Keybedding And Piano Technique

Again we have to be clear in our use of terms. Getting the key to the bed is one of the most important abilities a pianist possesses. "Keybedding" in itself is not bad, it's all in how you do it. Moving the finger to create a viable contact with the keybed is our most dependable way of "producing good tone" - it makes us feel capable and connected. It's only when you to "keybed" that you run into problems. That's why the Russian School done well gives wonderful results, done badly is horrendous! AFF

Again we have to be clear in our use of terms. Getting the key to the bed is one of the most important abilities a pianist possesses. "Keybedding" in itself is not bad, it's all in how you do it. Moving the finger to create a viable contact with the keybed is our most dependable way of "producing good tone" - it makes us feel capable and connected. It's only when you to "keybed" that you run into problems. That's why the Russian School done well gives wonderful results, done badly is horrendous! AFF Yeah, agreed. I think the term itself is one of the most inherently harmful things about Matthay's explanation. I use it in my posts- but specifically to counter the confusing manner in which it is generally used and to illustrate how short-sighted and restrictive Matthay's concept of "keybedding" is. I would never use the term without illustrating what the key differences are between good contact (which can be done without any sense of restraint) and bad contact (which can ironically be by trying to hold back from contacting the keybed!). I think that the way the term is generally used is exceedingly confusing and deeply damaging to technique- and use it solely to illustrate the problems that can be caused.

I think Matthay is talking about exactly what Alan referred to, the compression. He referred to a mistiming of effort, driving too hard into a key, which is to say after the tone has already been produced, and not being available for complete freedom of movement for the next note. In trying to avoid keybedding, I played too lightly and did not develop structure. In recent attempts to restore structure, Alan noticed I was back to compressing. I posted a question about standing or not standing, and Alan dissuaded me from devoting attention specifically to arm weight. How to find the balance? Three things have been helping me: 1. Table top exercises. Struts, overholding, etc. But I do them stroking. I shift my hand around on the table top, sliding, sliding gently, sweeping my hand laterally, stirring in circles. If I stroke, I can't compress. If I maintain contact, I preserve structure. I like doing the exercises this way. I think the stroking is helping me strike a useful balance between contact and structure without compression. 2. Overholding. Transfer that contact to any passage I'm having difficulty with and cultivate the same sense of structure without compression. 3. Playing on the bones and advance positioning. Several chapters in "Honing" lay this out. The Bird Beak exercise from Mr. Gekic is informative. Then play everything from an initial position of contact with the keys. If you're on the bones, the effort is modest and you don't feel the need to drive into the keys, to compress. I find it easiest to keep that feeling simply by laying my fingers on key before the playing impulse. It's odd to find that you really have time to do that even in brisk passages. The theory inspires me to try. The key contact puts it together organically. It's the thing I can do when I'm actually playing something, and then I just feel what needs to happen without having to calculate it per theory. The table top stroking was what got me started down this road. Jai Jeffryes

"I think Matthay is talking about exactly what Alan referred to, the compression. He referred to a mistiming of effort, driving too hard into a key, which is to say after the tone has already been produced, and not being available for complete freedom of movement for the next note." Yeah, absolutely. I think the problem is in how he portrayed it. Matthay basically suggested that you turn something on and must turn it off again, if you are to avoid keybedding. To put it mildly, this is simply bullshit. If you start out on the right trajectory even the strongest of arm pushes (that carry serious momentum) can never lead to compression. In particular, certain qualities of finger movement simply don't send notable momentum in any other direction than away from the keybed, at the very outset. Many people still attempt to cease activity in a split-second (inevitably either before they have finished controlling the hammer or after impact has gone ahead an occurred anyway). Matthay should have been sure to demonstrate how to act in a totally positive fashion- instead of instilling paranoia about contact with the beds. "In trying to avoid keybedding, I played too lightly and did not develop structure. In recent attempts to restore structure, Alan noticed I was back to compressing. I posted a question about standing or not standing, and Alan dissuaded me from devoting attention specifically to arm weight. How to find the balance?" Exactly. I still have the problem right now- even after thinking about this so much and writing about it! At home, I've acting extremely positively, to send my knuckles as far away from impact as possible. I could hardly exaggerate much more. However, I got to practise some Etudes on a Yamaha grand at work today- and found that key after key was failing to settle at the keybed! I think I really need a heavier action to practise on regularly. "The theory inspires me to try. The key contact puts it together organically. It's the thing I can do when I'm actually playing something, and then I just feel what needs to happen without having to calculate it per theory." Did you try the analogy of comparing the ease of a press-up away from a wall with trying to push a wall over, from my most recent blog post? I've been using this a great deal both on myself and on students. I had some remarkable success on one student today- who had always made a rather feeble and repressed sound. Suddenly she was making a massive singing tone and getting a flow that I had never seen her come close to before! It's been helping a lot with removing the habits of arm pressure.

In trying to avoid keybedding, I played too lightly and did not develop structure. In recent attempts to restore structure, Alan noticed I was back to compressing. I posted a question about standing or not standing, and Alan dissuaded me from devoting attention specifically to arm weight. How to find the balance? I seem to have been in a similar situation recently - although I've never actively thought about keybedding, I've had the same problems - either compressing in an attempt to build structure, or using too light a touch to avoiding compressing. After reading your post I had a go at your suggestions. I'm always amazed (but not surprised) at how much difference changing one's conception of a movement can make. Thanks for the suggestions and thanks to Alan for the 'Bone' chapters in Honing.

The most graphic illustration of how to "keybed" healthily is the "thwack" exercise from Craft. Remember? Pull your middle finger back like a slingshot then let it go so it thwacks some surface, preferably your kid brother's skull. Then imitate that on the keyboard. You get instantaneous, glorious connection with no after-weight. First do it in staccato to get the feel of really not letting any residual pressing live on, then the same feel in a longer sounding note. It's MOVEMENT that makes you keybed effectively. That's why I gave you that "finger lifting" lesson, Jai. You may at first "thwack" and press to hang on - OK, a good first step. Do that but each time find a way to return to unstable equilibrium instantaneously. You "thwack" the key with as much finger speed as you can muster - raise that finger to the SKY and then let 'er rip - but then resist the temptation to press once you've established contact. It is not easy to develop that amount of movement - to us ordinary mortals it is extreme. Kemal busted a gut trying for years to get me to really do it, and around 1995 he pretty well succeeded. My recordings ( ) from that era tell the story. There's a health to my sound that only comes from Kemal could always do move his fingers big time - it's one of the main things that makes him so amazing: he . But he worked darn hard at it as well, I know, I watched him... I remember how brain-blasted I often was at the end of his lessons from trying so hard to activate my fingers... but that's the only way to get free of so many of our problems... In faith, AFF

I do like the feeling of an almighty crack from above followed by seemingly nothing. However, personally I've been finding the actions that lightly push the knuckles up to be the most useful of all right now- where there's no release at all but simply a confident act of raising the knuckles up and away. I was really quite surprised today, when I discovered that my actions from contact with the key are still not extended enough to settle the keys consistently (when playing a heavier action). It got notably better after getting used to the piano, but there were still some holes in the connection to the piano. It made me realise that even now there's way too much restraint in my movement. I had to continue the finger movement way beyond where I can aim on my lighter piano. I don't think it's hugely about the strength, but more that I'm stopping half-way through the full motion. I'm only getting part of the way through the action and then holding back/relaxing- instead of aiming to bring the knuckles further away from the keybed still. Obviously it's extremely important to first be working in a path where there's no reason to fear the keybed. However, I realised today that I'm still shying away from it way too much, rather than completing each finger stand with ongoing activity. I had to feel as if I was extending so much, I could have almost reached straight through the keys and out the other side (but in a way where everything is pushed up and away by continuation- rather than squashed down at all). Rather than being something to relax from, this type of movements only serves to boost the sense of lightness and ease, the more you extend it.

I have a question re the 'Thwack' exercise - what if I don't have a little brother to thwack? No, the Real question was, At (all?) other times it seems that your hand and fingers should be super relaxed. But to reach to the sky I have to strain. (this question is obviously equally relevant to the thumb stand-up exercises)

Good question. The answer is, thwack your sister. Or older brother (but watch out!) The real answer is, good question! You should indeed strain - but not uncomfortably so. It's like doing a good stretching exercise when warming up or warming down at the gym. The goal is not to abuse muscles but to investigate just how much leeway they have to extend, and how much more leeway you might inculcate by gently coaxing them. And of course, make the strain momentary. Don't lift your finger up there then leave it for half an hour - let it go - unless of course your finger really is on top of your little brother's head and you have a mirror so he can see what's going on and you can prolong the moment of terror which has him quivering in his boots. AFF