Looking at artist benches - what to get ?

[dmc]

For years I've just used a standard non-adjustable bench.  But I've recently developed Carpal Tunnel and want to do whatever I can to make sure it doesn't come back.  I was doing some brief playing last night and had some pain after about 20 minutes so I stopped.  But I noticed my height was a bit high which probably isn't helping so I'm looking at artist benches.  From searching here, it sounds like Jansen is a high-end brand for these.    What others are worth looking at ?

[knabe31]

Hi, I have a Jansen and have been very pleased with it. It was the most comfortable of the ones that I tried. Good for sitting at the piano for hours at a time!!!!

[rachfan]

For many years I had a Concerto artist bench made by The New Manual Arts in Cincinnatti, OH, now being marketed by Jansen.  It served me well, but because the padding under the leather top was relatively thin to begin with, eventually the padding was flattened out (and I only weigh 165 lbs.), and the bench was by then no better than sitting on a standard wooden bench. 

So this Christmas I treated myself by buying a new Jansen artist bench.  The Jansen has much thicker padding which will be far more durable over time.  An easy way to look at them and/or order is to go to pianoworld.com, look for the PianoSupplies.com, click on Piano Forum, click on the PianoSupplies.com ad over on the right (you'll see a couple of metronomes there), click on benches, then click on the artist bench to see all the specifications.  You can get it in all the common wood finishes plus choose the color of the leather top.  (Leather is more expensive than vinyl, but lasts far longer too.)  Also, you can choose the style of legs to exactly match your piano's.  (For example, I have a Baldwin grand, so for me it was Style 2 ebony legs with brass ferules on the feet.)  All said and done, the bench cost me $828.00 with a free shipping offer.  It's expensive, but you get what you pay for.  Had I originally bought the Jansen instead of the Concerto years ago (the Concerto was over $600 even then), I'd still be using it now and would not have had to buy a new and better one recently.   

I was trained by both a workers comp insurer and by a physical rehabilitation center in ergonomic principles.  (I was in management and oversaw ergonomics programs as part of my many responsibilities.)  To sit ergonomically, it's recommended that your elbows be fairly level with the keyboard with wrists and hands extended neutrally--never below, and no different than keyboarding at a PC.  Because the bench is adjustable up and down, your thighs should be fairly parallel to the floor and to your arms.  (Have someone else look at you while sitting to see if that's the case.)  Everyone is built a bit differently, so these are general guidelines.  Your sense of comfort is always the final judge.  If you sit too high, playing tends to lose color and take on a gray sound.  If you sit too low, it becomes harder to play velocity and to lift the arms against gravity.  Sitting with arms fairly level will result in a rich tone while also enabling free movement, agility and dexterity.  The proper way to sit on a piano bench is not to sit on the whole bench; instead, you sit only on the front half of it.  Try to stay relaxed in the neck, shoulders (keep them down), and allow the elbows to be free to assist the forearms and hands.   

Finally, never play through pain!  When you feel discomfort, stop playing immediately.  Stand up, walk away from the piano, dangle your arms like loose ropes in the wind for awhile, and swing them forward and backward and crosswise in front of you.  Once the tension has been fully released, wait awhile before returning to the piano. 

I hope this helps.

[richard black]

That last post reminds me that some people prefer a plain wooden bench, not padded. Ferruccio Busoni did - he pointed out that on a long, varnished wooden bench it is possible to slide along so that you are always poised over the bit of the keyboard you are playing. It can be quite comfortable. I'm about as bony as healthy people come and I've played for hours while sitting on unupholstered wood.

[dmc]

Rach -

Thanks for the advice.  I've been trying to be very careful.  I'm sure as CT goes, mine isn't bad (and of course there are so many worse ailments one could get), but I never realized how uncomfortable this can be.   I haven't done much playing in the last week and its killin' me !  Hopefully this will pass soon.  Thanks again !