How important are micromovements?

[m1469]

If there is something off about the balance of my hand, I can feel it even if it's tiny, and that sensation can bother me to a very large and overly magnified degree.  Practicing Chopin etude in a minor, Op. 10/2.  The macro gesture is obviously very important, but I find myself extremely bothered and distracted if the transfer of balance and velocity is not *perfect* between fingers/hand, and if I do not clearly understand what part of my body is the main driving force.  

Actually, that's true about technique in general.  I could spend hours focused on micromovements and sensations.  I think I am seeking to find a kind of perfect relationship between the micro and the macro.

[m1469]

In fact, I can get quite overwhelmed with the amount of physical information coming back to me.

[asiantraveller101]

Perhaps you are too obsessed with being "perfect," knowing how we musicians can be, and thus as we say, micro-managing every little detail.  
There are many ways to approach technical issues, and one of them, like your approach, is to discover and work out the micro balance between the fingers, hands and wrists. However, I would like to propose another approach: from macro to micro. One of my teachers is a strong advocate for that approach. I find that it does free up a lot of my technical issues. Of course, it is not the only solution for every technical issue, but it helps to keep my arms and shoulders relaxed at all times. In a nut shell: start from larger motor gestures, constantly checking the relaxation and posture, and then after the body and mind have learned them, gradually reduced the gestures to smaller units, if needed. Some passages may remain macro gestures, depending on the musical context and your intention.
Hope that helps to approach your technical issues.
Let me know what you think.

[m1469]

I am obsessed with making a huge, radiant, beam of light come out of the piano  .

Thanks for your input.  In fact, I am no stranger to the glorious world of macroism.  I am simply realizing that I have an obsession with microism, as well, and that I have just stepped foot into the world of wanting to strike a perfect, everlasting, eternal balance between them when I play ... and unlocking the secrets of Being, existence, peoplekind, Love, and the Universe in totality  .


*knocks on doors* 

[asiantraveller101]

I am obsessed with making a huge, radiant, beam of light come out of the piano  .

Thanks for your input.  In fact, I am no stranger to the glorious world of macroism.  I am simply realizing that I have an obsession with microism, as well, and that I have just stepped foot into the world of wanting to strike a perfect, everlasting, eternal balance between them when I play ... and unlocking the secrets of Being, existence, peoplekind, Love, and the Universe in totality  .


*knocks on doors* 

I see, the eternal quest for the ultimate balance in our universe! Most noble! 
I just wish that when I perform, I can still maintain that. My nerves just get a better hold of me each and every #@% time!  (pardon, my language)

[dima_76557]

How important are micromovements?

They tell you that you are not yet a master. In that sense, they are very important during the learning process, because the best music is created with pure movements only without wasting energy.

As I noticed in my own development, the crux is not to try to eliminate them consciously, but to:
1) play in the direction of the "soundpoint" without aiming
2) find balance on the keybed, without pressing, for the finger that has just played, so the next finger can do its work unhampered.