The TuneUp Program

Kinematics is the study of human movement

It's analysis examines the types of motions possible at particular joints and the muscles that make them possible. The guitarist needs to move and when he or she can obey the same rules as everyone else we'll be better off.

Biomechanics examines the various mechanical forces that the human body is subject to.

Force is defined by vectors that have both magnitude and direction. If we are examining for example the force required to play a downstroke then we can define a force vector whose direction is down in a straight line and magnitude is dependent on the tension of the string and the attack and volume required from the note.

Occasionally force vectors are more complex and require the combining of a number of component vectors. For example you hit a golf ball and it travels initially in a straight line in the direction that you hit it. Eventually however the force of gravity starts to bring it back down but not in a straight line. The combination of gravity and it's own momentum bring the ball down in an arc. If there is a cross-breeze then we have a third vector in the mix which takes the ball of the fairway all together. Fretting a note culminates in a resultant force directly down onto the fretboard but this apparently simple movement is merely the end result of forces that create tension in the arm, the hand and the finger, each with their own component vector.

The human skeleton is made up of series of levers, the muscles and connective tissue act as pulleys causing the skeleton to move. Each muscle crosses at least one joint with one bone, or lever arm, remaining still and the other moving around the joint in what we call a rotation movement, like the hands of a clock. The linear force produced by the muscle translates into a circular motion at the end of the mobile lever arm. Two types of forces are at play here. Firstly the muscle is pulling the two bones together, producing what we call a compression force at the joint, secondly because of the muscle attaches slightly distal to the joint it also wants to shear the two bones apart in a direction perpendicular to pure compression. The combination of these two forces produces the circular movement.

So while the skeleton moves and the muscles produce the force to make it happen it is the connective tissue that bears the loads. As two bones are being compressed together and sheared apart the connective tissue pulley needs to be strong enough to maintain the stability of the system. For this to happen it is under constant surveillance by the brain, becoming stronger and thicker the more it is used while getting weaker when it is used less in a process called creep. It's thought that when it doesn't have the chance to rest it doesn't self-repair and is subjected to repeated micro-traumas. This is why the term Cumulative Trauma Disorders is more accurate than overuse injuries although both are commonly used.

Understanding Kinematics and Biomechanics will offer the guitarist a number of advantages.

• By reducing mechanical loads we can reduce the amount of force required to move them.
• This will reduce the amount of energy required and therefore metabolic activity and biochemical waste.
• It will reduce the degree of strain on the connective tissue in particular, drastically reducing the likelihood of overuse injury.
• It will allow us to find postures and techniques that allow our hands easier, more fluent access to the instrument.
• It makes it possible to play with a greater degree of relaxation because we aren't working so hard.