Where to sit

[persona]

I know this will sound absurdly elemental to all of you, but since I've been learning on my own so far, I don't have a clue about this.
Where should one sit in order to play the piano right? My common sense tells me to sit with middle G and F pointing at my navel, but should I do this for every piece? Or should I change my position from piece to piece? Or should I just do as I feel more comfortable?

[zheer]

Good question, sometimes it helps if you sit slightly to the left, or slightly to the right depending on what you are performing. However its a good idea to sit where you can touch the low A with your left hand, and the top C with your right hand by slightly tilting to the left or slightly tilting to the right. ( obviously this will vary from one individual to a-nother)

[bearzinthehood]

I default to sitting at middle D, although you shouldn't be afraid to change position depending on the piece.

[steve jones]

I change were I sit depending on the piece. Infact, I often wondered if this is 'cheating', but I dont think so.

SJ

[gorbee natcase]

Whatever feels most comfortable to you

Different pieces are centered arround different parts of the piano(lower/or higher)

Some pieces require you to shift arround on the stool

Just try to feel comfortable and experriment. 

[debussy symbolism]

Greetings.

I think that this is a very important matter. My teacher still corrects my sitting position, although I know it even though I sometimes forget to follow it. Basically, my right foot is on the pedal at all times and my left foot closer to the left pedal, not behind the bench. I place the bench relatively close to the piano and sit closer to the front edge, not in the middle, so that I am leaning towards the piano. Of course, when I play for example scales, or notes in the high or low registers, I lean towards that side, legs firmly supporting me, otherwise the sound becomes empty. My back should be straight, even though I sometimes forget to keep it that way. Without leaning, I naturally face the middle C. I think that the posture and bodily positions of playing are very important. Hope this helps.

[gyzzzmo]

Depends on the possitioning of the piece. But basicly, if you put your right hand in front of you and place your thumb on the central c, for most pieces you should sit correctly.

[pianistimo]

i was taught to sit facing the middle of the keyboard and to laser beam from the keyhole to my navel.  if it is off by 1/2 inch - it might impact something - so i scoot from side to side until i am exactly on target.  then, once i am centered - i lean to the right and lean to the left to reach notes.  i heard that bench scooters make arbitrary noises and that this is bad for recordings.  (u can use velcro on your seat to make sure you don't move around).

[persona]

Thanx for all your answers. You're being very helpful in my learning

[barnowl]

My teacher has me sitting erect, on the front edge of the bench, with my navel opposite Middle C. Okay, she didn't specify "navel" but in effect that's what I use to orient myself.)

My question is, why doesn't someone make a chair with  a seat that's about 7" deep and also provides back support? Maybe the seat - or bench - could have a standard depth, but the backing could slide forward and back to accomodate the full range of derriere sizes in the piano playing population.

I don't know about anyone else, but I find sitting at the piano for hours in the position above is tiring.

(And those old-timey piano stools with the circular seat that can be spun to raise or lower its altitude don't qualify. If you sit on the front edge of said seat, the chair backing still doesn't come into play.)

[goose]

In his Super Sight-Reading Secrets book, Howard Richman recommends sitting with your navel opposite the D right next to middle C. It seems like only a slight difference from sitting at middle C, right? But the advantage is that, from D, the layout of keys is mirrored left and right whch helps your sense of where things are.

A simple and logical adjustment that's worked for me.

best,
Goose

[persona]

Thanx for your answer man! I'll try to switch middle F# for middle D, like you say, and see how it goes.

[persona]

Sorry to bring this topic back to the top once again, but I really feel I need to tell you how it went sitting with middle D pionting at my navel. The first half hour was quite confusing, I would find myself missing some notes, or unwillingly leanning to the right. But surprisingly soon, I got used to it and now I don't make most of the mistakes I used to make when playing with middle F# pointing at my navel. It's as if the pieces had been written to be played from this possition. So, I'm really thankful for all your answers!!

[goose]

Glad the 'middle D' thing helped. Howard Richman's sight-reading book has a lot more useful tips to help you orient yourself and improve your 'keyboard geography'. I'd strongly recommend it.

Best,
Goose

[ardor]

I've never even thought about it, really. I just sit down, and usually it works out. The only problem I can think of is at the end of the Revolutionary Etude. That last run of notes to the final chords, I can't play them unless I shift my body left because my elbows end up in an awkward position. Anyone else have this problem?

[alwaystheangel]

I was taught to sit so my body is directly across from the letter name of the piano (I.e. YAMAHA or whatever)  for a beginner's piano piece .I mean the almost all are around middle C anyway..0

[pianistimo]

sorry to say this, but you're a half inch off.  ahahahah.  i think this all very funny because maybe it depends on the piece.  somehow we naturally center ourselves for the piece we are going to play.  if there is a lot of treble - we probably move 1/2 inch tot he right to center ourselves.  the more you play the more it is just a hidden secret.

the keyhole on my piano is between d and e.  but, if i scooted too much toward e, might be a problem.  for pieces that are equally played in treble and bass - i suppose d is pretty much the center.  even though we think of C because it is in the middle of the staff and we are usually taught to dwell on it more at the beginning.  what if all the beginner books were changed and all the c's were changed to d's. 

[alwaystheangel]

if it were D's at the beginning, they'd have to learn about F sharp right off the bat, wouldn't they?
That'd be too difficult for begginners, they have enough on their plates at the begginning.

[abell88]

if it were D's at the beginning, they'd have to learn about F sharp right off the bat, wouldn't they?
That'd be too difficult for begginners, they have enough on their plates at the begginning.

If they used ES, John Keller's notation system, playing the black keys from the beginning would be no problem.