10 years ago by
A Pianist
My practise recently has revolved around the question in the title and I'm reaping huge benefits from such a simple question. There's a great (and very rich) ATM on openatm.org called Legs Pushing Pelvis and Rocking Back by Olena Nitefor that is based around this kind of exploration.
If I play a note with my thumb, does the movement push my hand straight upwards or does it tip it to the side? Does the movement make it to my forearm or am I stiffening my wrist and stopping it getting that far. If the movement does get to my forearm, exactly what happens, and does it reach my shoulder?
More recently I added another element to this kind of learning - timing. When does the movement go? Does it start before or after the key is fully depressed? I tend to start the movement before the key is fully depressed, which stops a real connection to the key. I think this is why I sometimes to re-enact what I've learned in my lessons with Alan. Alan talks about this in his Octaves & Chords video on YouTube:
It seems that I've finally filled in a big gap in my approach to learning and can finally learn to work with myself rather than struggle against.