piano technique

I've noticed this week that quite a few of my students are slipping into slightly "lazy" habits!

It's really important to sit straight, not more than about half way across the piano stool (that interview, I'm interested and keen position!),measure your arms with clenched fists to check that you can just touch the soundboard, without leaning forwards or backwards... your hands should be quite flat and level with the forearms (in Victorian times they put those old fashioned pennies on the children's hands and they weren't allowed to let them fall off when they played!). Keep fingers in the middle of the keyboard so that you can reach the black notes without moving the hands forward.

It's easy to put right but amazingly, it is so much easier to play when your body and hand position is correct. You're far less likely to damage your back, neck, fingers, shoulders etc and playing music will feel much easier too!