Piano Technique Photos

Ms. Bruser demonstrates an inefficient posture for playing the piano: Slumping forward cramps arm movement and creates tension in the neck, shoulders, and arms.

In upright posture, the arms can move freely and the head balances easily on top ofthe spine, easing the load on the neck, shoulders, and arms.

Keeping fingers raised above the keys while other fingers are playing requires unnecessary effort from the muscles in the forearm. The excess tension spreads throughout the hand, inhibiting speed and expressiveness.

Letting fingers rest on the keys when they are not playing minimizes tension in the hand and forearm, which increases ease and improves tone quality.

When the wrist is level with the arch of the hand, the fingers need to bend only slightly to depress the keys. This position also allows the weight of the arm to drop directly into the keys, assisting the fingers in producing sound.

Letting the arm move forward to assist a short finger, such as the forth, in pushing down a piano key may raise the wrist momentarily above the arch of the hand. In transferring arm wieght from the forth finger to the fifth, which is even shorter, the arm must move forward farther, causing the wrist to move even higher. Keeping the wrist in a raised position, however, causes strain.