10 years ago by
A Pianist
I've recently discovered an extremely effective exercise for optimal alignment, that you might find interesting. I've recently been experimenting with this one on various students. Think of a press-up, basically. Start by putting the palms of both hands flat against the keyboard, spaced a good distance apart (wrist out and fingers pointing inwards). Then very gradually lean your whole body inwards, trying to keep your torso aligned, but gradually allowing it to lean in from the base of the spine. All the way, you should be feeling everything is notable outside from your body, at the shoulders and elbows etc. As you slowly progress down, keep feeling that you are pushing yourself AWAY still, so nothing collapses. Then push yourself back up in the same way, again trying to feel that you are operating very much from the outside.
I'd try this a few times, coming slightly more to the inside with the arms each time (rather than poking your elbows so far out), until you've reached the absolutely optimal alignment, where you feel that your arm is best equipped to push you directly back up. Do the last ones with your hand aligned parallel to the keys instead of sideways, as you gradually come slightly less from the outside. For myself, I realised that my optimal alignment of the elbow and shoulder was still far further out than I had initially imagined (and indeed utilised in playing). In the past I had definitely overdone movements of pushing the elbow out to follow through chords (collapsing my hand in the process). But I now realised that less than optimal alignments of my right hand have since been the result of failing to position the elbow and shoulder blade adequately to the outside- especially when playing at the outer end of the keyboard. I found that my elbow needed to come much more behind the fifth finger side of my hand.
Anyway, what I described there is basically nothing more than a standard press-up done against the piano. Be a bit careful of course, but it certainly should not pose any more risks than the standard exercise. However, the next stage needs much more care, so please don't rush into this one.
The next stage is to 'test' the position of any chords or position. Definitely start by witholding the weight of your torso almost entirely, for this though. It's about checking alignment, not subjecting your fingers to collossal weights. Strike a chord, and then lean into it VERY CAREFULLY and lightly. The procedure of alignment is likely to be very similar to the full press-up against the palm. If the hand is lined up optimally, the path of leaning in, and pushing yourself away from the piano should cause absolutely minimal discomfort. If it doesn't feel right, however, withold the weight at once! If you press on through a badly aligned wrist, this will certainly cause more harm than good, so please don't! However, when I feel I have achieved optimal alignment, I can (again VERY lightly) push myself away from the piano, monitoring whether that motion is in the correct path. Some of the push comes from the arm and some from the active, supporting fingers. If I feel any of this is veering notably sideways (or if any fingers are not contributing anything much to the line of motion), it tells me that it's not aligned right. If I feel I'm moving straight back up, in a very direct path, I'm happy with the alignment.
I have recently been finding phenomenal benefits to my alignment of various things, with this exercise. Among others, I have found it to be very useful for stopping on 3/4 and an overheld thumb, for the passing position in scales and arpeggios. If the wrist is wonky, it won't feel right. You have to ease up and find a new position for the whole arm and shoulder, in order to start feeling comfortable about leaning into it. I also found huge benefits from playing the upper three notes of each physical position in op. 10 no. 1 (except for one or two bars where the span of all three is too great to balance adequately). I've found it very useful for positions of passing 3 or 4 over 5 in op. 10 no. 2. I had always found it very hard to avoid an angled wrist in those. By leaning in a little, I can find a perfectly aligned level wrist, while overholding both the fifth and the finger that passes over. Please be ESPECIALLY careful if you try this that type of position though. Remember that it's a light test that occurs in the same direction as the initial press up against the keyboard- not a vigorous or heavy press to build strength!
Anyway, any thoughts on how this feels with regard to your octave position (which is certainly likely to be one of the safest positions in which to try this type of thing)? Personally, I cannot overstate how much difference this has made to my playing recently. Countless passages that had habitual insecurities have become comfortably balanced. I've found it's a great way of eliminating unwanted leaning- so the fingers work directly into the path of the key- not at a slight angle to it. Funnily enough, while I'm becoming more and more convinced that the fifth finger should be aligned as best as possible, I have simultaneously come to see how the leaning that Alan sometimes advocates can sometimes be of benefit. However, I'm feeling very strongly that an aligned fifth finger should be the base position which is always being strived towards, and only be deviated from for very specific purposes. I'm currently discovering that a wealth of holes in my technique have been caused by a slight sideways leaning, that served no function- either with regard to allowing the fingers to access the keys or with regard to helping the arm to stay stable. I've been aware that leaning was causing problems for ages. But I never managed to come even close to actually keeping level, or realised just how much of a problem had still remained. Now that I have finally discovered how to align better, for the most direct strokes, the style of finger action that Alan showed me is really starting to fully pay off.
PS. One other thing in passing- regarding fifth finger alignment/ thumb support. At the moment, I'm even more convinced by fifth finger alignment than ever before (a position which the "press-up" experiment has naturally made me veer towards for optimal balance). However, I've simultaneously been experimenting with the most exaggerated thumb support, via enormously pronounced thumb push ups in ultra slow work on scales and arpeggios. I'm not seeing any contradiction at all between the two currently. In fact, they seem to complement each other. The more I lift up and support via my thumb, the more the next position of an aligned fifth seems to form of its own accord- with no traces of swivelling from the wrist. I'm actually seeing both things going hand in hand, rather than opposing each other. Anyway, sorry this is already very long. But I've been doing various other experiments that will hopefully be of interest, that I'll go into more detail with at some point.
