By Cynthia Van Landingham
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The principles of piano technique are not difficult or mysterious. In fact they make
perfect sense, but not in an intuitive way that would make students think of trying them
first. Instead students do what feels "natural" to them not realizing that good technique
has to be developed and that it isn't supposed to "feel natural" until they have practiced
them enough for them to become natural. Piano is like any other art that involves the
body. When a ballerina leaps across the stage it looks effortless because of his or her
training. Unfortunately the basic principles of piano technique are often misunderstood
and poorly taught. When they are and students practice them their playing begins to take
on this effortless-like quality. Here is an important way for students to improve their
playing technique right away that makes sense and give students more power and control.
Use the Arm and the Wrist to Help the Fingers. Generally new students don't know
how to use their arms and wrists to play. They pull the fingers down into the keys with
the wrists below the keyboard. But effortless playing involves leveraging the arms and
the wrists to aid the fingers. The large muscles of the arm and the flexibility of the wrist
give added power and control to the small muscles of the fingers. Focus on the following
two technique principles to dramatically improve students' playing ability and comfort.
Remember that these two elements of technique must to work together and not against
each other for either to be effective.
1. Finger Flexion -
Gently stretching the fingertips down to the keys from a rounded
hand position above the keyboard (finger flexion) allows students to use their arms and
wrists to give the fingers more power and playing. In conjunction with finger flexion,
moving the wrist up and down to bend the arm forward and back uses the movement of
the arm to let the key go down with less effort. This arm motion adds leverage that is
necessary to help the smaller muscles in the fingers. Since the arms are much stronger,
this yields much more playing power and control.
2. Wrist Rotation - In addition rotating the wrists, as when turning a key, creates power
and spring that transfers energy from one finger to the next. This flexibility in the wrist
applies the winding strength in the arm muscles to help the fingers play difficult passages
of music with ease.Any piano student can do this. It is not difficult. Even very young students can learn to
play with ease. When the natural levers of the fingers, hand, and arms work together to
create effective leverage, playing is much easier and more beautiful.
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Cynthia Marie VanLandingham has been teaching piano in Tallahassee, Florida for 20 years. She is an alumna of The Florida State University College of Education, owner of TallyPiano & Keyboard Studios, a member of the American College of Musicians National Guild of Piano Teachers, and President of TallyPiano Enterprises, LLC.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cynthia_VanLandingham
