Hand Coordination Exercise

[GonzoBass]

Hello there fellow music lovers,

One thing I have come across quite a lot with my students is a lack of communication or coordination between their left and right hands resulting in improper timing, meter and just bad rhythm in general.

Here is an exercise I learned in piano class at college which I always share with my students to help them overcome this problem and I thought I would share it with you:

Place both your hands on your legs like they were at a keyboard.
Now tap each finger one at a time from your pinky (4) to your index (1) on both hands like you were waiting impatiently for something.

Like this-
(4 3 2 1)
repeat
Easy, right?

Now try doing it backward.
Like this-
(1 2 3 4)
repeat
Not quite as easy is it?

How about trying-
Left hand (4 3 2 1) while doing
Right hand (1 2 3 4) at the same time.
repeat

and then backwards-
L (1 2 3 4) while doing
R (4 3 2 1) at the same time.
repeat

Now try going forward and backward.
Like this-
L (4 3 2 1) while doing
R (1 2 3 4) at the same time.
and then
L (1 2 3 4) while doing
R (4 3 2 1) at the same time.
repeat

Now try alternate tapping, LIFTING YOUR FINGER before tapping the next.
Like this-
L(4) R(1) L(3) R(2) L(2) R(3) L(1) R(4)
repeat

Now try this backwards.
Like this-
R(4) L(1) R(3) L(2) R(2) L(3) R(1) L(4)
repeat

You could try double tapping each one.
Like this-
L(1-1) R(1-1) L(2-2) R(2-2) L(3-3) R(3-3) L(4-4) R(4-4)
and then apply this double tapping method to the patterns above.

Obviously the possibilities are nearly endless, but the important thing is to get your hands to communicate with each other. Working with a metronome by starting out slowly and increasing the tempo gradually will greatly help you with this.

The best part about this exercise is that it can be done anywhere, at anytime... waiting in line at the bank, in a boring class, listening to your girlfriend ramble...
Well, you get the idea.
= )

I hope this helps you as much as it did my students and me.

Let me know by dropping me a line at-
GonzoBass@aol.com
Or visit me on the web at-
http://www.GonzoBass.com
There you will find some more info about myself and some samples from my All Bass CD.

Aloha for now-
Gonzo

[Secksay]

having studied the piano myself I have to stress that you keep your wrists high and fingers curved like on a keyboard, it makes the exercises a LOT easier.