this respect and really only someone with training in this area would be able to give you constructive and qualified advice.

I think the best person for you to ask for advice is a qualified therapist. Does your student undergo any therapy? If so ask them if you can contact them and discuss what would be the best way for you to go about teaching them. Any advice I might give would only be guessing in this respect and really only someone with training in this area would be able to give you constructive and qualified advice.

That response should end the thread :)

An Occupational therapist, particulary one who specializes in hand if you can find one, would fit the bill.

Of related interest might be the book "This is Your Brain on Music" http://www.amazon.com/This-Your-Brain-Music-Obsession/dp/0452288525/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-7048383-2312113?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194878254&sr=8-1

It does not address your situation straigt on but is interesting as a broader view of the neuro-science behind how we hear, respond to and create music.

I wonder if learning a stinged instrument would be beneficial for stroke victims looking to regain muscle control and dexterity? Seems to me it would; good for you!

:cool: Your student sounds like me! :p 'cept my stroke was a long time ago, so I've mostly learned to (mostly) deal with it on my own.
I think the best person for you to ask for advice is a qualified therapist. Does your student undergo any therapy? If so ask them if you can contact them and discuss what would be the best way for you to go about teaching them. Any advice I might give would only be guessing in this respect and really only someone with training in this area would be able to give you constructive and qualified advice.
Good advice, in theory. In my own personal experience, most occupational therapists only do the bare minimum to make sure thier patients can perform basic motor tasks before considering them fine, and won't even bother with anything not considered an independent living skill.

Though, if you do manage to get anything out of thier therapist please share! I'm sure I'm not the only dyspraxic on this board!

That response should end the thread :)

+1

a holistic approach is whats required - go ahead and continue teaching, registerd therapists both physical and occupational will not have the time or the training for bass playing - enjoyment of practising/music is therapy enough (its good therapy for me) were still shallow on neurology, who really knows what benefits writing neuro software via practising bass has - go ahead, sounds healthy and fun as long as its not toooo frustrating, good luck

a holistic approach is whats required - go ahead and continue teaching, registerd therapists both physical and occupational will not have the time or the training for bass playing - enjoyment of practising/music is therapy enough (its good therapy for me) were still shallow on neurology, who really knows what benefits writing neuro software via practising bass has - go ahead, sounds healthy and fun as long as its not toooo frustrating, good luck


How do you know? Maybe their therapist would welcome the inquiry as part of their patient's "holistic" rehabilitation. Furthermore why would a serious teacher not at least try and get some information? I'm sure there are neurologisits and occupational therapists out there that play bass too. Anyway the last thing anyone should do as a teacher is limit their options when the chance to learn something new for the benefit of their students presents itself.

My student doesn't have a therapist. His stoke was over 15 years ago, so he has already recovered considerably. To him, regaining more mobility in the fingers of his left hand are one of the final milestones.

The only occupational therapist I know is studying in Sweden right now, so I'm hoping there is one on TB. :ninja:

Well, I'm no occupational therapist, but I have been through what your student has, so I can tell you a few things that worked for me. (warning: brain damage may vary between individuals.)

1. Mirrors. The only way I'm able to tell if my fretting hand is the right postion is to look in mirror because I have little "inner sense" of my own body.

2. Positioning. I often have to use one hand to correct the postion of the other because I'm not able to move it accuratly enough on my own.

3. Sit down. I found out the hard way that it's practically impossible for me stand up and concentrate on my hands at the same time. Most people don't don't reallise just how much of our brains is devoted to balancing on only two legs because we do it unconsciously, but doing so consciously actually requires quite a bit of mental effort. Performing a complex task like playing a musical instrument while remaing upright is literally too exhausting for me! Let him stay in whatever posture he finds easiest, even if it isn't proper.

5. Talk. Ask him questions. Ask him about his stroke and his recovery. Asks him what makes things easy for him. Ask what makes things hard.

And Most Importantly

Listen!
There are so many things that the human brain takes care without us even realizing it that it's almost impossible for those of us who have lost these skills top describe it. What's even worse is to try to describe it and then be accused of making things up. If he says something sounds strange, like his head won't talk to hand, ask him to explain, and remember that there is no such thing as normal. "Normal" is simply a word people use for things that get taken for granted.

These are not rules. This is not advice. It's merely a few observations from a different point of view, to be interpreted however you see fit. Feel free to make things up. Remember, you're only his music teacher; he's the one with the difficult task of learning "how."

There's also a some books on the subject on neurological damage, check with your library.

There's also a good site about strokes here (http://www.strokecenter.org/) and another site (http://www.neurodiversity.com/) that's mainly about autism but also several good resources about motor impairments.

Edit: I also forgot mention that also recieved very little therapy; in fact, it was not until I was 17 that the figured out I even had a stroke. I also have autism, which tends to have it's own motor issues, that was also diagnosed at 17. Therefore, I have no way of knowing what was caused by the stroke and what was already present. Feel free to PM if you have any questions.

Edit #2
Found good exercise. (http://www.cyberfretbass.com/misc-wisdom/hand-coordination-exercise/index.php)