Part 3

Put your right hand and arm down at your side, fingers extended. Keeping the elbow and upper arm close to the body, bend the arm briskly at the elbow, still keeping the hand open, and in a straight line with the forearm. Repeat this exercise twelve times with the palm of the hand turned toward the shoulder, and twelve times with the palm of the hand turned away from the shoulder.

Now raise the upper arm, so that the elbow bends slightly upward from the shoulder. Repeat the same bending action of the elbow twenty times. The position of the hand is immaterial in this exercise.

Go through these motions with the left arm.

EXERCISE 6.

Hold your left hand up in front of you with the palm facing you. Press the index finger and the middle finger tightly together. Bring the two still held tightly together down to the palm, and then back straight again, quickly, briskly and with muscular resistance. The motion should be from the knuckle joint. Naturally the other fingers will have a tendency to curl. It makes no difference if they do. Repeat this exercise twenty times.

Next practice this exercise using the middle and the ring fingers pressed together, letting the little finger and the index finger remain as straight as possible.

Do the same exercise with the little finger and the ring finger together.

These same motions should be gone through with the right hand.

EXERCISE 7.

Bring the finger tips of the right hand together with the tip of the thumb, spreading the fingers at the middle knuckle and rounding the whole back of the hand. From this position snap the whole hand out flat, with the fingers spread wide apart. Do this forcibly. Quickly return to the original position and repeat the exercise twelve times.

This same exercise is to be performed with the right hand.

EXERCISE 8.

Raise your left arm so that the elbow is sticking out in front of you almost as high as the shoulder. Bend the arm at the elbow, so that the forearm reaches straight up in the air. Close your hand loosely. With a rotating movement of the upper arm, bring your fist down as low as it will go, still keeping the elbow at the same spot. Return to the original position. Repeat this exercise twelve times. At first it will be advisable to do this rather slowly and without too great effort, because of considerable strain in the region of the shoulder blade. Later, as the muscles become stronger and more supple, you can increase the speed and the intensity of the effort.

Repeat the same exercise with the right arm.

EXERCISE 9.

Stand straight with the arms down at your side. Double up your right fist. Keeping the arms straight, swing it back as far as possible and then front until it is directly overhead. Just the same as you do when you swing your arm in walking, only more so. Continue swinging the arm this way, but instead of swinging it back at your side, move it around, so that your arm finally swings up across the chest to the overhead position. The idea is to swing it, changing the plane gradually so that you pass through all the different positions between the side plane and the chest plane.

Repeat the same motions with the left arm.

Standing straight in military position as above, raise your right arm straight out from the shoulder, fist closed. Without bending the elbow, swing the arm back and forth as far as possible, on a level with the shoulders. Raise the arm a little and continue this swinging movement, each time raising it a little higher, then gradually descend passing from the shoulder level and continuing down.

Perform the same exercise with the right arm.

Caution:—These exercises must not be done too strenuously at first, as there is a severe strain on the shoulder blades. After the muscles become a little hardened, you can carry out these exercises with more vigor and about ten times in each of the varying positions.

EXERCISE 10.

Open out the left hand before you, with the fingers close together. Hold the thumb apart. Move the first finger as far toward the thumb and away from the other fingers as possible, and back again. Do this gently and easily five times.

Now let the muscles of the hand and fingers become tense, so that as you draw the finger over towards the thumb with one set of muscles, the opposing set resists the motion. Repeat this ten times.

Go through this same movement with each of the other fingers of the left hand and then with each of the fingers of the right hand.

EXERCISE 11.

Hold out your right hand, the palm facing you. Separate the little finger slightly from the rest. With a brisk, sharp movement, twist the hand at the wrist to the left, so that the little finger moves down as low as possible. Repeat this exercise twelve times.

Perform the same exercise twelve times with the left hand.

EXERCISE 12.

Open the left hand, thumb and fingers, all close together, turning the hand so that the thumb is towards your body and the little finger away from it. Bend the first finger at the knuckle joint, and nowhere else, and bring it down toward the palm of the hand until it is horizontal, that is at right angles to the plane of the palm and the other fingers. If it will not come down of itself, help it a little with the other hand, but be careful not to strain the left hand muscles when you are first starting this exercise. Try not to move the other fingers of the left hand while you are bending the index finger downward. Repeat this motion ten times.

Go through this exercise with each of the other fingers in turn.

The first day you do this exercise, do it without any muscular resistance to the motion. Afterwards, from day to day, add more and more resistance as the fingers become stronger.

EXERCISE 13.

Hold the right hand edgewise before you, the thumb towards the chest. Have the fingers closed tightly together and bring the thumb firmly against the first finger. With a sharp, quick action, open the thumb away from the finger, so that it points over your shoulder; at the same time bending the entire hand sideways at the wrist, bringing the thumb still nearer the shoulder. The movement must be quite snappy to get the desired effect. Repeat twelve times.

Perform this exercise twelve times with the left hand.

EXERCISE 14.

Extend both hands in front of you, palms together; the fingers of each hand held tightly against those of the other; the thumbs separated from the fingers and pointed toward you.

Raise the elbows from the body, then slowly and with muscle resistance, move the palms apart. Leave the fingers together from base to tip. Just as slowly and with muscle resistance, close the palms again. Repeat this exercise five times.

EXERCISE 15.

Hold your left arm across the chest palm up, but with the wrist bent as far down as possible, the fingers easily curled. Place the right arm in a similar position, but with the palm down, having the wrist of the right hand bent upward and fingers similarly curled. Lay the finger tips of the right hand on those of the left. From this position twist the forearms in opposite directions until the finger tips again come together, this time the palm of the right hand bent up, and of the left bent down.

Reverse the motion and repeat the exercise twelve times.

EXERCISE 16.

Extend the left hand and close the fingers down to the palm, keeping the knuckle joints straight and bending only the two outer joints.

Holding the other fingers motionless, straighten out the index finger. You must be careful throughout the entire exercise, never to move the knuckle joint. Repeat five times without muscular resistance, then go through the exercise with the muscles tense, so that one set resists the motion of the other.

Practice this exercise on each of the remaining fingers on the left hand and on all of the fingers of the right.

EXERCISE 17.

Stand erect, shoulders back, and without bending forward, lean far over to the right from the waist line. As you do this, let the right hand bend toward the left knee. While in this position, make a short but strong thrust, entirely from the right shoulder which will bring the fingers of the right hand possibly an inch nearer the left knee. Straighten up, bend to the left and thrust out the left shoulder. Repeat this exercise first with the right and then with the left twelve times.

EXERCISE 18.

Hold the right hand before you, the fingers relaxed, and slightly curved, palm facing you. Grasp the second, third and little fingers gently with your left hand, and bend the forefinger down to the palm from the second joint. Use considerable pressure each time you bring the finger down to the palm and repeat the exercise eight times, allowing the finger to become fully relaxed between each motion.

Repeat this exercise for the middle finger ten times.

For the ring finger, do this exercise twelve times.

For the little finger, do this exercise ten times.

Proceed with the same series of exercises for the left hand.

EXERCISE 19.

Hold your left hand before you, the fingers bent down to the palm, and reaching as far toward the wrist as possible. Extend the first finger. Open gradually so as not to move the others. Do this five times without muscular resistance and five times with.

Go through the same exercise with each of the other fingers.

EXERCISE 20.

Place the hand on any flat surface and keeping it straight, raise the first finger as far as you can from the table. Do not bend any joints save that at the knuckle. Repeat this ten times using increasing muscular resistance.

Perform this exercise with each of the fingers.

EXERCISE 21.

Place the hand on a flat surface with the fingers curved so that just the tips and the base of the palm touch the table. Raise and lower the fingers one after the other slowly and with muscular resistance. Bring the fingers down with considerable pressure each time. Repeat twenty times with each hand.

With the fingers in the same position raise the thumb as high as possible, and bring it down sharply to the table. Repeat twenty times with each thumb.

EXERCISE 22.

Open the left hand with the fingers together but the thumb out of the way. Move the index finger so that the tip of it circles around down toward the palm, over to the thumb, to the back, and returns to the original position. Keep the fingers straight all of the time. Repeat this without muscular resistance five times.

Now stiffen the muscles of the finger, so that one set resists this motion, while the other set overcoming the resistance, causes the finger to circle as before. Repeat five times.

Go through the same exercise with each of the other fingers of the left hand, and then with all of the fingers of the right hand.

EXERCISE 23.

Extend the fingers of the left hand, with the little finger away from you and the thumb opened and pointing away from the palm, that is toward your right. Bring the index finger down until it is at right angles to the palm, bending only at the knuckle joint.

Let the knuckle joint straighten up again and at the same time bend the other two joints of the finger, so that the finger tip goes down to the palm of your hand. Repeat this exercise five times without resistance, and then five times with resistance.

Continue the exercise of each finger of the left and right hands.

EXERCISE 24.

Lay the right hand flat on a table or other hard plane surface, fingers and thumb far out-spread. Press firmly with the whole hand on the table. Continuing this downward pressure, exert an upward pressure against it with the finger tips, and raise the body of the hand about 1½ inches from the table top. Throughout this entire exercise try to keep the back of the hand parallel with the table. After you have reached the desired height, press the hand down to the table top again against muscular resistance. Repeat this exercise ten times.

Perform the same exercise with the left hand.

EXERCISE 25.

Place the elbows at the side, forearms horizontal, with your hands out in front of you. Bend the hands downward at the wrist with the fingers loose and gently curved. Then bend the hands upward from the wrist as far as they will go. This exercise may be done with both hands at the same time. Repeat ten times.

With your forearms extended in front of you, and the hands held straight out, fingers spread wide apart, palms down, move the hands at the wrist slowly from side to side with considerable muscle resistance. Do not move the arm. All motion must be from the wrist, and in a side-wise direction. Repeat ten times.

Extend the forearms and hands in front of you, palms up, with the fingers held close together. Moving from the wrist as a pivot, and from no other joint describe as large a circle as possible with the finger tips using muscular resistance, slowly ten times, then reverse the motion and repeat ten times circling back in the opposite direction.

EXERCISE 26.

Fold the hands together, fingers interlaced. Hold them tightly closed. Now raise the first finger of the right hand and bring it back slowly with muscles tense, just as far as you possibly can, pressing the other fingers hard against the backs of the hands.

Repeat this exercise twelve times for each one of the fingers.

EXERCISE 27.

Extend the left hand before you, fingers close together. Moving only the joint down near the wrist, swing the thumb around in a circle. Do this five times without muscular resistance and five times with.

Repeat this exercise with the thumb of the right hand.

EXERCISE 28.

Lay your right hand, palm down, flat on any plane surface. Press the fingers quite firmly down on the table. Place the forefinger of the left hand on the nail of the forefinger on the right hand with a slight amount of pressure. Raise the forefinger of the right hand as high as possible from the table against this pressure. Keep the forefinger of the right hand straight, save at the knuckle joint, and the other fingers firmly on the table. Return the finger to the table against muscular resistance. Repeat this exercise twenty times.

Go through this same exercise with the other fingers of the right hand, then reverse and proceed with the fingers of the left hand.

Do this exercise with the thumb nail, but instead of having the whole hand flat on the table, have the fingers curl, so that the side of the hand touches the table, and raise the thumb against the pressure of the finger of the opposite hand twenty times.

EXERCISE 29.

Extend both hands in front of you, palms together, the fingers of each hand held tightly against those of the other, the thumbs separated from the others and pointed toward you.

Raise the elbows from the body, then slowly and with muscular resistance move the palms apart, keeping only the tips of the fingers together. Push hard with the finger tips against each other. Just as slowly and with muscle resistance close the palms again. Repeat this exercise five times.

EXERCISE 30.

Extend the left hand and spread the fingers and thumb as far as possible. Slowly, and with muscular resistance, bring the tip of the first finger and the tip of the thumb together, forming a circle. Return to the original position. Repeat ten times.

Do this exercise with each of the other fingers of the left hand, and then with each of the fingers of the right hand.

EXERCISE 31.

Fold your hands together interlaced. Hold them together tightly. Now against muscular resistance, slowly open the palms and the base of the wrist and as slowly close them together again. Repeat this exercise ten times.

FIRST EXAMINATION

1. What time do you practice AUTOMATIC FINGER CONTROL each day?

2. How many times have you missed your practice periods during this first six weeks?

3. Do Exercise No. 1 twenty times with the left hand. Do the muscles between the wrist and elbow feel tired?

4. Take Exercise No. 12 first with the left hand and then with the right. Which muscles feel tired from this?

5. What marked improvement have you already noted from practicing AUTOMATIC FINGER CONTROL?

SECOND EXAMINATION

1. Take Exercise 14. How far apart can you separate the base of the palms without separating the fingers?

2. Which muscles does Exercise 17 tire?

3. Which finger of which hand feels most tired after Exercise 18?

4. Do Exercise 18. How high can you raise the ring fingers?

5. In which muscles have you noted greatest improvement so far?

THIRD EXAMINATION

1. Can you do Exercise 25 without tiring any muscles? If not, which?

2. Do you perform Exercise 30 quickly or slowly?

3. What time each day do you practice AUTOMATIC FINGER CONTROL?

4. How many days have you gone without practicing at all?

5. Just how does having stronger, more supple fingers help you?

FOURTH EXAMINATION

1. Which exercise of this course did you find most difficult?

2. Do you still have trouble with any exercises? Which?

3. Are you able to master your lessons at the instrument more rapidly now than when you took up AUTOMATIC FINGER CONTROL?

4. Take Exercise 16 with muscle resistance, ten times instead of five. Can you do it equally well with each finger?

5. Write me all of the ways in which AUTOMATIC FINGER CONTROL has helped to make a good player of you in shorter time and with less practice at the instrument.

POST SCRIPT

You have something more today than you had six months ago before you took up AUTOMATIC FINGER CONTROL. You have a nest egg. And yet, it is something more valuable, even, than a nest egg in its ordinary sense of capital. You have a specific knowledge and ability and dexterity that can never be taken from you. If you have carried out the exercises of this course in accordance with the instructions, you are already far on the way toward the supreme mastery of your instrument.

We are always glad to hear of this progress from our students. Write us and let us know of the marvelous results attained in your own case.

But capital, to yield returns, must be put to work. And so must your new-found art. You have strengthened and trained your fingers to greater skill than that enjoyed by the average musician. You should take advantage of that fact.

Fundamentally, there is a strong similarity between all of the instruments. They all require the use of the same finger muscles. They all make use of notes.

Herein lies a wonderful opportunity for you to make music more and more valuable and profitable to you as the years go by. You are now ready to take up further musical study. We strongly recommend that each student learn to play not only one instrument, but several. It is not hard with the start you already have. We make very attractive offers to our students who take up the study of a second instrument. If you are in doubt as to what instrument to study next, write us. And sooner or later, you should also study Harmony, Composition and Voice.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling. 2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.