Looking at hands. Posted in "Performance" also...

[mass]

Hi,

I'm an adult beginner and am having a discussion about whether or not it is ok to look at your hands. My teacher has no problem with it but I curious if others are discouraged.

[jeremyjchilds]

not when reading

[xvimbi]

You may not look at your hands, because you triple-posted 

[mass]

Sorry.......I'm usually just a lurker and wasn't sure how many members read different groups.....

[xvimbi]

We are reading each and every post

[alzado]

There was a pretty heated debate on looking at your hands on a different piano board in the last few days.

Two or three posters said it is anathama, a bit like never stepping on cracks in the sidewalk.  They were even rather heated about it. 

This is the Adrian Monk school of piano performance.

I made the point in that debate that in the early, graded books most of the music happens within an octave above and below middle C.   And the chords are simple--  nice clean triads.

On the other hand, playing scores as originally written by noted composers can be quite different.  They use the low bass, the high treble, and write complex chords scattered with accidentals.  Jumps of two octaves or more are common.

If you have learned the score very well -- either memorized or semi-memorized -- I would imagine that glances at the keyboard to aid positioning would not require hesitation.  I mean, I sure do it!  I look, I mean . . .  not hesitate.

But then, who am I?  No great expert, I can assure you!