3b. Proprioceptive Training

As already highlighted above, the ability to stay with the mind in the present, that is in the "here and now", is a very important characteristic for the achievement of the flow, which is often difficult for the musician to achieve. How often, during a performance, do you get conditioned by a thought of a previous mistake: "Oh God, I wonder what the audience is thinking", "It's all over now, I'm going to fail this audition"; or you are painfully waiting for the dreaded and studied passage or the super high note: these are thoughts that "nail" a performer to a fact that has already happened, or project him towards an imminent future.

In 2019 I had the wonderful opportunity, after an audition, to attend a one-year orchestra course together with the maestri d'orchestra of the teatro regio in turin. As part of the course, students were given the opportunity to take part in sessions with a psychologist, who would help us improve our mental approach to auditions.
At the first meeting we had with all the wind instruments in the orchestra, I must admit that I was a bit suspicious and presumptuous.
"I already know what he's going to tell us," I said to myself. I was very wrong.
I won't repeat everything he said here, but after the introduction, which made me realise immediately that he was a very knowledgeable and sensitive person, the "exercises" we did together were nothing more than balance or body awareness exercises.
That's how I discovered proprioceptive training.

But if the goal, as we said before, is to stay in the 'here and now', how can these exercises help me? 

Before to answer to this question I would like to explain what proprioception is.

Proprioception training is a type of training widely used in sport, especially surfing, and is based on a complex set of techniques aimed at working on body awareness, as well as on its position and motor possibilities in space, integrating information from different sensory systems: in a nutshell, it involves balance. The proprioceptive system receives information from muscles, tendons and joints through specific receptors that are able to inform spinal and trunk-brain nerve centres at very high speed. At the same time, this system is involved in the effector response, since the possibility of finely modulating the muscular response depends on the neuromuscular spindles. According to the musician's perceptive-cognitive style, proprioceptive training favours the enhancement and strengthening of both the perceptive sensitivity and the way of relating to environmental elements. 

While we do not claim to be great dancers, somehow, most of us are able to execute body movements that require proprioception without much worry. But developing high-level proprioceptive abilities not only will improve your athletic performance (that is always good), but simply make you more flexible and agile no matter what you do.

Moreover, the experience of feeling stable, in balance, will help the mind to stay in the exact moment when the time is passing, without being distracted by what has just been played or what is still to come; in other words, to be more focused on the most important aspect: the music in all its aspects. Let’s learn how.

Who Can Benefit from Proprioception?

Athletes, accident-prone or clumsy individuals, the elderly, those with diseases and even children can benefit from proprioception training. But as you will see, everyone can benefit from proprioceptive work. 

Because proprioceptive signals from the joints, muscles, tendons and skin are essential for movement, the loss of proprioceptive awareness may affect the control of muscle tone, disrupt reflexes and severely impair voluntary movement. Numerous neurological and orthopedic conditions are associated with proprioceptive and kinesthetic impairment, such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease (PD), peripheral sensory neuropathies, or injuries to ligaments, joint capsules and muscles. It makes sense that proprioception training could be beneficial to anyone that has been affected, whether due to injury, birth defects or disease.

As studies suggests, there are ways to improve proprioception, no matter if you’re an athlete or  even having experienced a stroke. People have varying degrees of proprioception awareness. A professional athlete has a high degree of proprioception awareness, but you may know someone who is accident prone — and this could mean that their proprioception awareness is not as developed as it could be. While one’s proprioception may not mirror a professional athlete’s, working on your proprioceptive skills will make a difference in your day-to-day activities.

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Weight shifts

When you're ready to try balance exercises, start with weight shifts:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your weight equally distributed on both legs (A).
• Start to shift your weight from one side to the other by moving your upper body too much.
• The further you go, the greater the length of the shifts. (B)

A)

Balancing Exercises

Good exercises for proprioception development would be activities that challenge balance and equilibrium. Balance exercises help teach your body and brain to control the position of a deficient or an injured joint. A common example of a balance exercise that can help improve proprioception is the use of a balance board. You may need to begin holding onto the wall until you have gained a stronger sense of the intended use of the muscles in order to balance on the board.

LEVEL UP!

Exercises While Closing the Eyes

As you become stronger, you can gain the ability to inform and trust your muscles to perform standing activities with the eyes closed. This enhances the communication between the brain and the muscles so that you are able to perform activities properly without watching the movement take place.

B)

C)

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D)