How should the pinky look when it's playing a note?

[iratehamster]

Hi guys.  When I use the pinky, I used to try to stiffen it completely as I pressed the note (either to play a chord or to play a single note), and the result was that it would flex sharply at the third (farthest) knuckle, and extend (passively) at the middle knuckle.    So my pinky ends up looking perfectly straight from the base knuckle until the third knuckle, where it suddenly bends down at an almost 90 degree angle.  Does anyone else's pinky behave like that?  When I try to keep it curved, the last knuckle is so tightly clenched that no amount of pressure can make it collapse, but the middle knuckle collapses very easily.  My other fingers don't do that.  Is this a peculiarity of the way my pinky tendons are set up?

Anyway, after a while the third knuckles of both my pinkies starting feeling slightly sore, which isn't surprising because of the tremendous pressure they're being forced to withstand.  So now I try to extend both the third and middle knuckles while flexing the base knuckle, so my pinky ends up looking almost straight, except the last phalange bends back just a little from the pressure of pressing the key.  This feels better.


So I went from my pinky looking like this (viewed from the side):
__ __
          \

To this:

\
 
   \ __


Is either of these the right pinky technique?  Is there an even better way of using the pinky that I don't know about?  Thanks!

[debussy symbolism]

Greetings.

Pinky position is a VERY serious matter. One thing for sure, is that it must never collapse. The knuckles must be above the fingers creating a sort of arch that supports the playing. The pinky must never collapse and play the notes on it's outer side. More likely on the inward side to ensure good stability. Schmitt's figner independance excercises are very helpfull in aquiring this, but must be done correctly otherwise it will do damage. Always look at the pinky while playing.

[thalbergmad]

I used to play with a flattish pinky, which drove my teacher completely mental.

He always insisted on a nice curve.

Thal

[counterpoint]

There are so many different positions of the 5th finger, when playing, dependent on figuration, tempo, volume, accentuation, articulation, that it's quite impossible to say, how the position looks like in general.

The point, where the finger transmits the power to the key may be the fingertip, but it also may be the full length of the finger or even the outside of the finger, when the thumb shows upwards.

It looks somewhat strange to me, when the last part of the finger bends outwards. (That's not possible with my fingers.) I wouldn't take this as a standard position of the 5th finger.

[nortti]

My right pinky is so crooked (ie. to the left) that I can't really play if I curve it because it's quite impossible to hit the correct key then, and it feels really "unstable" (and it greatly decreases the dimension of my hand). Thus, my pinkies are usually flat. Sometimes all my fingers are flat because it makes playing some things a lot easier. My opinion is: never listen to anybody who says something has to be done exactly like this and only like this (especially when it comes to something like playing the piano..)

[iratehamster]

Thanks for the responses.  I'm going to experiment with raising my wrist a little higher than I normally do when playing the pinky, and sort of lean my hand towards it, so my pinky comes at the key more vertically.   That way there's less pressure coming directly at my knuckles, forcing the middle one to collapse.  And I can still maintain a curved shape.

It looks somewhat strange to me, when the last part of the finger bends outwards. (That's not possible with my fingers.) I wouldn't take this as a standard position of the 5th finger.

It bends out just a little, maybe 10 degrees.  I think this varies from person to person, because the last part of my friend's fingers bends out ridiculously far, maybe 45 degrees.  He doesn't play the piano, but he has long, thin fingers.

[ako]

You DO NOT want your wrist too high. Put your hands on your lap relaxed, then put them on the keys. This is how your fingers (all of them) should look like. Each finger should from a nice curve, not 90 degrees, not flattened like your diagrams. I do agree that the exact "position" depends on the kind of touch. There are some passages which you need to play with a "flat" finger but the term "flat" in this sense is that the "whole arch of the hand is lowered, it doesn't mean that the joints should "break" so that it looks like your second diagram.  A lot of students also play with a wrist so high that it looks like a "claw". Do not raise your wrist. Your hand should be as close to the relaxed position (when you put them from your lap to the keys) as much as possible. You'll be amazed how a lowered wrist will help your octaves thought it is a little counterintuitive. Look at videos of the masters, you'll see that their hands look totally relaxed, perfectly arched.