From: "sook" Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.piano Subject: Boy my arm hurts!! Date: 8 Apr 1999 03:04:12 GMT I am currently working on the big Polonaise. (Chopin A-flat). It's all coming well, except for the descending sixteenth-note octave 'things' I can keep them quiet and even, my arm just becomes very sore after a while. I'm trying to keep as loose as possible in the wrist but it still locks up!! Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.piano Subject: Re: Boy my arm hurts!! Date: Thu, 08 Apr 1999 00:54:41 -0700 If you are talking about the left hand octaves (the choo-choo train pattern), imagine that you are casting a spell with your left hand, or stirring a pot with your hand held open, or swimming a tiny little breast stroke. Your left forearm and hand will be moving in a kind of an elliptical orbit. The point is that the arm will move your hand where it needs to be. If you are thinking of the up and down work of playing each individual octave and then moving to the next note, you will never be able to play this at the speed that you want to ultimately achieve in this passage. Allow yourself to play this passage very sloppy but with this elliptical arm motion. You should begin to feel that it can happen in a fairly relaxed way. Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.piano Subject: Re: Boy my arm hurts!! Date: Thu, 08 Apr 1999 12:05:05 GMT A couple of weeks ago, I casually mentioned to the Class Piano II prof that my arm hurt. I was surprised at her immediate reaction. She said I was sitting too low. So she put two stackable chairs on top of each other and had me sit. Immediate relief. I now use a cushion on my piano bench. Also my playing confidence improved immediately (I'm not focussing on piano at the moment).