Body Mapping for Conducting

Greetings!

I hope everyone's spring concerts and graduation ceremonies have gone well!

Thanks for joining me for this discussion, which I'm actually quite excited about. I considered breaking it into two parts as the video components take some time, but I figure you can always leave and come back as you wish. Keep in mind the best information is at the end, which is what everything else leads up to!

We're going to talk about the importance of body mapping in conducting. Your body map has a significant impact on your expressive ability, as well as how the motions impact your joints over the long haul.

But wait, what is Body Mapping?

A body map is essentially how your brain thinks your body moves. Notice, it's not how your body moves, but how you think it does. This might seem strange, but as we grow up we examine our movements and create mental maps that stick with us into adulthood. Some people are more successful than others at correctly mapping their skeletal structure as it relates to movement. Some mis-maps are actually quite common, but once corrected you will notice a significant increase in your range of motion and ease of movement.

I was first introduced to body mapping by Pat Sheridan at a breathing gym workshop. After looking into it I realized that even simple things like how a student moves their fingers or places their hand in relation to their wrist (based on their mapping) can have a long term impact on their physical health. Good body mapping of the hands prevents this, and good body mapping of the torso helps facilitate great breathing. I decided I wanted to learn as much as I could and see how I could apply it to playing an instrument as well as marching fundamentals, so I ordered the DVD Move Well, Avoid Injury. I recommend it, but be warned, the presentation, while interesting, can be boring at times.

But that said, the animations they use are fantastic for helping you to understand what's going on. So with that in mind, I'd like to share the video samples they have available on their website and on YouTube. We will only focus on those that relate to the upper body/arms. Feel free to follow along as you watch the videos so that you're checking your own mapping. Make corrections as needed.

I mentioned the hands being important for wind players, so we'll start there. Enjoy!

The Hands

The Wrists

Did you see that last image of the wrist? I wish they had that segment available online, but since they don't I'll have to make a few comments about it.

The first is that your wrist is circular, and it forms a tunnel. Here is another image of the two rows of small bones that make up your wrist. Notice they form an arch around the circle labeled CT. CT stands for Carpal Tunnel. 

The main thing I want you to avoid is moving your wrist in such a way that it squeezes your carpal tunnel. This tunnel is where your nerves travel into/out of your hand, so naturally if you put too much pressure on those nerves, it will hurt. Over a long period of time it can cause damage and continuous pain, which is also known as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. 

Take a moment with your right hand (or conducting hand), and bend your hand to the right until you feel discomfort. That's a lot of what I'm talking about. This afflicts many people who pursue music. Watch your students hand position to see if they're crushing their CT. Percussion specialists know when teaching matched grip to make sure their students aren't doing this, and you should watch for it, too, especially when students are on drum set and the tendency is to play with your palms facing in rather than down. A palms in approach means with every stroke you risk putting too much pressure on your CT. 

Now with your right palm facing in (so that your palm is perpendicular to the ground), pretend that you're holding a baton, and start beating time. I've seen a lot of conductors, particularly of bands, and usually those who aren't concerned about technique, use this conducting technique. You have to be very careful with this kind of grip, as you risk putting pressure on those nerves with every beat, and over a long period of time it could lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. 

So what am I saying? I'm saying... conduct your your palms facing the floor, just like you want your percussionists to keep their palms down. And while you're palms are down, make sure your hand isn't bending further to the right than it should be, so as not to collapse your CT.

You should notice less pain and greater ease of movement with your wrist with every ictus! I made this quick video to show you exactly what I'm talking about.

The Elbow

The wrist is a major joint in the arm. Continuing to move up the arm, the elbow is the next major joint. If you conduct with your palms down (as I think you should), then this video will give you something important to check so that you stay pain and injury free.

The Rest of Your Arm

Your Arm Has Four Joints, Not Three!

We talked about two arm joints (the wrists and elbows). Most people believe that the arm connects to the torso at the shoulder, a third joint, but this is not true. Your shoulders are actually suspended above your rib cage by your collar bone and shoulder blades, and these are actually part of your arm! The only point at which your arms connect to your body at a joint is where your collar bone meets your chest plate (and excuse me for not using technical terms, but I think you'll all understand what I'm talking about). 

The Shoulders Are Suspended, Not Attached!

Here is another quick video from the folks behind Move Well, Avoid Injury, showing you a diagram of this and how your arms should be naturally suspended:

Mapping Arm Movement With All Four Joints

For me personally, thinking of the arm as including my collar bones and shoulder blades was a major change to my body map, and it increased my range of motion because I realized how much more range I had to work with. It also made my arm movements much easier and more efficient. 

Again, the DVD has a fantastic section that shows you how all four joints work together, but since that isn't available on YouTube, I created a video to show you this. Before you watch, check out the diagram on the right which outlines where these four arm joints are, and as we go through the video, try to move your entire arm - with all four joints!

Musically yours,

Mr. Cooper

PS. This month has officially been the second best month the blog has had in terms of views, so thank you again for reading! I hope you find these posts at least interesting, if not helpful. Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks again and take care!