Left hand C/G/F/etc position?

[ranniks]

So do I put the 5 of my left hand on the C when playing both hands C position or the 1 of my left hand on the C?

[keypeg]

I understand that "positions" are sometimes taught in the beginning.  It puts your hand over the right notes.  After a while we don't think about positions anymore, and in some ways of learning the term doesn't come up at all.  The general idea is this.  Think of the keyboard as a vast territory, and your hands aren't large enough to cover all of it at once.  So you want your hand to be in a position where all the notes can be played with your fingers without having to move your hand.  If the next group of notes go from C to G, then it is logical that your pinky will be on C and your thumb is on G.  Think of it visually.  In later music you'll be moving all over the keyboard.  Your hand stays in one position for a while, then it moves to another for the next group of notes.  It's sort of "territorial".

[outin]

Starting again now as an adult I found it liberating not to think about these positions anymore. I change position to be able to play things, but I now see the keyboard as a whole. I think it has a huge difference in my ability to play things, maybe the way things were taught back then didn't suit me, because I can't remember ever getting comfortable at the keyboard outside the 2 middle octaves. Now (on a good day) I feel it doesn't matter where I am, I just play the keys.