hand movements

[Tash]

i was watching this fabo dvd called 'the art of the piano' today and got me thinking, what are all your thoughts on hand movements? as in do you believe in keeping your hands as close to the keys as possible or flying them around in the air and having crazy wrist movements and all? my teacher hates any form of useless movement so i've started taking the same opinion, but watching hofmann playing rach's prelude op3 no2 he had his arms flying up and down in the first section and it baffled me! so what are your thoughts on such things?

[lostinidlewonder]

When you are very confident with your ability to play a particular piece you can do anything you like so long it produces what you need to. I think you can move any part of your body except individual finger stretching or moving. That to me seems to kill all piano playing and should be avoided if i can be. Really hard piano pieces are pieces where there are lots of individual finger stretches, to cover, chords or fast arpeggio phrases because this makes piano playing hard.
What is the point to raise the hands high or elbow or wrist or whatever? I find the only reason is to use gravity so that you can strike the note without having to actually push down, or to play the rests in your piece. I guess when you've really "mastered" a piece certain things become habit and something you need to do. Still, i get very uncomftoable watching someone who sways and plays with their face up against the keys. To me it seems like the music is playing the musicians not the other way around.

[Antnee]

Sometimes you need to experiment. What you may be doing now is fine and dandy, but try out some different movements and see if you can get a better or more effective sound. Remember... Your teacher is absolutley right. No more than is necessary. But the thing is, this is very subjective. What is necessary? you may be able to play a piece fine with little movement, But try throwing your hands about and discover the different sounds you can make. If you like it and it sounds better, then why not? Little movements and big movements produce different sounds, and sometimes one is better than the other. Just dont go crazy and fall off the bench and damage that purdy face of yours...   

-Tony-

[Tash]

hahaha i'd love to see someone sway so much they fell of the stool that'd be hilarious in a really mean sort of way....i find that using too much movement, in terms of arms, gives me less control and i'm less likely to hit the right notes evenly.

[pianobabe56]

I also agree with the school of thought that too much movement is unneccessary and does more damage than good, so flailing my arms around in the middle of a performance is not high on my list of priorities. On the other hand, I do use small movements that I feel help produce certain tones- at the end of phrases, for instance, "floating" off the keys (to a degree- i hope you all will overlook my lack of good word choice and understand what I mean). I'm someone who tends to really get into the music, so I can only hope that whatever movement I add is truly tasteful and not distracting or obnoxious.

[donjuan]

Hand movements should always extend from the music and never the other way around.  If you start doing stupid mannerisms (like that blindfolded pianist and his standing pose and falling off the bench routine in his "911" piece) because you get bored with the music and have to do something else to please yourself, then you have problems.. 

Of course, if it enhances the performance, go for it!! (I find nothing more exciting than watching Cziffra's hands leap and bound)

donjuan

[april]

I think hand movements can be good as long as they're not overdone. My teacher is very graceful with his movements and I think they add a lot to his playing - but he isn't all over the place either.
We just saw Angela Hewitt play, and while she is also very graceful - she almost does too much (she took ballet for 20 years, and her movements reflect that). Still her performance was good, and her interaction with the audience was great.
Another pianist who moves a lot is Christopher Taylor, but his movements are really abrupt and kinda wild. Although he's fun to watch, the movements distract from the music.
Personally, I get self conscious if I'm moving my arms and hands too much. I've been working on just being graceful and playing well. I think if the music sounds expressive and you're playing from the heart, you don't need lots of motion if it's not comfortable for you.

[xvimbi]

IMHO, do whatever you need to do to get the sound that you want, even if it involves playing with the nose, jumping up and down on the bench or whatever. Economy and correctness of movements only play a role in terms of endurance and injury prevention. That is a personal decision. In piano playing it is purely the sound that is of relevance. Everything else (color of the piano, diamond earrings on a naked pianist, decor of the hall, etc.) are completely irrelevant. Listeners who are distracted by these irrelevant aspects should close their eyes or buy a recording.

I said: IMHO.

[m1469]

diamond earrings on a naked pianist are completely irrelevant

Perhaps, perhaps.  But diamond-sapphire earrings may be an entirely different story 

[timothy42b]

Perhaps, perhaps.  But diamond-sapphire earrings may be an entirely different story 

We don't know what m1469 looks like.  Someday when the earrings arrive she may honor her promise and we'll know.  The problem I have is fairness.

Would we really want to see Victor Borge? 

[xvimbi]

Perhaps, perhaps.  But diamond-sapphire earrings may be an entirely different story 

Only if you play a piece that makes the sapphires resonate and build up energy until they emit a LASER beam that puts on a good show.

[m1469]

We don't know what m1469 looks like.  Someday when the earrings arrive she may honor her promise and we'll know.  The problem I have is fairness.

Would we really want to see Victor Borge? 

 Anyway, I will dazzle you with my music.  

[m1469]

Only if you play a piece that makes the sapphires resonate and build up energy until they emit a LASER beam that puts on a good show.

LOL 

[Tash]

OMG i've got the perfect most distracting things for a peformance- FLASHING earrings, necklace, bracelet, tiara, the whole shibang all flashing multicoloured lights at the audience. hell you could even drape flashing christmas lights around your body if you wanted! and all with an extreme amount of movement, and the hall is completely dark, so all you see is swaying flashing lights to some bizarre piece of music