Sharps

3. CONTACT: HEELS TOGETHER WHEN TOES SPAN UP TO A FOURTH ON SHARPS

With the knees together, use contact between the feet for reference. Place the heels together, and then use a “scissor” motion of the toes to measure the intervals of a second, third, and fourth. Separate the heels to reach intervals of a fifth and larger, but bring them back together for those smaller than a fifth.

When using contact, divide up the angles between the feet. Do not let one ankle do most of the twisting.

Keep contact between the feet for these intervals whenever both feet are active. Contact is not necessary when one of the feet is inactive. The purpose of this “heel-heel” contact is to help each foot locate keys by using the other foot for reference. If a foot does not need to locate keys, it does not benefit from the contact. Instead, suspend the foot over the keys, place it on an expression pedal, or rest it hanging on the bar underneath the bench.