Tamari - fermented salted soybeans
Timani - Tina Margareta Nilssen, author of "Unleashing the Potential of the Musician's Body"
In this course, we will learn theory and anatomy and practical exercises.
Functions of Fascia
The following notes are not intended to be a replacement for taking the course.
They are notes specific to my personal takeaways.
Learning about the body is a process; be patient and gentle. Developing new coordination uses a lot of brain power. Respect your body and take rests. Don't push yourself with these exercises; move slowly and feel what is going on. Be present; there are always new layers of discovery.
Week 1: Warming Up
We want to optimize singing and playing and realize musical potential.
We also want to play with ease, eliminating unnecessary tension, injury, and pain.
Timani lessons are circular:
1. Conversation
2. Observation & playing analysis
3. Anatomical explanation
4. Targeted exercise
5. Playing or singing
6. Review & summary
Perhaps leading to a new conversation, etc.
The musician's body demands:
1. Repetitive use of muscles; we practice movements (as opposed to notes!)
2. Small muscle endurance; must access parts of the body that give us endurance
3. Support and stability; can't just relax or we'll be asleep
4. Mobility and expressivity; must know where to have support and where to have mobility
5. Healthy breathing mechanics
6. Static positions
7. Extreme coordination in the brain; must train sensory system to feel specific things
Sometimes we don't feel everything we are doing.
In order to know what to look for, we need to learn about the body.
It's not as simple as "relax," or everybody would do that.
The concert artist, if he so chooses, may work as he will,
remaining his own problem, or, perhaps, finding his own solutions:
but the teacher, selling lessons in physiological mechanics
hour after hour, day after day,
should at least know the tools with which he works.
Otto Ortmann (1889-1979)
Some Muscles to study:
Diaphragm - thin internal muscles, primary muscle for breathing, opens up chest cavity
Intercostals - secondary muscles for breathing, located in between ribs
Psoas major - deep breathing expansion of muscles goes down into lower body
Spine - needs both freedom and support
Connective tissue and fascia - tendinous material, connects muscles to bones
(Connective tissue - tendons and ligaments; ligaments connect bones to bones.)
Serratus anterior - attached to ribs, under shoulder blade; holds shoulder, supports breathing
Transversus abdominis - side wall of the abdomen, pulls naval to spine
Extrinsic & intrinsic hand muscles - extrinsic muscles in forearm, intrinsic in hand
(No muscles in the finger themselves!)
Some Muscles to see:
Active warm up creates the following physiological changes:
1. Increased speed of nerve signals - nerves from brain to muscles is faster
2. Less resistance in the joints - oily lubricant for joints is more fluid when warmer
3. Increased oxygen delivery to the muscles - blood vessels expand, blood flows more freely
Warm ups can be
Passive or active: warm with water or use muscles to keep warm.
General or specific: take a walk to warm up or do finger exercises
Mental: put away distractions, relaxation exercises, breathing, grounding
Warm up exercises prepare your muscles so that you can think less.
Do exercises every day at first; then focus on exercises where you need more awareness.
The goal is to play or sing with the muscles/coordination you learn in this course.
They can be done between practice sessions to remind the muscles what you want them to do.
After this course, the muscles should be present in awareness even when not practicing.
Week 1: MCP (Metacarpophalangeal) Tune-Up & Thumb Drill
Find these places in your hand.
We have many muscles that move our fingers, and pianists tend to overuse the middle knuckle of the finger (pulling or gripping motion). We underuse the muscles from the inside of the hand; in this exercise, we'll focus on the lumbricals and interosseous muscles, which help us bend from the bridge. When we underuse these muscles, we tend to overuse the top and bottom forearm muscles.
First, find the places marked with black x's above. With your palm facing upwards, touch those spots with your opposite hand as you flex straight fingers upwards towards the ceiling. You should feel tendons or muscles move in these spots; the 5th finger will be the most difficult to feel. When the thumb is properly engaged, the hand should become very open, like it could hold a ball.
Next, turn your hand so that the palm faces downwards and repeat the exercise, maintaining fairly straight fingers. Motion should originate from the bridge. Repeat exercise on the piano keys, playing several notes using one finger, being very aware of what muscles are activating.
Once you have done this, rest your palms face up in your lap and feel what muscles have been used. If these muscles can be isolated, the wrist will be able to move more freely.
Week 2: Muscles & The Nervous System
Muscle cells: skeletal, smooth, and cardiac
1. Skeletal muscle cells are breathing, moving, creating pressures and tension in the body.
These are the ones we focus on because we need them to move.
They usually look red in anatomy books.
2. Smooth muscle cells are governed by our autonomic nervous system.
We do not choose how they contract.
Example - digesting food in the intestines.
3. Cardiac muscle cells are in the heart and nowhere else.
Skeletal muscle cells are elongated cells; they are not round in shape.
They only pull against their length, not their width.
The muscle fibers or cells have a specific direction.
A "sarcomere" is 1 unit; one muscle cell can consist of many many sarcomeres.
When contracted, the proteins in a sarcomere (actin and myosin) pull together and make a cross bridge so that the muscle bulges. A motor unit, which is part of the nervous system, comes out from the spinal cord, attaches to each cell, and tells it to contract.
Contraction: concentric, eccentric, isometric
1. Concentric contraction - a muscle produces force while shortening.
Example - lifting a cup off a table.
2. Eccentric contraction - a muscle produces force while lengthening by gradually releasing.
Example - placing a cup back down on a table.
3. Isometric contraction - a muscle generates force without changing its length.
Example - holding a cup still in the air.
Efferent and afferent nerve signals
1. Muscle contractions are controlled by efferent nerve signals sent from the brain.
Nerve cells in the brain send electrical signals through the spinal cord, down to the body,
and to the muscle cells, telling them to contract.
2. The brain relies on afferent nerve signals to gather information about the body.
This is how we send signals to the brain on what we sense and perceive.
This is how the brain knows our internal states or position in space and time.
The part of the brain that receives sensory signals needs a lot of information to provide accurate information about how and when a muscle should contract. This information is sent to the brain from many different nerve endings, including the following nerve endings:
1. Exteroception - sensing the external world
Seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting, feeling the ground and the instrument.
2. Proprioception - the body's GPS for spatial awareness
Orienting ourselves, information about body and instrument positions, and movements.
3. Interoception - internal sensations within the body
Sensing arm weight, breath, emotions, tension, relaxation
Perception is broader term - what we consciously experience and interpret.
Additionally, but less relevant are
1. Nociception - the sensory perception of pain
2. Chronoception - the perception of time
Week 2: Sitting Shuffle
Sit on a chair or a bench as you normally would. Reach your hands underneath to feel the sitting bones. We want to align ourselves so that the flat part of the bone is supporting us on the chair. Begin by leaning forwards. Then lean backwards until you feel the bones sticking out under you into the chair. Then move forwards again until you feel you are sitting on the flat part of the bones.From here, we need to explore how to get the weight properly into the chair and feel supported. From this seated position, push the right knee forward until you feel that you are sitting even more onto your right sit bone. You should also feel that the right side of your body lifts upwards. Next, push the left knee forward and feel for the same sensations. Shuffle, alternating knees going outwards; this should feel like cross-country skiing.
Your body should feel like it has risen above the sitting bones in a supported and relaxed way. You should be able to feel your sitting bones a little bit more, and be able to "rest into the skeleton." Play a chord and feel a connection all the way down into the sitting bones; because your arms aren't doing all the work, it should feel easier to make a bigger or heavier sound. The number one way to offload our arms is to ground ourselves properly.
Video Resource 6: Push-Off From the Floor
Stand with a piano bench at your side. Lean to your side so that your hip moves outwards and back to get a feel for this shift in weight. Then, place one knee onto a piano bench so that you are standing on the knee. The toes of the opposite foot maintain contact with the floor to maintain balance. Let the hip move sideways again over the knee in the direction of the bench. Push the knee down into the chair, rising the entire body upwards. As the knee pushes downwards, the hip will come inwards and straighten, and the distance between the lower ribs and pelvis will increase. Relax the knee and let the hip fall outwards again, all while maintaining the body weight in the knee. This trains the gluteus medius, which stabilizes the hip joint. This prevents us from hanging out into the joint. The groin, hip, and quad should be free and able to move.
Hips should not push forward; can move shoulders slightly forward to prevent this, making sure to bend from the hip rather than curve the spine. If we lean backwards, the diaphragm pushes the internal organs downwards and the rectus abdominis (6 pack) gets involved. This is not helpful.
Stand on both feet and feel the difference; should should feel more grounded. Repeat on the other side. This exercise trains the brain to know which muscle to use to get push-off from the ground. Violinists must use the ground to push off as well as the violin, so there are two push-off points.
Without the piano bench, pushing off the floor will give you power that you can use musically. You can shift your weight from one leg to another, pushing off the floor to get power. These grounding exercises are very helpful in freeing the arms and the shoulders.
In people without lower back pain, the transverse abdominis activates 30-40 milliseconds before lifting the arm (deltoid). In people with lower back pain, the transverse abdominis activates up to 90 milliseconds after the arm is lifted. When the transverse abdominis is not doing its job, the diaphragm begins downwards bearing pressure, limiting breathing, collapsing the chest, and moving the head forwards. The transverse abdominis, on the other hand, creates an upward flowing engagement instead. When the transverse abdominis is engaged, the belly button should move towards the spine as a natural consequence of grounding.
Week 3: The Chocolate Covered Caramel
The chocolate covered caramel is a model of the body we can use to help organize and understand which muscles we need for free breathing, which muscles we need for playing or singing, and which muscles we can focus on for more relaxation. There are three parts to this model: a soft center (free and unrestricted breathing); a chewy caramel layer (the muscles and tissues that offer stability and support); and an outer chocolate cover (free movement and weight).The shape of the body is made first from the skeleton, and then the tendons/fascia connecting muscles and attaching to the bones. The fascia can be thought of as a wetsuit around all the organs, muscles, and bones.
For free breathing, we don't want to restrict the movement of the lungs. Most muscles have multiple functions and can do different tasks, but they always perform certain tasks best. Both the diaphragm and the intercostals have the primary function of inhalation. The diaphragm is like a thin parachute inside the chest, attached to the front of the spine. The intercostals are located in between the ribs, and help to rotate the ribs open up and outwards to the sides. The two lowest ribs are floating ribs. Ribs 6-10 have a bucket handle mechanism, so that they lift up and out to the sides when we inhale. Ribs 1-5 have a pump handle mechanism, where they open from front to back. The external intercostals are inhalation muscles, and the internal intercostals are exhalation muscles. During exhalation, the abdomen moves into the chest, and during inhalation, it's pushed down and outwards.
The chewy caramel muscles and tissues are a musician's best friend. They provide stability, support, endurance, timing, musical intention, legato, longer lines, and precision/accuracy. These muscles are not there to fixate us or make us stiff, but rather to remain balanced and secure, uninfluenced by external forces.
The chocolate coating are muscles that give a sense of free movement and weight. They also contribute to the sense of relaxation and sense of ease when playing. We want this coating to melt; these are the muscles we want to relax. These are the "outer muscles" that often restrict our movements, such as the chest, biceps, and rectus abdominis (6 pack). If we are not effectively using muscles in the chewy caramel layer, we will tense up the chocolate coating in order to control movements that are more effectively controlled in the chewy layer.
Chewy Caramel Muscles (Often Underused)
Review: psoas major
Transfers the movement of the diaphragm down to our legs and feet.
Our alignment of the spine and hips are important for breathing.
Review: serratus anterior
Located under shoulder blade.
Attached from ribs 1-9, assists in rotating the ribs out to the side during inhalation.
Should bear most of the weight of the arm, offloading muscles on top of the shoulders.
Review: transversus abdominis side stomach muscles
One of four large abdominal muscles, most important for musicians.
Gives stability in lower back.
If you push the belly outwards, there is a stability created by the diaphragm.
However, this stability restricts free breathing.
The tranversus abdominis should maintain intra-abdominal pressures instead.
You can access the tranversus abdominis by pulling the belly button slightly inwards.
These deeper muscles tend to deactivate when we have lack of sleep, too much stress, etc.
When properly activated, the transversus abdominis can help support arms, neck, and shoulders.
Review: extrinsic and intrinsic hand muscles
Intrinsic muscles in the hand mostly move the bridge joint.
We want to use these instead of overusing the extrinsic muscles in the arm.
Chocolate Coating Muscles (Often Overused)
Pectoralis minor
Small chest muscle, attaches from shoulder blade to the front of our bodies on ribs 3-5.
When we pull our shoulders downwards, this muscle activates.
We want this muscle to lift the ribs rather than pull them down.
Pectoralis major
Sits on top of pectoralis minor.
Attaches to top of arm bone, moves the arm closer to the body.
Can overactivate when playing large chords at the piano.
Rhomboideus major & levator scapula
Fibers attach on the inner edge of the shoulder blade.
Rhomboideus major brings the shoulder blade closer to the spine.
Levator scapula brings the top of the shoulder blade closer to the neck vertebrae.
Together, these create a downward rotation of the shoulder blade
The lower tip of the shoulder blade comes upward and inward.
This lowers the outer part of the shoulder.
It's much better to use the serratus anterior for stability.
Rectus abdominis
This (six pack) activates every time we lean backwards.
Bicep
Tends to be overused.
Week 3: Back Armline Push-Off
We must learn how to extend downwards into the key so that the forces going into the key go back into the arm. Often, pianists press downwards into the key, pushing the entire body downwards, fighting upright posture.
In a seated position, grab the chest muscle in the front of the armpit. With the hand that is free, extend fingers straight out with the thumb facing upwards, and press downwards into the knee. This will push the shoulder and the body upwards. The opposite of this is pushing the body down with chest muscle engaged, dragging the shoulder downwards with it. We are interested in releasing the chest muscle and lifting the body with the tricep muscles instead. Once you can feel that the chest muscle is not engaged, feel the tricep activate as you push your body upwards.Check - both the chest muscles and biceps should not be working very hard.
Repeat this process with the piano lid instead of the knee, opening the hand into a curved position with the palm facing downwards. As you use the tricep instead of the chest, the elbow will extend open, and the shoulder will rise slightly. Practice with chords. Remember that to play strongly, you must go into the key faster, and to play more softly, you go into the key more slowly.
The tricep is your "chord friend"!!
Video Resource 4: The Tent
Place your entire forearm on the lap. Keeping the wrist touching the lap, pull your hand in such a way that the bride pops out and the middle and outermost knuckle joints stay fairly straight. With the opposite hand, feel the top of the forearm to monitor that there isn't too much tension. Can play chords with this "tent" position, keeping the wrist low and extending the elbow using the tricep. This is a way to play chords with as little energy possible in such a way that the fingertip goes more directly to the bottom of the key, making it easier to maintain precise timing.
Week 4: Fascia
Musicians need exact muscular use, but we also need the feeling of the whole body supporting every movement. Fascia is the wetsuit that connects everything; you can think of a person as one fascia with 600 pockets of contractile fibers. It surrounds muscles, bones, nerves, blood vessels, and internal organs. This means that engaging in movement pulls on an entire system. Sometimes fascia grows in large sheaths; for example, the six pack sits in a sheath of fascia. Similarly, the thumb and the fifth finger are connected by a sheath of fascia that slides over the tendons of the finger flexors.Functions of Fascia
Support & protection - provides a protective layer for muscles, organs, and other structures
Movement & flexibility - enables smooth movement by reducing friction between tissues
Force transmission - helps distribute mechanical forces generated by muscles across the body
Structural integrity - maintains the alignment and positioning of body parts
Force transmission - helps distribute mechanical forces generated by muscles across the body
Structural integrity - maintains the alignment and positioning of body parts
Types of Fascia
Superficial fascia - found just beneath the skin; this layer contains fat and connective tissue
Superficial fascia - found just beneath the skin; this layer contains fat and connective tissue
It helps insulate the body and provides a cushion for the skin
Deep fascia - a denser, fibrous tissue, encases/separates/connects muscles, bones, and organs
Deep fascia - a denser, fibrous tissue, encases/separates/connects muscles, bones, and organs
This is the type of fascia that we focus on in this course
Helps to transmit forces across the body and maintain posture
Visceral fascia - surrounds internal organs, providing support and holding them in place
Some fascia structures to know about are:
Tendons - muscle fibers gradually turn into tendons and attach to the bones
Ligaments - around the joints, keeping them together
Joint Capsules - also holds joints together, protects joints, and holds synovial fluid
Fascia can become stiff, inflamed, or restricted from injury, overuse, poor posture, or dehydration.
This leads to pain, decreased flexibility, and mobility issues.
For fascia to stay healthy, it needs stress reduction/relaxation, hydration, and movement; it is healthy to move the body in new ways that aren't our habitual motions. Movement not only strengthens muscles; it strengthens fascia as well. Healthy fascia has a web-like structure that makes it more elastic. On its own, it is primarily made of collagen fibers, which are as flexible as stainless steel. Bouncy exercises help to create young and active fascia patterns. Tendons (and muscles) are strengthened through resistance stretching. On the other hand, strength training also increases the range of restricted motions. Strength training can also provide more stability when fascia is too lax.
Mechanotransduction - the body adapting to what we do or don't do. This is something that is happening constantly; our cells are renewing constantly. Our fibroblasts are building and building and reacting to whatever we are doing. We are looking to develop elasticity and firmness with a lack of tension.
Week 4: Self Bottle Exercise
Pianists must have strong and flexible hands, supple wrists, and heavy arms, all at the same time. To train this, take a water bottle. Grab the water bottle with your thumb pointing somewhat upwards. The bridge should be engaged, and the smaller knuckle joints should be less so; the middle joints will therefore stay fairly straight. The base of the palm should be close to the bottle. The intrinsic hand muscles should be squeezing the bottle.From this position, rest the elbow of the gripping hand onto a table, closed piano fallboard, or your knee. With the other hand, grab the top of the bottle towards and away from your face, training the holding wrist to be free. The gripping hand should not be creating any of this movement, but only holding on. The wrist will move from side to side. Once that is established, we want to increase the range of motion in the elbow. Repeat the exercise with larger motions so that the elbow opens and closes. The moving hand will be carrying the weight of both the gripping hand and its arm. Try this for about 30 seconds. Relax both hands and notice how they feel. Change hands and repeat.
Video Resource 3: Wall Push-Off
Stand a little more than arm-lengths distance from a wall, facing the wall. Fall towards the wall, catching yourself with your hands on the wall and bouncing back, as effortlessly as possible. Elbows should maintain a fairly extended position so that it's more about a bounce than a push-up. Between the bounces, let the arms release, as they swing downwards and then back up. This should feel easy, playful, and child-like. These are actually very quick movements, training the opening of the elbow, activating the tricep, and releasing the shoulders. It trains the bounce properties of the fascia. This is particularly helpful for piano octaves and chords, or for when string players need to play rapid passages with fast moving bow arms.Week 5: The Sensory Nervous System
Exteroception - the ability to sense stimuli from the external environment
If our fingertip touches something, different nerve endings explain to the brain how intense the pressure is, if something is moving across the skin, and what the temperature of the external object is. In addition to touching an instrument, musicians must also be able to feel themselves in contact with the chair or the floor. More examples of exteroception are any time we use our eyes to look at the conductor, the score, or the piano, or any time we hear anything. Tasting and smelling are less important to us as musicians.
Proprioception - the ability to sense its position and movement in space
Its purpose is to help maintain balance, position, and smooth movements of the body. It relies on sensory receptors in muscles, tendons, and joints that monitor muscle contractions and joint positions, and detect movement. It's essential for smooth and precise movements without relying on visual cues. Any time a person plays the piano without looking at the hands, we are using proprioception.
Interoception - the ability to sense internal states and conditions within the body.
Its purpose is to provide awareness of physiological processes like hunger, thirst, heart rate, and breathing. It also provides sensations of emotions and musical expression, such as the difference we feel when playing pieces by different composers. The mechanism relies on sensory signals from internal organs and tissues such as the fascia. Examples include the idea that the arm is heavy, the weight behind the fingertips, feeling your heartbeat, feeling breath, and feeling tension/relaxation. Note that we need this in order to sense the differences in our bodies before and after Timani exercises.
Perception - the process of interpreting sensory information (all our sensory input) to understand the external or internal stimuli based on previous experience. Perception is both selective and personal. It is critical for decision making, awareness, and interacting with the world. Examples include recognizing a friend's face or interpreting a loud noise as thunder. For musicians, examples include perceiving a performance or a certain type of music as pleasant or unpleasant, recognizing a piece of music or a genre, or sensing when the body is aligned and playing freely. Throughout the study of Timani, the perceptions of our bodies might change, which gives us more options.
In summary, the body has sensory nerves in the skin, around the muscle cells, in the eyes, ears, tongue, nose, and fascia, that informs the brain what's going on inside and outside the body. These sensations are interpreted based on previous experience and create our perception of our internal and external sense of reality. A clear perception of the body is important for creating accuracy of movements. What we don't feel, we cannot change or control. Playing an instrument requires a high degree of movement accuracy, and therefore a clear perception of the body. While most sensory information happens in the subconscious brain, we can enhance awareness skills through the appropriate exercises for our personal needs and our instrument.
Week 5: Bouncy With Fingers
This exercise makes it more comfortable to come into the bottom of the key, release the arm, and become more flexible in the wrist. Place the fingertips of the four long fingers onto an elevated surface, like the top of an open fallboard. With firm knuckle joints, hang your arm from the fingertips. Slowly, from the outermost knuckle joints, pull your heavy and relaxed arm upwards. The arm follows the fingertips.Once you can do this, using the same muscles, bounce up and down. Check that all knuckles are rounded, especially the bridge, and that full arm weight is released.
To help release the arm weight, practice the self bottle exercise. After this, try playing octaves, repetitive chords, or scales.
Video Resource 4: DIP Tune-Up
There are the bridge knuckles, the outermost knuckle joints, and the middle knuckle joints. With a stabilizing hand, place 2nd and 3rd fingers behind a middle knuckle joint of the opposite hand. Place the thumb in front. Holding the middle knuckle joint completely stable as a brace, activate the outermost knuckle joint twice, as close as you can get to 90°. Go firmly all the way down, and come back up slowly. Repeat on all 8 long fingers. This can be helpful because we tend to be overactive in the middle knuckle joints.Week 6: Applying Anatomy to Musicianship
Practicing your instrument is a neurological process that involves your brain and body. 1. Practice safety. Consciously practice reducing stress and keep a solution oriented attitude.
2. Practice compassion and understanding. Be mindful and patient while learning.
3. Use your knowledge of what you're asking your brain and body to do to evaluate the problem.
In other words, collaborate with yourself rather than judge yourself.
4. Practice awareness. Warm up your body by activating muscles instead of just thinking about it.
Practicing is a neurological and physical process.
5. Be a mindful and critical thinker to see what works for you today in your development.
Week 6: The Transverse Abdominis
We need a lot of stability to have freedom. To have free arms and hands, we need a stable core. This exercise will highlight the specific muscle we need in the belly.
Find your sit bones and make sure you are not leaning backwards, which activates the six pack. Find the bone sticking out in front of the pelvis on the side. Place the bottom of your fist on this bone and push 2 fingers into the belly. With the other hand, passively monitor the lower belly. Relax the belly out, and then push the belly button towards the spine. If you go too far, your chest will rise. You simply want to activate the transverse abdominis from 20-40%. Your two fingers should be able to feel that the transverse abdominis has become firm. Engage this muscle and breathe, feeling how the rib cage moves. This should feel like an expansion of the rib cage while you still have stability in the belly.
At the piano, repeat the process to find your transverse abdominis. Next, push your knee forwards and explore if this can help you keep the transverse abdominis active. Relax the arms in the lap. Feel how the transverse abdominis supports as you lift your arms to the keyboard. Without this engagement, the shoulders must be more active when bringing the arms to the keyboard. This is the number one offloading exercise for the shoulders and arms.
Video Resource 1: Breathing Rotator Cuff
In squeezing the bagpipe bag (adduction), you have to pull the arm towards the body. Many muscles activate in order to do this. The most eager muscle is the front chest muscles, which you can feel by gripping the front of your chest from the armpit (pectoralis). To activate this muscle, push your hand into your knee. For most instruments, this should be totally relaxed. It cannot relax completely for the bagpipe or the accordion, but it is still being overactivated.Next, grab the muscles from the armpit to your back. These muscles (rotator cuff) are both smaller/more accurate and built for more endurance. Once again, push your hand into your knee, but by activating the rotator cuff. You should be able to feel an opening in the chest and an activation of the serratus anterior, which will make breathing more effortless.
We want to create a circle of tension that goes around the back, and connects to the arms.
To practice the arm diamond, place your hands together with the fingertips pointing upwards, like a prayer position. Push both hands away from the body to get a more rounded shape in the arms, and then place them upwards in front of the face. If you press the thumbs together, you should be able to feel an activation of the pectoralis, in the front of the shoulder. As you roll the pressure towards your fifth fingers, you should be able to feel that you're activating the rotator cuff in the back of the shoulder instead. Move one elbow upwards at a time so that the forearms are bobbing up and down like a little boat. This motion should allow you to feel that the shoulders are relaxed, while tension is maintained from the rotator cuffs and triceps.
Video Resource 2: Breathing Serratus Anterior
Place hands on under the armpits on upper ribs, making sure not to push the chest bones forwards. Breathe in such a way that you can feel this expansion into the side of the chest. This activates the serratus anterior, which stabilizes the shoulder blade and chest from below; otherwise, the levator scapula holds everything up from above. When the levator scapula is released, the shoulders are freer for more effortless piano playing or bowing.
Video Resource 5: Breathing Psoas Major
Place one hand on the upper chest and one hand on the lower back. Breathe in such a way that you can feel these hands expanding away from one another at the same time. Feeling this diagonal breathing activates the psoas major, which is attached from the spine at the lowest rib, moving forward from the vertebrae and crossing the hip joint, coming to the surface at the groin, and then attaches to the inside of the upper thigh. It is the only muscle connecting the upper and lower body. It is connected through fascia in the front of the back with the diaphragm, our main inhalation muscle. As you breathe in, feel a lengthening in the body. The chest should rise, the lower back should be engaged, and you should feel connected to your legs. As the psoas stabilizes the spine, the bow arm can become more heavy. The psoas stabilizes the front of the spine while the multifidus stabilizes the back of the spine. The five lowest vertebrae is only supported by these muscles; above, there is the ribcage, and below is the pelvis.
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Q&A 1: 01 Feb 2026
Put most simply, Timani is the connection between the body and making music; it bridges the gap between body awareness and music technique. The opposite of unwanted tension is not relaxation; Timani seeks to destroy the myth of relaxation. The opposite of tension is to put the tension where it is healthy. While relaxation is important, it's not the only answer to unwanted tension. We need to warm up to wake up the nervous system so that our brains can coordinate better.
In Timani, there's an emphasis on the "push-off," in which we rise up against gravity, activating uprising systems. This is the opposite of bearing down, where everything goes in the same direction. When babies first sit up, they are practicing push-off. Timani has 100 exercises, but they all build on the same principles. Once the coordination is established, it becomes the norm, and you don't need the exercise anymore.
Another core concept in Timani is the chocolate covered caramel (as described above).
Lesson:
The question I posed was how to be quick, or how to get more speed in the fingers. In order to be quick, we need to practice quickness! We need to both press down and lift up very effectively. Because I play with a curved hand position, I do have my intrinsic hand muscles available. We need to practice the quickness of going down and up.
If you have any actual pain in the forearm, do not do this exercise. Listen to the body and don't overdo this exercise. It can be done for warming up, and it can be done a few times throughout the day, but not for more than 30 seconds at a time.
Rest the hand on a flat surface. Preparatory exercise - extend all of the fingers lightly but quickly so they're just flying up. The fingers extend with the arm following.
Next, to practice the fast finger extension, we will do this again while one of the 4 long fingers points straight down into the table top at the same time. Go from a relaxed position to this position as quickly as possible. The wrist should stay below the bridge, and all fingers should be straight. The hand will appear to be standing on one finger.
Once this feels natural, the next step is to practice this same exercise with the fast finger release, in which the extended position is attained and also released very quickly, one finger at a time. Check that the wrist always remains below the bridge and that all fingers are straight. For the first iteration, pause after the fast finger extension. Then repeat with the extension and immediate release.
Relax your hands in your lap and feel that your intrinsic hand muscles have worked. You might feel warmth, tingling, or fatigue. This indicates activation.
Separately, the exercise for the thumb is called the peacock. The thumb extends straight downwards while all other fingers extend upwards. The angle between the thumb and second finger should be very opened. We are practicing the quickness of the muscle so our hands don't get stuck hovering with tension. We don't want to hit the key from above, which doesn't give us the control of the key. Doing this exercise is a step towards walking along the bottom of the key with releasing the weight of the arm.
Before I did the exercise, my hands were too loose, with motion coming from above. This makes it difficult for the finger to know where the bottom of the key is. After the exercise, I had more activity in my fingers, I stayed closer to keyboard, and I was more efficient.
Q&A 2: 01 Mar 2026
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Q&A 3: 01 Apr 2026
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Q&A 4: 01 May 2026
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Q&A 6: 01 Jul 2026
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