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A QUESTION OF POSTURE

When learning piano, my teacher was forever nagging me about posture which, as a student, I was unable to relate to. What he failed to teach me was the significance, and here, students that learn the significance will understand that the teacher's methods and advice do have significance in a musical career.

SITTING

This really is not a question of etiquette as I had thought. Posture plays a huge part in the ability of a piano player, since in the period of their career, they could be sitting at a piano for hours at a time, and really does play an important role upon the presentation to an audience, as well as having obvious health benefits for the back.

Incorrectly seated pianists can develop back injury, and the most useful position for a pianist is not only gaged by their stance, but also by the height of the keyboard in relation to the height of the stool that the player uses. Differences in height will affect the playing quality and stamina of a musician, and a good way to gage this is to be able to sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor. Reaching of the pedals in important and if stretch is regular in order to reach pedals, the pianist can suffer muscle problems and sciatic nerve damage from strained back action. Sitting sufficiently distanced from the keyboard to be able to reach the keys with the arms in a natural pose is also essential, since sustained playing will stretch the muscles if the arms are placed too far away from the keyboard.

HANDS

The posture of the hands upon the keyboard is essential, since if a player does not achieve the correct position of the hands in the formative years of playing, it is exceedingly difficult to achieve many of the transitional movements required to navigate the keyboard, moving the thumb under the hand during scale work, or in fact during their performance. The ideal position for the hands can be practiced and learned by placing a penny on the back of the hand, and attempting to keep it there while practicing scales. It really is a good exercise and disciplines the player to move their fingers whilst holding their hands in a ready position for major switches that occur in the natural sequence of playing pieces of music that jump from one scale to another within seconds.

When a teacher teaches a child how to sit, and how to use their hand position to enhance their play, this forms part of the maturity process of a player, and really is significant in their development as a pianist.

Learn more about this author, Rachelle de Bretagne.
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