Grounding Roots 2 :: StringQuest

Grounding Your Roots Exercise

The PLAYER’S BOX

Materials: Teachers will need a roll of masking tape.

Preparation: Clear a large area, moving any instruments, cases, music stands, and chairs, aside in order to form an unobstructed open space.

Create one centrally located player’s box for demonstration purposes. You also may find it useful to prepare additional player’s boxes in order to accommodate larger classes.

Create four 12 inch boxes.

Keep the Player’s Box simple.

The teacher should guide the class through the exercises by reading the following steps aloud.

STEP ONE

Be Silent
Place your left foot in the top left box and your right foot in the top right box.
Be balanced with a well grounded and poised stance!
Stand up straight with good posture.
Keep your shoulders directly over your feet.
Remain relaxed and focus your eyes straight ahead.
Allow your body to feel like you are lightly floating over your feet.

Your shoulders will make a straight line.

This is called your — SHOULDER HORIZON.

STEP TWO

Remain Silent.
Close your eyes and focus your attention to the contact that your feet are making with the floor.
Sense the floating of your Horizon directly above your feet.
Breathe normally. Stand strong, relaxed and flexible.
Keep your eyes closed and prepare to take a mental note.
Now, register how this relaxed, poised and balanced stance feels.
Focus your attention on this comfortable and confident sensation for 5 seconds.
Now open your eyes.

Congratulations! You learned to Ground Your Roots and to Register How Something Feels.

What did you learn?

The purpose of the exercise was to help you establish doing something relatively simple: standing well and sensing your feet. This is a basic stance.

The roots are the tree’s foundation and your feet are yours. In order to create the correct playing stance, your feet must be securely under you. Your shoulder- horizon must remain supported by your body.

The mental note you took while doing the exercise allowed you to learn how to intentionally create a relaxed, balanced physical state of poise and remember this “feel.” The feel of being at ease and balanced was registered while your eyes were closed, making it possible to recreate this feel whenever you are playing.

Becoming masterful at retrieving this “feel-mental-file,” will increase your sense of being poised and confident. This allows you to perform comfortably.

When sitting to play, the same physical need to be poised and well grounded is paramount.