Date: Tue, 30 May 1995 10:16:00 +0100
From: Michael Krugman <myriad@PANIX.COM>
Subject: piano posture

>       Hello from another lurker!
>       Could someone knowledgable in kinesiology, anatomy, posture,
>       Alexander Technique etc. etc. as well as piano technique
>       discuss posture as it relates to a healthy and effective
>       approach to the piano from a physiological standpoint?
>       TIA,
>       Kathie

One of the most important principles of body movement and posture for piano
players is that your entire body must move in a coordinated way as you
play.

To get a sense of this through your own experience, you can try the
following simple experiment. (You have to actually do this--just reading
the words won't give you the sense of it.)

Sit at your piano keyboard (This will work at a computer, too--hint, hint!)
with your hands in your lap. Several times, *slowly* raise your hands to
the keys as if to play, and then lower them to your lap again. Take careful
note of whether your arms feel light and easy to manage, or heavy and
cumbersome when you do this.

Now slouch, so that your lower back rounds backwards and your weight shifts
more towards the rearward part of your buttocks. Remaining slouched, raise
your arms to the keys and lower them several times. Again, see how it
feels. Light and easy, or heavy and cumbersome?

Now sit rigidly erect (however you interpret those words is fine for our
purposes) and do the same, slowly raising and lowering your arms. Light and
easy, or heavy and cumbersome?

Finally, sit again with your hands in your lap. Before raising your arms,
slouch slightly, and look at your hands. Now, begin raising your arms, and
at the same time begin to unslouch yourself, as if you were going to sit
erect. Follow your hands with your eyes. Try to synchronize the movement,
so it takes the same amount of time to raise your arms, head and eyes, as
it does to move from a slouch to sitting upright. Then reverse the
direction of the movement, lowering your arms, head and eyes, and slouching
your torso. Do this several times, slowly and gently, till you get the hang
of it.

Of all these variations, which one feels best? Which one allows you to
raise your arms to the keyboard with the least strain and effort?

Most people discover that the last variation, in which the arms are raised
and lowered by the combined action of the pelvis, trunk, and head, produces
the easiest, least effortful movement of the arms. This is because the main
effort of the movement is generated not by the relatively small and weak
muscles of the arms alone, but also by the more powerful central muscles of
the hips and torso. This leaves the arms free to do more highly articulated
movements, to carry the hands where they need to go with the lightness and
ease of movement, the exquisite sensitivity, that is necessary to produce
great music. This quality of movement also goes a long way toward reducing
the strain and fatigue that can accompany long hours of practice, and the
stresses of performing.

Do the movement a few more times, spontaneously, raising your arms to the
keys and lowering them any way that comes naturally to you. Do your arms
feel a little lighter, more freely mobile, than the first time you did it?
If so, then you have learned something new about how to use your body.

This is just a simple, rather one-dimensional example of a way in which you
can improve your body-coordination as you play the piano. There are many
other movements in all dimensions that can be clarified to help you play
easily and well. I hope this gives you a taste of what is possible.

It has been my observation that there is a often a clear correlation
between a musician's posture and body movement, and the quality of sound
produced. I recently attended a concert by a world-class pianist whose
rigidly upright posture was, unhappily, reflected in the harsh, strident
tones he produced when playing in the middle register. Curiously, it was in
the high treble and deep bass notes that his tone became more agreeable, as
he was forced to relinquish some of the rigidity of his upright sitting
posture in order to reach the upper and lower registers.

BTW, the principles that I have suggested here are fully applicable to
computer keyboard and mouse users. The physical demands of computer use are
different only by degree, IMHO.

Michael Krugman, M.A.
Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner
myriad@panix.com