Understanding weight as a preparation- not to move the key

In general-I agree, but this pinky-pen is something to use on rare occasions. It gives a nice sensation of zero-collapse. Preparing the fingers/knuckles like you advocate is a great way to practise-I've used it occasionally since you first wrote about it. Kind of establish an optimal sceletal position.There is also a "mental" dimension to it as it prevents you from rushing.

In general-I agree, but this pinky-pen is something to use on rare occasions. It gives a nice sensation of zero-collapse. Preparing the fingers/knuckles like you advocate is a great way to practise-I've used it occasionally since you first wrote about it. Kind of establish an optimal sceletal position.There is also a "mental" dimension to it as it prevents you from rushing. Yeah, it makes a big difference the sense of awareness of what is going on. I've often spoken to students about trying to be mentally prepared for following notes, but this takes it a stage further. You're literally doing something rather than just trying to sense something in advance. I suppose my point about the fifth is that I'm sceptical that it'sliterally a case of firming the finger entirely in advance. The exercises at the end of my blog post on fingers show how even a horribly tense hand collapses a little- unless you try to move slightly in a positive way through the force by extending out. I think that employing some trace of timed movement is still essential, or collapse will always be sneaking in, in small traces. Bracing can only reduce collapse, whereas being the midst of a positively aimed movement both eliminates collapse entirely and offers scope for additional acceleration, if you do more still. The difference can be subtle to look at, but I'm pretty convinced that leaving room for an active extension through the key should always give scope for more than poking through a braced finger. it's all about whether the timing is spot on.

Read your blog with great interest. Of course you're right, scientifically there must be some kind of adjustment. D Smith as you use to examplifie some other issues is just remarkable- what a sound. I guess one thing internet and youtube has taught us is that there is no big correlation between fame and skills.

I can't contribute much to the discussion at the moment other than to say that I played around with this idea briefly on a couple of occasions and seemed to benefit in the way you described. I also tried something similar with a pupil whose fingers seem to flail about uncontrollably. It helped him calm things down and play with some precision. I will post again once I've had some more time to experiment.

I can't contribute much to the discussion at the moment other than to say that I played around with this idea briefly on a couple of occasions and seemed to benefit in the way you described. I also tried something similar with a pupil whose fingers seem to flail about uncontrollably. It helped him calm things down and play with some precision. I will post again once I've had some more time to experiment. A good trick by the way, if they have fingers that flail about is actually to make it even more extreme for a while. I think it's usually due to instability in whichever finger played last. It's like someone throwing their arms around trying to find balance, when just about to fall. If you lift all the other fingers in the air deliberately, it tends to help whichever finger is currently holding down a key find a more secure balance- by testing its stability. This focuses the activity in the useful places while loosening up everything else. Once the supporting fingers become better at creating stability (by flailing around even more at first) the other fingers stop needing to perform the panic movements. In virtually all cases where the fingers do these movements, I find that the student has a poor quality of connection to depressed keys (sometimes based on pressing the arm hard or sometimes involving keys that aren't properly grounded against the keybed). Currently, I'm often using a combination of the two approaches in practise. First I lift the next finger that is due to play, then I bring it back down to activate slightly against the surface of the key.

A good trick by the way, if they have fingers that flail about is actually to make it even more extreme for a while. I think it's usually due to instability in whichever finger played last. It's like someone throwing their arms around trying to find balance, when just about to fall. If you lift all the other fingers in the air deliberately, it tends to help whichever finger is currently holding down a key find a more secure balance- by testing its stability. This focuses the activity in the useful places while loosening up everything else. Once the supporting fingers become better at creating stability (by flailing around even more at first) the other fingers stop needing to perform the panic movements. In virtually all cases where the fingers do these movements, I find that the student has a poor quality of connection to depressed keys (sometimes based on pressing the arm hard or sometimes involving keys that aren't properly grounded against the keybed). Currently, I'm often using a combination of the two approaches in practise. First I lift the next finger that is due to play, then I bring it back down to activate slightly against the surface of the key. Cool, that's useful to know. I recently had a lesson with Alan that involved connecting to the key. Not connecting properly for several years had caused me to lock up the muscles around my shoulders blades very tight. Before that lesson I probably wouldn't have been able to get much benefit from what you're describing here, but now I'm looking forward to exploring the idea and synthesising what I learned from Alan with your ideas on finger extension and useful preparation of the key.

This is maybe out of the subject but I think the keyword is collapse. When starting Craft the least problem, I thought, was collapse of my strongest fingers.And I had extensive training since the age of five. I gradually found out that not only the thumb but also my "strong" 2nd collapsed-it was hard to see all looked nice but after a while I could feel it.When the hand/fingers collapse even if it is on a hardly notacable level all sorts of problems occur as a result of the body compensating. One good exercise is to play scales with only 2-5th finger eg playing an octave up/down in all keys like 2-3-4-5-2-3-4-5.After a while it's possible to feel that the arch can be built on mainly 2nd and 5th finger.This gives stability and is a good way to find out that the 2nd finger never really had any control. At the same time altere with a two octave scale in all keys with 1st-5th that is involving the thumb you play with 1-2-3-4-5-1-2-3-4-5-1-2-3-4-5. Now the arch is more based on 1 and 5. As the worst tension often is caused by the thumb it should be hanging relaxed most of the time while the arch is kept by 2-5. Busoni wrote some exercises in this spirit I really never understood the benefits until lately. And he was maybe even more clever than Liszt. The exercise proposed in All thumbs with weights seems totally crazy but they are a fantastic way to find out which muscles and tendons that are involved and I think are a fast way to build up those lumbricals if that is the problem.Saves you miles of scaleplaying.If you don't play your scales in the right way you won't build up anything anyway but bad habits.

I hope this is not against Alan's rules, but could you or anyone else who has the book, please, give a short description of that exercise? Thanks in advance. Paul

This is in response to the post about Ruth what's her name who studied with Rachmaninoff. That post is at the bottom of page 1 of this long thread. I like what she does a lot. Very individuated fingers that do exactly what she wants them to. They aren't individuated for great digital dexterity, but for tenderness and beautiful colour... See what she does with this Rachmaninoff prelude, it's absolutely exquisite! AFF PS For my latest take on Arm Weight you've gotta read All Thumbs. I spend a long time lambasting it and then describe this really great playing I heard in a master class with the type of sound you can ONLY get from arm weight technique....