Musicians with Dystonia Bulletin Board

Yes, but not moving it before you need to (you could simply rest it all the time, which is also helpful, but I think this technique is better for easons below) and the crucial thing is that sensation of touch on the fingertip, a kind if jolt to the senses. So its almost like you are going to play with that finger, but then stop immediately as it touches, then continue with the other fingers.

"Sort of like teaching a child to walk with, then without holding his hand."

Sort of, but here we are introducing an interruption into an established pattern that is incorrect. A child learning to walk is a blank canvas. Remember, any motor skill (like driving a car) is based on a series of interconnected movements that are learned, grouped together and then filed away as a sequence in our unconcious.

The moment the compensatory finger touches down is an opportunity for the brain to re learn something, and you learn your way out of focal dystonia, it is the only way. Whereas normally that finger would curl in, you are suddenly introducing sensory information that tells the brain exactly where it is, this means the motor sequence is up for reprogramming. The interruption is the key.

Imagine if you were driving along with your eyes on the road (everything happening automatically) and you go to change gear but your passenger grabs your wrist before you reach the gearstick. What would that do? It would cause confusion, it would interrupt the pattern, something is not right, it brings the whole sequence back to the conscious level, where are we? what went wrong?

"Can you maybe describe what you mean by the "right mindset"?"

Do this too quickly and you miss the point and the benefit, do it with the compensatory finger tensing rigidly against the string and it will get you nowhere. Physical exercises alone do not cure focal dystonia, its what you make of them that is the key.

Do it slowly, do it gently, if the compensatory finger is tensing, back off to the point, however slow or quiet, where you can really feel the gentle touch of your compensatory finger, and how it helps your brain understand that this is NOT the finger that is now going to play.