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Some pianists regard joints as fixed, or stable, places to move from. The shoulder joint, for example, is sometimes called a fixed place from which the arm moves. But that way of talking can have bad and serious consequences. Thinking of one part of the body as a fixed place from which to move another part of the body generates tension. The only way my shoulder joint, or any other joint, can act as a fixed place to move from is by my fixing it—that is, by tensing muscles. If I think of my wrist as a stable place to move from, I will stabilize it by tensing my arm; if I think of my shoulder as a stable place to move from, I will tense my back and chest muscles. The problem is not solved, it is only papered over by shifting the vocabulary—calling the joints "fulcrums" instead of "joints" or using the word "stable" instead of "fixed."
Regarding joints as fixed places to move from is sometimes supported by a general assertion that any bodily motion requires a fixed or stable place to move from. But that is a mis-mapping of bodily motion. I can raise my hand above my head using a free, fluid motion that involves my hand, forearm, upper arm, collarbone, and shoulder blade, with a sense of support in my core and no part of my body acting as a fixed place to move from. When I move that way, I move better than if I think of one stable part to move from.
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