Firm Hands

Hello Alan, I was wondering about the different uses of the hands-making the hands firm -but not stiff-is it only needed when playing very loud? is it beacause of the force or rebound the hands have due to the loud playing? also-is it necessary when playing big leaps or in those cases the hand should be relaxed? On that same notion-I once had a lesson with a teacher who was advocating the technique of using the wrist as a hinge when playing loud chords...his thought was puting the fingers on the keys and in order to play ff the wrist should go up a bit and then down and that would make the big sound,yet,another teacher I was working with ,said that in order to play the same chord or chords ff there should be an explosive energy towards the piano all the way from the shoulders, and not down with the wrist and then immediately release the tension created from that move. how would you suggest dealing with playing many chords in a row in different speeds,is it like any of the teachers I was mentioning? THank you

The hands need to be firm (not stiff) not only in loud playing. In fact, our tendency to soften the hands for soft sounds is one of our worst faults. For leaps, if the hand stays very galvanized and active, the leap feels less like a leap. If the hand relaxes it tends to over relax too soon, so you fail to launch the hand to the new position like a diver springing off a diving board. If you really use the inner elastic forces of your hand to spring off the first note, the leap will appear to be nothing. Horowitz said he played his octaves from the wrist but that was his subjective perception. Certainly do not move the wrist down to play the chord. The "standing up" motion generated from the hand's hip joint will tend to make the wrist as you play the chord. Let this happen, but not too much. There must be a concentration of energy: too loose and the energy dissipates. AFF