Dr. Boyd! Piano practice involves tremendous of repetition which could cause repetitive injuries on fingers and wrists. Glad that you point to the viewers that practice ergonomically.👍👍👍 I have liked and subscribed your channel. Now I have downloaded your PDF. Will practice accordingly! Wow 🤩 wow 🤩 wow 🤩! What a generous gift 🎁. I am an adult beginner. Learning piano has become my favorite daily routine. And your video has become my go to channel for sure both from musical theory and practice point of view. Your wonderful work deserves to be viewed by many, many more. I have and will definitely recommend to my piano friends. Thank you so much indeed 🫡🫡🫡
Glad to see you here - thanks for your comment! Really good to hear that the PDF has been useful for you! Thanks for subscribing and spreading the word. Good luck in your piano playing!
Thank you…i have been researching this topic….I find my right pinky hurting and I find my right arm is not properly aligned and tilted to the right putting pressure on the right side of the hand
I'm so glad you found it helpful to think about alignment and your pinky. It can definitely help to support the outside of the hand and align the hand to the arm. Good luck!
That's interesting, but I only see it working in the centre of the keyboard whereas as you move outwards it would require greater sideways wrist movement to keep the playing finger lined up with the key. In his book "On Piano Playing" György Sándor recommends as far as possible keeping the playing finger in line with the muscles in the forearm by which the finger is moved. He says this is the most efficient and causes least tension which makes sense to me as otherwise the muscles/tendons causing the finger movement would be working at an angle. Like your method this also results in free movement of the wrist rather than keeping it locked.
I think Sándor and I are saying the same thing here - in order to keep the fingers aligned as you move outwards you need to adjust slightly with your upper arm in order to avoid that sideways wrist movement you mention. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I sort of like injured my RH index finger while back due to reckless practices obviously not aligned well. Since then, I've been paying more attention how I align my hands and fingers when playing passages. Also I now put more thoughts when assigning fingering to the passages not sure how that made differences, but I am more aware than before of natural and healthier way to move hands/fingers. It's been working well, and my index finger is happy what I'm doing I can tell. Something I learned how important the alignment is, thank you :)
Yes - I agree that fingering and alignment go hand in hand (no pun intended!). Once you become increasingly aware of your alignment to the keys, it will start to inform your fingering decisions. Glad your index finger is happier now! :-)
Hi Kate. I’m playing some repertoire where the right hand has to cross over the left and play an octave or more below middle C as the left hand is playing at the lowest octave. Interested to hear your thoughts about alignment, and finding balance and ease on the bench. Do you advocate being balanced through both sit bones and and using spiralling/rotary motion of the trunk to reach the extremes of the keyboard, or best to balance on the left sit bone so the right comes off the bench? I’ve noticed that if I come off the right my right rib cage collapses causing my right shoulder to roll forward unbalancing the shoulders snd causing further problems.
Hi, thank you for all your lessons. Just a quick question. When I'm learning a new piece and a part of the piece is in an octave higher or lower, should I change my seating position? My body starts to ache a bit when I'm leaning over for long periods. What do you recommend? And I mean only when practicing the part
I just started practicing your teaching. I was playing the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight and found that it was difficult for my pinky and thumb to be parallel to the keys, usually at a steep angle. Parallel to the keys is only for two, three and four fingers? And I found that your fingers are not perfectly parallel to the keys, there will be a slight angle with the keys. Another question is that when you play chords or octaves, your fingers cannot be parallel to the keys, right? Since I usually play chords and octaves I tend to lean towards my thumb. [cover face] thank you
Really good questions and observations. What part of Moonlight (measure numbers) are you noticing that?) The parallel-to-the-keys alignment will be as each finger plays, which requires adjustments along the way. In practice, once you start incorporating this, the fingers are not always mathematically parallel with every key, but you start to develop the ability to align with your arm to avoid playing at sharp angles to the key. When you play chords or octaves (or anything requiring multiple notes at a time) you have to look at the specific context to determine how you'll be aligned. Usually if I have a big 4-note chord, I have a more supported hand bridge and I'm basically aligning my 2nd or 3rd finger (depending on the specific notes within the chord). For example, for a root position C Major chord, I align my index finger to the key. Hope this is helpful! 🎹😊🎶💪
@@ThePianoProfKateBoyd For example, in the sixth, seventh, and eighth bars of the first movement of Moonlight, it is impossible for me to align every finger I play with the keys. If I want to align every finger to play Moonlight, my movements will be exaggerated. Of course if I'm playing scales, I can align my fingers naturally.Thank you for replying me in your busy schedule.
Thank you Dr. Boyd! Your video series on technique is extremely powerful, and I cannot convey how grateful I am to you for teaching all of us these techniques. I absolutely loved the pdf notes and read them daily before going to bed. I had a lot of pain when I was self taught, and then later got a teacher. Even though he is really good, I couldn’t comprehend what playing relaxed means. You have broken it down so easily and in doing so are guiding so so many people to a better way of playing. I will also explore other playlists, but not sure where a complete beginner like me should start. May God always be with you. Once again thank you 🙏🙏
Wow - thanks so much! It means so much to me that you are here and that you found it useful! You'll also want to check out the "Practicing and Goals" playlist. You don't sound like a complete beginner if you are self-taught and had a teacher. If you have the chance, let me know what topics would be particularly useful to see on my channel. Happy practicing! 🎹
@@ThePianoProfKateBoyd Yeah I have learnt some of the beginner pieces from Kabalevsky and Bach. So some of the issues i face are: 1. What musicality is, and how to distinguish one pianist's rendition of say, Traumerei, v/s another's. Like understanding exactly what was done in terms of technique. I do hear pieces, and can say one sounds better, but not always with confidence. So maybe something like a comparison video of 3 pianists playing the same thing and commentary on what each did differently in various places 2. Other things - How to build mental muscle over time (like a more detailed technique series), how to do right fingering for ease of play (principles behind them), how to develop proprioception methodically (like read this first, do this next, etc.)
thank you for this great series! I wonder how to allign in the extreme regions of the piano; When I play the highest or lowest note, my fingers are not alligned with the key but in a angle, which feels very natural to me.
You are absolutely correct! When you play at the extremes of the piano (i.e., crossing your right arm in front of your body to play the bass), you will lean with your body and your arm will still be at an angle. But this position is relatively rare. When you play at the upper extreme of the piano with the right hand or the lower extreme of the piano with the left hand, it's helpful to lean toward whichever extreme you're playing and let your elbow float out from the body in order to prevent an extreme angle with the arm. But the arm will likely still be playing at an angle. Again, this position is relatively rare.
Years of thinking over these issues convinced me of the opposite: aligning fingers with the keys is a mistake because it inevitably causes twisting of the wrist, though wrist twisting is unavoidable in the center of the keyboard.
Thanks for your feedback! That's one of the fascinating things about the piano: there are different schools of thought that people arrive at after careful consideration and experience. Best wishes to you! 😊
Hi Anara. Just responding to your comment re playing in the centre of the keyboard. For most repertoire, I sit on the bench so that my torso is centred behind E/F given Middle C is not the centre of the keyboard. When I need to play both hands in the centre of the keyboard, I do adjust where my upper torso is in space by shifting it back slightly by rocking back on my sit bones. This helps me better balance my forearm over the playing fingers and avoid twisting too much.
![Forearm Rotation at the Piano [Foundations of Technique, Part 3]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Cx8wpfFCwms/mqdefault.jpg)
DOWNLOAD THE FREE COMPANION PDF: thepianoprof.com/SignUp
Dr. Boyd!
Piano practice involves tremendous of repetition which could cause repetitive injuries on fingers and wrists. Glad that you point to the viewers that practice ergonomically.👍👍👍
I have liked and subscribed your channel. Now I have downloaded your PDF. Will practice accordingly!
Wow 🤩 wow 🤩 wow 🤩! What a generous gift 🎁.
I am an adult beginner. Learning piano has become my favorite daily routine. And your video has become my go to channel for sure both from musical theory and practice point of view.
Your wonderful work deserves to be viewed by many, many more. I have and will definitely recommend to my piano friends.
Thank you so much indeed 🫡🫡🫡
Glad to see you here - thanks for your comment! Really good to hear that the PDF has been useful for you! Thanks for subscribing and spreading the word. Good luck in your piano playing!
Thanks
Your amazing. Thank you
Thank you…i have been researching this topic….I find my right pinky hurting and I find my right arm is not properly aligned and tilted to the right putting pressure on the right side of the hand
I'm so glad you found it helpful to think about alignment and your pinky. It can definitely help to support the outside of the hand and align the hand to the arm. Good luck!
I couldn't download the free PDF you said in the video, thank you for teaching
Sorry to hear that - can you send me an email: thepianoprof.com/contact/
She's such a brilliant teacher
Thank you! 😊
That's interesting, but I only see it working in the centre of the keyboard whereas as you move outwards it would require greater sideways wrist movement to keep the playing finger lined up with the key.
In his book "On Piano Playing" György Sándor recommends as far as possible keeping the playing finger in line with the muscles in the forearm by which the finger is moved. He says this is the most efficient and causes least tension which makes sense to me as otherwise the muscles/tendons causing the finger movement would be working at an angle. Like your method this also results in free movement of the wrist rather than keeping it locked.
I think Sándor and I are saying the same thing here - in order to keep the fingers aligned as you move outwards you need to adjust slightly with your upper arm in order to avoid that sideways wrist movement you mention. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I sort of like injured my RH index finger while back due to reckless practices obviously not aligned well. Since then, I've been paying more attention how I align my hands and fingers when playing passages. Also I now put more thoughts when assigning fingering to the passages not sure how that made differences, but I am more aware than before of natural and healthier way to move hands/fingers. It's been working well, and my index finger is happy what I'm doing I can tell. Something I learned how important the alignment is, thank you :)
Yes - I agree that fingering and alignment go hand in hand (no pun intended!). Once you become increasingly aware of your alignment to the keys, it will start to inform your fingering decisions. Glad your index finger is happier now! :-)
Hi Kate. I’m playing some repertoire where the right hand has to cross over the left and play an octave or more below middle C as the left hand is playing at the lowest octave. Interested to hear your thoughts about alignment, and finding balance and ease on the bench. Do you advocate being balanced through both sit bones and and using spiralling/rotary motion of the trunk to reach the extremes of the keyboard, or best to balance on the left sit bone so the right comes off the bench? I’ve noticed that if I come off the right my right rib cage collapses causing my right shoulder to roll forward unbalancing the shoulders snd causing further problems.
Thanks for this. My teacher has been discussing these movements whilst playing this piece by Debussy.🎉🎉🎉
Great! Staying aligned to the keys is so important to improving facility. Good luck!
Hi, thank you for all your lessons. Just a quick question. When I'm learning a new piece and a part of the piece is in an octave higher or lower, should I change my seating position? My body starts to ache a bit when I'm leaning over for long periods. What do you recommend? And I mean only when practicing the part
I'd lean to the right or left rather than "scooting" one way or the other, but not practice the one spot for so long that you get fatigued. Good luck!
Great explanations. I must watch your lessons multiple times. I love to learn and absorb your ideas.
Glad you like them! So glad you're finding this helpful!
Excellent- the train car analogy really makes it visually clear.
Great! (My dad built that toy train!) 🚋🚋🚋
I just started practicing your teaching. I was playing the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight and found that it was difficult for my pinky and thumb to be parallel to the keys, usually at a steep angle. Parallel to the keys is only for two, three and four fingers? And I found that your fingers are not perfectly parallel to the keys, there will be a slight angle with the keys. Another question is that when you play chords or octaves, your fingers cannot be parallel to the keys, right? Since I usually play chords and octaves I tend to lean towards my thumb. [cover face] thank you
Really good questions and observations. What part of Moonlight (measure numbers) are you noticing that?)
The parallel-to-the-keys alignment will be as each finger plays, which requires adjustments along the way. In practice, once you start incorporating this, the fingers are not always mathematically parallel with every key, but you start to develop the ability to align with your arm to avoid playing at sharp angles to the key.
When you play chords or octaves (or anything requiring multiple notes at a time) you have to look at the specific context to determine how you'll be aligned.
Usually if I have a big 4-note chord, I have a more supported hand bridge and I'm basically aligning my 2nd or 3rd finger (depending on the specific notes within the chord). For example, for a root position C Major chord, I align my index finger to the key.
Hope this is helpful! 🎹😊🎶💪
@@ThePianoProfKateBoyd For example, in the sixth, seventh, and eighth bars of the first movement of Moonlight, it is impossible for me to align every finger I play with the keys. If I want to align every finger to play Moonlight, my movements will be exaggerated. Of course if I'm playing scales, I can align my fingers naturally.Thank you for replying me in your busy schedule.
Thank you Dr. Boyd!
Your video series on technique is extremely powerful, and I cannot convey how grateful I am to you for teaching all of us these techniques. I absolutely loved the pdf notes and read them daily before going to bed.
I had a lot of pain when I was self taught, and then later got a teacher. Even though he is really good, I couldn’t comprehend what playing relaxed means. You have broken it down so easily and in doing so are guiding so so many people to a better way of playing.
I will also explore other playlists, but not sure where a complete beginner like me should start.
May God always be with you. Once again thank you 🙏🙏
Wow - thanks so much! It means so much to me that you are here and that you found it useful! You'll also want to check out the "Practicing and Goals" playlist. You don't sound like a complete beginner if you are self-taught and had a teacher. If you have the chance, let me know what topics would be particularly useful to see on my channel. Happy practicing! 🎹
@@ThePianoProfKateBoyd Yeah I have learnt some of the beginner pieces from Kabalevsky and Bach. So some of the issues i face are:
1. What musicality is, and how to distinguish one pianist's rendition of say, Traumerei, v/s another's. Like understanding exactly what was done in terms of technique. I do hear pieces, and can say one sounds better, but not always with confidence. So maybe something like a comparison video of 3 pianists playing the same thing and commentary on what each did differently in various places
2. Other things - How to build mental muscle over time (like a more detailed technique series), how to do right fingering for ease of play (principles behind them), how to develop proprioception methodically (like read this first, do this next, etc.)
@@chinmaysahoo1991 Thanks for all these ideas! I will work on this and see what I can come up with. Best wishes!! 🎹
thank you for this great series! I wonder how to allign in the extreme regions of the piano; When I play the highest or lowest note, my fingers are not alligned with the key but in a angle, which feels very natural to me.
You are absolutely correct! When you play at the extremes of the piano (i.e., crossing your right arm in front of your body to play the bass), you will lean with your body and your arm will still be at an angle. But this position is relatively rare.
When you play at the upper extreme of the piano with the right hand or the lower extreme of the piano with the left hand, it's helpful to lean toward whichever extreme you're playing and let your elbow float out from the body in order to prevent an extreme angle with the arm. But the arm will likely still be playing at an angle. Again, this position is relatively rare.
@@ThePianoProfKateBoyd thank you for clearing that up 😊
@@theoooms7277 No problem! Let me know if you have any more questions as they arise!
❤ENNOYED THIS LESSON !!!!
Years of thinking over these issues convinced me of the opposite: aligning fingers with the keys is a mistake because it inevitably causes twisting of the wrist, though wrist twisting is unavoidable in the center of the keyboard.
Thanks for your feedback! That's one of the fascinating things about the piano: there are different schools of thought that people arrive at after careful consideration and experience. Best wishes to you! 😊
Hi Anara. Just responding to your comment re playing in the centre of the keyboard. For most repertoire, I sit on the bench so that my torso is centred behind E/F given Middle C is not the centre of the keyboard. When I need to play both hands in the centre of the keyboard, I do adjust where my upper torso is in space by shifting it back slightly by rocking back on my sit bones. This helps me better balance my forearm over the playing fingers and avoid twisting too much.
Rubbish.