Exercises To Strengthen Hand Independence & Improve Coordination

Beat Juggling involves the right and left hands doing two separate things at the same time. For example, your right hand may be pulling the record back to a specific spot, while your left hand is stopping the record incrementally. This is otherwise known as hand independence.
Although it’s virtually impossible to cover every hand technique involved in beat juggling, I will explain a couple of drills that will help you during your training.

1. Invert your movements.Anything you learn from left to right, you must also master from right to left. The goal here is to achieve balance between both your limbs. Doing so will allow you to execute your juggle patterns with the necessary accuracy. Regardless of the direction your hands need to move.

2. Simultaneously tap and rewindWithout sound, learn how to rewind the left turntable with your left hand, while you tap the opposite turntable with your right hand. Once you feel comfortable, reverse roles. As with patting your head and rubbing your stomach, it’s when you are least focused on what you’re trying to achieve and your hands are moving in autopilot, that you’ll succeed incorporating both hands during a juggle when sound is actually playing.

Once you’ve mastered hand independence, the coordination it takes to control a beat juggle pattern for a long period of time becomes such second nature, that you won’t think about it as you’re doing it. You just put your hands on the turntables and move!