BODY SPRINGS

by Bayla Keyes

 

The Three Principles:

Open Form (Alignment and Space) 

Stabilization (Balance) 

Circularity (Fluid Movement, Soft Muscles, Marriage of Line & Circle)

 

Building Connection from the Ground Up – Legs:

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Tension in the legs will be transmitted like a virus into everything above. When you are balanced, the alignment of your spine will hold you up with a minimum of muscle effort.

Stand on your bare feet. Imagine you are a baby again with soft, pliable pads – there are no bones in your feet yet. Feel the pad under the ball of the foot, the pad under the outer toes, and the pad on your heel contacting the ground with gentle springiness. Do all three points feel the same, and can you feel your weight dropping into them equally through both feet? Bounce happily on your feet without picking them up. Walk slowly and softly, pretending they are suction cups as you lift, and placing them on the ground delicately. 

Stand easily on your baby feet. Notice the space at the front of your ankles. What happens to that space when you bend your knees? Push with your toes, bend and unbend your knees slightly, and sway lightly back and forth on your feet to find the place where your ankles feel soft and open in front. Notice how when you are out of balance the ankles, feet, and toes will tense. (Partner) Find a way of standing that will allow the least grabbing.

Experiment by straightening your knees and locking them. What happens to your neck and shoulders? Now release the backs of the knees. Notice how your hips and shoulders let go. Jiggle slightly, first with the knees bent and then with the knees locked; notice what changes. Also try this with air violin, holding an imaginary violin and moving your arms.

Stand with your feet soft, your ankles open and your knees slightly bent; your feet should be directly under your shoulders. Feel your weight evenly on both legs. Now shift weight to one leg. Let the other leg remain in contact with the ground and keep your hips level. Shift weight to the other leg. Shift side to side and then circle around forward and back, feeling the inside and outside of your feet; try a circle 8 as well.

Return to the center and allow your weight to drop right through the arches of both feet. Feel the space between your legs; imagine it connecting to the ground as if it were a third leg. Allow your bottom to melt down and forward, releasing the lower back. Relax and settle.

 

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Building Connection from the Ground Up – Torso:

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Weakness in the center of the body will cause it to fold in and collapse, diminishing sound, decreasing strength, and setting up the arms for injury. Rigidity in this area will cause thinness and harshness of tone, as it will communicate stiffness to all the joints of the arms and fingers. The ideal is space, balanced support, and freedom of motion in the back. Think of opening the front of the body and stabilizing and strengthening the back.

As your lower back drops, notice how your swayback diminishes and your hips come more directly under your shoulders. Exaggerate the swayback and play air violin; then allow the pelvis to tip forward and notice the difference in how your arms move and how your neck and shoulders feel. This posture is healthy for the arms and will give them the support they need, because the hips and shoulders are closely related. Throughout the day, jiggle occasionally to check the alignment and openness of your legs.

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To counteract the weight of the violin pressing down, muscles in the midriff of the body need to engage and lift. Imagine your side ribs as folds of a fan and feel them stretching open and up. Do side bends to release and elongate the spaces between the ribs. Feel your spine, especially the area of the midback between your shoulder blades, stretching up toward heaven. Do the same with your occiput. Notice how reaching up from the back helps the fronts of your shoulders and collarbone open and relax. 

Your shoulder blades, while located in your back, are actually the beginnings of your arms. Utilizing them properly will enhance your sound, free your bow, and prevent the stooped posture that is common in string players.  Let your arms hang loosely at your sides. Imagine a giant puppeteer holding strings attached to the back of your elbows. When the strings are raised, your upper arms will rise, while your forearms and hands dangle. Now flip the left arm over into playing position and play air violin. Notice how weightless your arms feel; this is because they are being held up from the strong deep muscles of the back, the rhomboids, between the shoulder blades. Let your arms hang straight down again and then lift the hands directly up into playing position. Even if you are at the same height as before, your arms will feel much heavier. Notice especially what you sense in the area between your upper arms and the sides of your body. Try the puppeteer version again for contrast.

Your armpits and indeed the whole area under your arms need to stay open, even when your bow arm is carving into the string. Imagine that you have small balloons in your armpits, and larger balloons around your waist and torso. Play air violin, carving down into the balloons with your elbows while simultaneously keeping the spaces of the balloons open. Notice the circularity of your elbow movements as you curve into those soft deep imaginary spaces under your arms. (Partner)

Find the connection of your elbows all the way back into your shoulder blades. Stand with your hands in loose fists, held at chest height with palms down and knuckles touching; stabilize your legs, torso, and head so that they do not move; and move the triangle of your arms and elbows around the column of your spine, back and forth from left to right. Can you feel the shoulder blades moving in relation to your spine? Now take your arms into playing position, continuing to hold the traction between your elbows and shoulder blades as your stretch your elbows apart in space (I call this the starfish stretch). Let the blades go and feel how your shoulders collapse forward and up. Feel the slackness and emptiness in your elbows. The balloons are gone. Activate the shoulder blades again; squeeze them together and allow the elbows to be drawn away from your body. (Hug a Tree X) Notice how wide open your chest and underarms are when your shoulder blades stabilize your arms. Notice how symmetrical the spaces under your arms are, how light they feel, and how calm, alert and energetic you are. Notice how your breathing changes. Everything expands.

(Shoulder blade pinch + neck tuck + pelvic tuck X)

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Building Connection from the Ground Up – Arms:

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When the arms are unimpeded at the critical joints of the shoulders and elbows, nerve impulses are more efficient and a sense of ease and comfort will result.

Roll your shoulders gently back and around. Now add elbow circles. Do this slowly enough that you can feel your shoulder blades sliding across your back, towards and away from the spine. 

With each hand, turn the opposite upper arm away from the body and towards the body. (Partner) Allow the forearms and hands to follow along passively. This gentle twisting motion will soften and open the tissues around the all-important juncture of your arm and body, through which many important blood vessels and nerves pass. Can you do both arms now, initiating the movement from your upper arms?

Play air violin while gently holding the front of your right armpit (the pectoralis) with your left hand. First play legato 16ths in the middle of the bow, leading with the hand, and notice the popping and jumping in the pectoralis; the right shoulder will also begin to rise as the pectoralis tightens. Now do the same but initiate the motion from the elbow (in effect, farther back in the upper arm). The forearm will still execute the motion but the circularity of the movement will prevent tension in the pec, making it much easier to keep the underarm soft and the right shoulder relaxed. Can you feel the circles in your right shoulder blade?

Play a downbow, allowing your arm to simply slide down and away from your body. See if you can find the gentle bounceback that will begin your upbow effortlessly. Now initiate the motion of the downbow from your hand; notice how you will automatically stop at the end of the bow and the upbow will necessitate a separate effort. Perform these two types of downbows again while holding your right bicep. Notice that a more circular motion will give you a fluid continuity from downbow to upbow, while the feeling of “straight across” produced by leading from the hand will immediately engender contractions in the bicep.

Contract your left bicep and execute an air shift. Can you feel the jerkiness and effort as you work against your own tension? Next do the same thing with a relaxed bicep. Finally, do the same thing but initiate the movement from underneath the arm, releasing the shoulder blade to allow the elbow to circle forward as you go into high position. Notice that the forearm and hand have the sensation of being carried. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Building Connection from the Ground Up – Neck and Shoulders:

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When holding the violin we often draw our shoulders up and our head down, creating what I call the drawstring effect. This position cuts off circulation to our arms and brain. Your posture when playing the violin should be as near to an ordinary standing posture as is feasible.

Keep your shoulders as relaxed as possible; imagine them falling away from your head and neck. Soften the muscles around your collarbone; visualize your head as a boat rocking gently in the water of the collarbone.  

Turn your head to the left, first by leading with your eyes and then by leading from the occiput, with your eyes trailing. Does your neck feel different? Is there a change in the range of motion?

Draw long bows in the air. Does your left side remain stable, or does it come towards the bow during an upbow? If you engage the shoulder blades it is easier to bow without collapsing the front of the armpits. Keep your head as close to vertical as possible; especially when drawing an upbow, avoid the tendency to crunch in and forward. (Is it easier or harder to move the bow in the air if you allow yourself to shift weight slightly, alternating left and right feet?)

Take your left hand and make a fist. Relax the full weight of your head onto your hand, resting on the chin. Talk (if you can). Now move your fist two inches closer towards your left ear, rest your head upon it, and try to talk again; notice how your jaw feels. Once again move your hand closer towards your ear. Once you have passed the hinge of the jaw you will be able to rest the full weight of your head on your hand, talk freely, and relax your jaw. Incorrect head position is responsible for much jaw tension and can eventually lead to temporomandibular joint disorders. 

Now let the violin rest upon the left shoulder. Balance your head upon the chinrest gently; find the balance point behind the hinge of the jaw, let the weight of your head relax, and do not add additional gripping. Remember that the left hand plays a key role in supporting the violin too. 

A balanced, upright posture, open and flexible joints, and using muscles as naturally as possible will all contribute to joy, effortlessness and ultimate freedom of expression as we play our glorious instrument.

 

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GOOD POSTURE

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Relax into Alignment

Tension in the legs can transmit into everything above, affecting your overall posture. To achieve balance, align your spine to hold you up with minimal muscle effort:

• Stand with your feet parallel, directly under your shoulders.

• Keep your knees springy and your toes and ankles soft.

• Feel your weight evenly on both legs.

• Shift weight to one leg, letting the other leg stay in contact with the ground, keeping your hips level.

• Shift weight to the other leg, then side to side, circling forward and back, and try a figure 8.

• Return to the center, allowing your weight to drop through the arches of both feet.

• Imagine a third leg connecting to the ground through the space between your legs.

• Allow your bottom to melt down and forward, releasing the lower back. Relax and settle.

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Loosen the Head on the Violin

To balance the violin with the relaxed weight of your head, follow these exercises:
 

• Settle your head into the chinrest gently, balancing the violin with the relaxed weight of your head.

• Incorporate Karen Tuttle’s breathing exercises into your bowing: each time you breathe out, allow the head to settle towards the back of the chinrest gently.

• Lift your chin when shifting up into high positions and settle your head gently into the chinrest before shifting to lower positions. On both downbows and upbows, let your head travel to the back of the chinrest; avoid turtling.

• As an exercise, play downbows resting the violin on your left hand while moving your head around. Play upbows with your head gently relaxing into the chinrest as you take your left thumb off the neck of the violin. Are there moments in your music where you could do one or the other to release muscles?
   

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Avoid the Drawstring Effect

Many violinists crunch their shoulders up and their heads down into the violin, shortening the muscles of each arm and affecting sound and facility. This also isolates the arms from the shoulder blades. To counter this, try the following exercises:
 

• Stand and play with your head against a doorframe. You may feel you have to press backward with your head to maintain contact. Step away and maintain the same upright position.

• Place a cloth against the wall and rest your scroll on it, leaning slightly into the wall to keep the cloth from slipping. Keep your body loose as you play. Many fast passages will become easier when you do not have a moving target.

• In a straight chair, sit with your back against the back of the chair as you play, maintaining contact.

• Jiggle slightly with knees bent and then locked; notice how a slight bouncing encourages your shoulders to relax and fall.

• Breathe out, allowing your chest to soften and your shoulders to release down through your hips and feet.

• With a partner, take turns holding each other’s heads back. (This is really easy if you have a ponytail!)

• Draw an upbow, allowing your head to travel in the same direction as the bow. Draw a downbow, and move your head slightly to the back of the chinrest, in the opposite direction from the bow. Can you feel the slight tug of the string?

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Interesting Conundrum

Balancing stillness and movement can be challenging:
 

• Holding still helps your nervous system manage the fine movements of your hands and arms by reducing variables.

• Moving releases muscles and combats rigidity. It can also be more exciting for the audience. Think of a modern-day performer such as Joshua Bell and compare him to videos of Heifetz and Oistrach.

• Move lyrically during singing lines and slower music, with swaying preferable to crunching to keep the shoulder blades free yet stable.

• Maintain calm shoulders, a stable violin, and a centered balance during fast passages and string crossings, allowing your weight to drop through both feet.

• A stable violin can produce a stronger tone. Experiment with holding the violin scroll on a stand, ledge, or against a towel on the wall to ease shifts and string crossings without a moving target.

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CONNECTING UPPER AND LOWER BODY FOR A BEAUTIFUL SOUND: TAI CHI FIGURE EIGHTS 

By Bayla Keyes

 

One of the best ways to maintain a relaxed, strong, yet constantly releasing posture while holding the violin is to feel the connection clearly between the ground, your feet and legs, and your upper body. When you are in alignment and able to make your energy flow directly from your legs and lower body into your violin, it will be much easier to practice and perform many hours without tiring.

Stand with your feet parallel at a width directly under your shoulders. Your feet should be soft and relaxed, your knees slightly bent, your lower back in neutral (not arched – release your lower back so that your pelvis relaxes under) and your hips loose.

 

Push into the ground with your right toe. Notice how your body will react by shifting to the left and up.  Repeat on the opposite side. Continue to shift back and forth between your legs, alternating the pushes from your feet.

 

Now as you shift, instead of going directly across, trace a figure eight around your feet. Feel your weight as it passes from the front of your left foot backward around the outside, then around the left heel, then shifting weight, going diagonally to the right toes, then along the outside of the right foot into the right heel, then forward along the inside of the right foot and across to the left toes.  Do you notice how relaxing this circular movement is for your lower back? (To feel an extreme contrast, straighten your legs, lock your knees, and shift your weight from one foot to another, going directly across.)

 

Now return to the circular motions. Make the figure eight with your hips, allowing your left hip to drop back as you shift onto the left leg and then allowing the right hip to drop back as you shift onto the right leg. 

 

Play air violin with this hip motion. Put your bow at the imaginary tip; shift your weight onto your right foot; drop your right hip back, shifting your weight onto your right heel. Push off from that heel; allow your right hip and entire right side to come forward, turning slightly leftward. As your weight shifts onto your left foot, allow your bow to travel to the imaginary frog. Let the motion of your body carry your bow; your arm should feel relaxed and passive. 

 

At this point your weight is on your left leg and your bow is at your imaginary frog. Drop your left hip back, shifting onto the left heel. Push off from that heel, allowing your left hip and entire left side to come forward as you turn slightly toward the right. As you shift your weight onto your right leg allow your bow to open in a downbow to the imaginary tip. Now you have returned to your right leg and can repeat the circle. 

 

Remember that the figure eight you are making, initiating in the feet and reflecting in the hip movement, has an overturn; this means that you will be in one continuous flow of movement. The overturns anticipate the movement of your bow. Start your air upbow after dropping the right hip back and beginning to move your right side forward; start your air downbow after dropping the left hip back and beginning to move your left side forward. You may be able to notice how soft and relaxed your hands feel. (To feel an extreme contrast, stand still and move your arm in upbow and downbow motions. Where do you feel the work?) 

 

Repeat all the steps above with the violin. Try to feel the movement of your bow arm initiating from the hip. Your arms and torso should feel like one continuous flow. Do you notice anything about your sound as you draw the bow? Your ability to hold up your violin? The ease of movement in your arms? The release of tension in your back and shoulders? The arms begin in the lower back, and by moving in this figure eight you are constantly releasing those deep muscles, allowing your arms to work more freely and naturally. Put your awareness in your feet and legs, allow a subtle shifting and circling, and notice how much easier technique and expression become.

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KAREN TUTTLE BREATHING COORDINATION

By Bayla Keyes

 

The great viola pedagogue Karen Tuttle developed a system of breathing with the bow which she called Coordination. The genius of her teaching was to incorporate frequent muscle and breath releases during every bow. The muscles continually release, allowing the string to circulate freely under the bow.Your sound will remain open, rich, and never pressed, even in the loudest dynamics. This method can be used both to eliminate muscle tension and also to enhance musical expression. This technique is most easily learned with slow bows at first.

The*symbol in the examples below means to drop your stomach. Before beginning a downbow, breathe out gently or say “Lah-eee-Lah,”encouraging your stomach to descend on the “eee.”

 

As your stomach descends, everything softens: your shoulders, elbows and chest release down slightly, the head releases back slightly as the neck relaxes, the torso settles into the legs, the pelvis drops under as the lower back lengthens, and the legs bend slightly.  Releasing in this way before bow changes will allow your elbows to circle naturally.

The ~symbol means to lift. Inhale in the middle of the bow, noticing the natural slight lifting feeling. Near the end of your downbow, breathe out gently or say “Lah-eee-lah,” pushing your stomach down. Notice the emall circle your elbow makes. Notice the softness in your chest.

By breathing out near the end of your downbows, you will prevent the lifting of the shoulders and/or violin that often leads to tension in the upper half.

Draw the bow on an upbow. Inhale in the middle of the bow, noticing the slight lifting feeling. Near the end of your upbow, breathe out gently or say “Lah-eee’lah,” pushing your stomach down. Notice the small circle your elbow makes. Notice the softness in your chest.

Practice very slow open strings and scales with the breathing releases near the ends of the bow, as shown by the symbols on the first stave below. As you become more comfortable with this, you can begin to incorporate the breathing into slow or lyric material; some examples are given on the second stave. Sing your passage and vocalize the “lah-eee-lah;” then play it, breathing out or sighing before bow changes.

“Lah-eee-lah” can be used as well to energize the end of a long note or tie; long note in romantic music often need to increase into the next note. Some examples are given on the third stave below.

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