Edwin Ward Jackson

“ Many books have been written on gymnastics, but I am not acquainted with one which treats of the gymnastical exercise of the fingers. Why these important members of the human body should until now have been so much overlooked and neglected, it is difficult to understand. For, as Professor Richter in Dresden says, “Next to the more powerful development of the brain, it is almost exclusively the structure and skill of the fingers and hand which raises man above the brute, and has made him ruler of the earth.” ”

“ ARTISTS AND TEACHERS OF MUSIC.
If any one should say that he has diligently studied the piano and violin after the method used at present, and in course of time has learned and taught it with the greatest success, without having found it necessary to trouble himself about any other system, my reply is, that music is one of the most beautiful, and with respect to muscular work, the most difficult of arts, and that all the arts and sciences, music not excepted, have made enormous strides in advance during the present century. ”

“ If it should be objected that the last-mentioned gymnastic exercises, being of rather a rough kind, might spoil the elegant stroke, my answer is, that those so-called rough exercises only last a very short time daily, and are undertaken for the special purpose of rendering the arm and wrist strong, easy, even, and flexible. ”

“ Many presidents and teachers of the most celebrated gymnastic institutions have, therefore, come to the determination to introduce into their establishments these exercises in addition to the other branches of gymnastic training. Their practical utility for all those who work with their fingers, for anatomists, surgeons, sculptors, watchmakers, and many others, is as evident as their salutary effect;—from a medical point of view, in curvature and paralysis of the hand and forearm, in weakness of the muscles and nerves, writers’ cramp, and similar complaints,—is undeniable. ”

“ Any man, having to perform hard physical labour, must exercise his muscles gymnastically, and every one ought to exercise those particular limbs the use of which is most necessary for his profession.
And more than any one else, the teachers of music have to experience the consequences of a want of skill and strength in the hands of many learners, and they know how greatly a systematic educational training of the fingers and hands for the execution of the more delicate movements is needed at all times. ”

“ But the regular exercise of the whole or part of them, daily, will, in a comparatively short time, most surely impart immense strength to, and render flexible, the muscles and joints of the fingers; will enable you, if the directions be duly followed, to effect for yourself perfectly equal and even fingering, and render the fingers entirely independent one of another. ”

“ The unequal length of the fingers is well adapted for the taking hold of spherical forms, and the fingers being bent towards the hollow of the hand and held together, encloses an empty space, which is shut by the thumb serving as a lid. The wrist of the hand, having a circular shape, and being composed of several bones, is much less exposed to the danger of being broken, than if one single curved bone were to take its place. Its cavity, which by strong transversal ligaments is transformed into a ring, protects the bending tendons of the fingers from pressure and friction. ”

“ It ought to be remembered that in almost all kinds of handiwork in daily life, the whole arm is active and in motion, and very rarely the wrist alone. With musical instruments, on the contrary, and particularly in playing the violin, it is necessary always to use the wrist, and it is impossible to play well unless the wrist has been rendered strong and elastic. It is, therefore, absolutely indispensable that proper gymnastic exercises should be made with the wrist, in order to prepare it. ”

“ The skeleton of the hand, consisting of 27 bones and moved by 40 muscles, most ingeniously combines firmness with pliant flexibility, is equally fit for rough work and the most subtle occupation, and corresponds in its well-balanced mechanism with that mental superiority through which man, amongst all creatures the poorest in means of defence, becomes the ruler of living and inanimate nature. ”

“ The firm connection between the middle hand and the wrist renders possible the actions of stemming and hurling with the hands, and the longitudinal curve of the separate bones of the middle hand, as well as their lying one at the side of the other, and convexly towards the back of the hand, facilitates the forming of the cavity of the hand. The great moveability of the fingers, and the many possible combinations of their relative positions, have made them the instruments of language by signs. ”

“ Many persons, who zealously and with endurance perform finger-exercises on musical instruments, injure their health, through the irritation of the auditory nerves, to such a degree, as either to be prevented, on medical authority, from continuing to practise, or otherwise to be subjected to serious consequences; whereas, if the exercises are preceded by the gymnastic movements given above, the hearing organs of the pupil will be greatly spared, and not injured in any way. ”

“ MECHANICAL FINGER-EXERCISES (CONTINUED) .
Moreover, beautiful works of art, like pianofortes, violins, and other musical instruments, ought not to be used as gymnastic implements. They are destined for play, not for gymnastic appliances. The fingers and joints ought, therefore, first to be gymnastically exercised; then play upon the instrument.
The head and the fingers ought to go together; but how is this possible if the latter remain behind? The mind strives forward, the fingers keep it back. Why should this torture be inflicted? No; let the fingers first be properly trained ”

“ In the case of men who only write, and women who sew, or do other fine work, the great disadvantages arising from the special pressure in individual groups of muscles will be altogether avoided; and I regard it as extremely probable that your gymnastics will diminish or entirely remove many disorders, such as writing-cramp, contortions, &c. ”

“ In short, all the thousandfold occupations of the hand which necessity commands and the mind develops, and which are an exclusive prerogative of man, become practicable through the wonderful structure of this instrument. ”

“ Strength and power impart agility and quickness. This every physician and every sensible man knows.
A soldier only becomes fit for his work after the muscles of his body have been gymnastically attended to and developed. ”

“ THE PRINCIPAL DIFFICULTY DOES NOT CONSIST IN THE READING OF MUSIC, BUT IN THE WEAKNESS OF THE FINGERS.
In the opinion of many, the chief difficulty to be overcome in studying music consists in learning to read it. ”

“ No student ought to begin to learn or to play the piano, violin, or other musical instrument, or even to engage in any work or occupation requiring a strong and flexible hand, before having set the joints of his fingers and hands in order, by means of preparatory gymnastic exercises ”

“ I thereupon visited houses and institutions where men do work with their fingers, viz., where carvers in wood and ivory, in steel, copper, and stone, painters and draughtsmen, watchmakers and fine mechanists, spinners and weavers, printers and compositors, &c., drive their trade, and after that, people who are in the habit of writing much, and even the whole day, such as authors, copyists, clerks, stenographers, lithographers, as well as sempstresses and workwomen;—in short, all those who have much finger-work, or earn their living by their fingers. ”

“ July 22nd, 1865.
“I believe that Mr Jackson’s simple but ingenious contrivance will be highly beneficial for the musical student, and contribute to the clearness of touch and independence of the fingers. Experiments on a large scale, and in schools where music is taught, would still more contribute to acquaint the public with his clever and useful invention.” ”

“ An untrained hand will either remain clumsy in these branches of work, or it will soon fail through over-exertion, which causes a peculiar kind of paralysis, connected with cramp, and well known to writers (the so-called writers’ cramp) , but which also affects musicians, artists, shoemakers, tailors, sempstresses, and other working people. Certain it is, that if this matter had been inquired into before, and public attention directed to it, a great deal of trouble and vexation in learning music might have been saved ”

“ If, therefore, the student be tired of one exercise, he should begin another. Besides, if the fingers are fatigued and hot by playing, and the nerves irritated, an exercise of some of the different free or mechanical gymnastic appliances will refresh the muscles, by imparting to them a new and an easier movement. ”

“ Having carefully examined the gymnastic exercises invented by Mr Edwin Ward Jackson for the due working of the fingers and hand, I have great pleasure in stating that I believe that such exercises will be of the greatest use, not only to musicians, but to every one who wishes to possess a perfectly free use of his hands. ”

“ Another most effective mode of stretching and loosening the tendons and ligaments which encompass the large middle-hand bones, or “knuckles,” may be performed as follows:
Place the forefinger of each hand, up to the middle joint, firmly on the table, and in that position press it up and down with a certain degree of force, for a few seconds; then withdraw it, and apply the next finger in a precisely similar manner; then the two other fingers in succession, each finger remaining on the table alone, unaccompanied by any other. ”

“ The representatives of this art, professional musicians and teachers of music, are generally the most active and often the most educated men, who devote their lives to the art, and promote it in a way which is hardly acknowledged sufficiently by the musical world. ”

“ Anatomists and physicians of great eminence have observed to me, “Your anatomical researches have solved some important questions long held in dispute by physiologists, and are of great practical value.” ”

“ The most highly honoured, however, are those who have made the greatest progress in theory and in practice, or who have readily and generously acknowledged such progress, from whatever direction it might come. ”

“ The most ancient forms of measurement have, therefore, been taken from the length of the several subdivisions of the hand. The capability of the hand of assuming the hollow shape of a spoon, and of being stretched like a shovel, determines its use for gathering and for turning up matter. ”

“ I feel satisfied that your very ingenious yet simple invention for the exercise and strengthening of the fingers to the players of wind instruments will be of the greatest value, as flexibility and strength can be obtained even though the instrument may not be at hand ”

“ The greatest technical art consists in controlling alike the fingers, the joints, and the nerves. Now, if the muscles and tendons are exercised and strengthened by proper physical work, the nerves will be invigorated at the same time. ”

“ Mr Jackson from England delivered a lecture upon gymnastics of the fingers and wrist. The fatigue which immediately attended the playing on the violin late in life, incident even to a person strong and athletic in all other respects, led him to the discovery, after lengthened investigations, first, that the fingers are the least exercised of all the active muscles of the human body ”

“ There is another very effective gymnastic exercise for strengthening and rendering flexible the wrist of the right hand. A movement resembling it has already been described above, but to prevent any misconception, I think it well to give explicit directions respecting it here. ”