Practice and Training in Bimanual Coordination Tasks: Strategies and Constraints

There are a number of structural constraints on the coordination of the two hands. Understanding bimanual coordination involves not only identification of these constraints but also how they can be overcome or modulated. The performance of polyrhythms has been used to examine these issues. In this article the constraints on coordination are outlined and research on the acquisition of polyrhythms is reviewed. It is suggested that the constraints on the production of multifrequency ratios are overcome by integrating the timing of the two hands. Oscillator models of coordination are then considered and a two-process model of motor timing is suggested.