Romance

Mhhm...I see. You mean that by creating a more powerfull action force the arm is forced to connect better with the hand by means of the reaction force? Didn't you say that the backward force would have to come from a more relaxed shoulder?

Didn't you say that the backward force would have to come from a more relaxed shoulder? What I've come to realise is that I was looking at it from the assumption that the fingers would typically be using pulling actions (that pull the wrist forward), rather than actions that try to aim perfectly downwards. Basically, the shoulder only needs to be pulling back at the wrist, if the fingers are acting in a way that is pulling the wrist forward. If the force is pushing the wrist back (not pulling it forward), the arm's inertia can absorb it by doing little more than existing- hence the seeming absence of a reaction altogether, that Alan has spoken of. What I've realised is that I never truly considered actions that aim slightly forwards- reversing the direction of the reaction force that comes back at you! I'd assumed that this type of finger action seemed too weak to be suitable for normal playing, as opposed to the stronger pulling actions. Since then, I've become convinced that most effective techniques involve some degree of both actions. The ability to differentiate between the two actions and their effects upon the arm has been having massive effect on my ease of movement. I'm actually coming to think that this forward element is normal in most techniques- but that it's understated enough not to be readily obvious. Even if the path of the knuckle suggests a pull, just a TINY extension in the other joints can change the direction of the reaction. Quite honestly, I can barely see the difference myself when I alternate between the movements but the difference in how it affects the forces that get sent through my arm is a massive issue. I'm going to write more about the two different styles and clarify their remarkably different consequences on the blog sometime. One thing that I find interesting that even when aiming finger actions forwards, some students still hold their wrists forwards, despite the fact that the reaction ought to be inspiring it to release into alignment. While there are notable differences, I still find that the idea of "hanging" the wrist back is very useful when using extension based actions too. It still pays to feel everything is stretched out for the basic alignment- but you don't have constant forces trying to destabilise the wrist. The difference here is that once you've already released into a good hanging alignment, only actively pressing forwards with your arms is going to be likely to spoil it. Also, the extension action doesn't have to be "powerful" necessarily- but simply confident and without any repression. In a slow tempo it's an extremely continuous activation- not a quick on/off prod. The further you continue it, the better connected you feel and the more balanced you become. Well, as long as movement is felt to continue away from the piano, not towards it. My second post about keybedding explains the psychology and why it works. It's basically a fleshing out of Alan's "standing up" concept.