Help...My new teacher thinks i have something wrong !!

[kghayesh]

My new teacher tells me that when i play my hands, shoulders are not relaxed and are so stiff and rigid. She says that won't help me produce any good sound from the piano coz it tenses me.

I don't know but i think she is mostly right. I seem to have got used to play this way even if it was wrong. Can anybody give me advice on what should I do ??

[Ruro]

Change your ways, and just not for health reasons.

I'm currently rather peeved off, cause I tense alot; don't relax my shoulders, and my hands half the time are probably the wrong angle.

What I don't have though is a teacher, which would be a prime piece of motivation to ensure you do scrap these habits for yours and your teachers sake.

So definately change your habit! An unregrettable action...

Tension + Fast Passage = Severe Frustration Over Failure (Atleast for me anyway...)

[pianistimo]

you can't hold up your back without effort and strain if you are not sitting up as straight as possible. 

this is hard to maintain for long periods of time without doing back strengthening exercises.

when your lower back is strong you can sit very erect and start by relaxing your neck.

your spine won't slump from this relaxation - and you can leave your shoulders the way they are when you walk naturally (moving arms back and forth slightly).

then - swing one arm up and then the other.  don't hit your knuckles.  pretend you are a monkey and just start playing.

[crazy for ivan moravec]

u can also put a small mirror on the piano in which you see your shoulders while you are practicing. check it once in a while when playing. it takes conscious effort to correct it.

you can also write with a marker on the mirror "RELAX!" or something else which might help remind you. my mirror has " THINK!" on it. 

[zheer]

Yes good advice crazy for ivon. I have a video of me playing the piano and when i saw the vid i have noticed that when am concentrating i bring my head down closer to the piano keys, but the rest of my body remains in a relaxed position.

[gruffalo]

i wont give my advice here as i am not as experienced as others, and i dont want to ruin anyones chances.

its just strange how most skills in the world need to be mastered effortlessley, yet it takes so much effort to make that happen.

[aspiramente]

I had a similar problem.

It took about a year to fix, and required a lot of patience.

Basically, in a nut shell, I sat at the piano and without touching it made sure my whole body was relaxed, i was sitting straight and that my neck and shoulders were square on to the piano.


Then I played a c major scale SUPER slow. Id play, the thumb in the right hand, and I would let my hand drop to the piano and simply let the weight of my hand hold the key down and I listened to the sound till it completely faded away, while concentrating on how my body felt and making sure the only think that had any tension was the very tip of my thumb, then Id play the next note and do it all again.

It sounds tedious, but it's actually incredibly invigorating (haha, im a nerd).

I found, I appreciated sound much more after doing this, and I was completely relaxed and my mind very clear (its like meditation!)

I did this every day for a year in each hand using different scales every day. I do the same thing for arppegios now.

When you play peices after doing this, you have to think about how it feels to be totally relaxed and free, and play each note in your peice like it is the first and the last note you will ever play, (I mean, dont feel like you are coming from one note and going to another).

You cant possibly expect to learn how to be relaxed and free at the piano, unless you know how it is meant to feel, and this will help you.