Coordinating the Body
Exercises for Better Alignment
In this lesson we’ll explore exercises that can be utilized to strengthen the alignment of your limbs. Although these ideas are designed to help alignment between the hands and feet, they also challenge subdivision accuracy, consistency of pulse, and coordination.
Alignment of the limbs is an essential component of having a consistent, precise, and clean sound on the instrument. These exercises were born out of a deficiency in my own playing. I noticed that whenever my limbs were meant to align in a place that was not the downbeat, my consistency and time suffered. I was uncomfortable coordinating my body in less common places, especially when playing more complex subdivisions.