improving left hand's technique by writing?

[10Fingers]

Hello everyone,

Probably like many of you, I mainly use my right hand in everything what I do, including writing of course. But that consequently causes my left hand to be slower and more stiff than the right one.
The point is, that some of my friends suggested me to learn writing with my left hand, they said  my left hand would get a better coordination.
I've never heard it before and it sounds strange but at the same time logical to me. So, can one's left hand reach a better technique this way?

What is your opinion as a teacher?

Thanks very much!

Thi

[tosca1]

Dear 10fingers,
I do not believe that your left hand per se would be physically slower or stiffer than your right hand.  It is just because it is less used in complex motor skills than your right.  Remember that we play the piano with the brain just as much as the fingers and training our fingers to play is initiated neurologically.
In fact in my experience doing a lot of hand writing with my right hand can cause muscular strain which has caused problems when playing.
I would recommend that you work on pieces and studies that feature the left hand or that share the technical demands equally between the two hands.  Scales and arpeggios also help.
Regards,
Robert.

[amee]

Dear 10Fingers:

I've never heard of this method before, either.  However I don't think writing would help your left hand have better coordination, since you don't actually move your fingers seperately when you write.  

[gorbee natcase]

I am left handed, and still my right hant feels much more free on the piano.

[thalbergmad]

I am left handed too. Play a bit of Bach and that will free it up. I spent months playing only Mozart and Schubert and lost some facility in my left hand.

I guess the old saying "if you don't use it you lose it" is true.

[goose]

I can't see how writing with your left hand would help you play piano any better. It could help you write better with your left hand, though 

Then again, the reliance on the dominant hand is a fair point. I regularly switch my mouse from left to right in an attempt to avoid PC user's cramp. And I was surprised how awkward it was at first (and how easy it is now). So it could be worth switching other things to the left hand that don't require a lot of training but are simply habit (brushing teeth, combing hair, eating cereal). It might help you psychologically.

But I think Bach will help your left-hand technique more. 

[cadenz]

i generally i feel i have less control in my left hand, even when it plays the same speed as my right. i think just generally work towards your left hand catching up with your right hand. i tend to think that my right hand is an example of what my left hand can potentially achieve
but on the other hand, i make a point of tightening taps (faucets?) with my left hand, because i don't like how it bends my thumb back using my right hand. i dislike bending my thumb back with force (when trying to bend something or push something or some other tough-on-hand activity), i worry it will injure the joint.

[ted]

10fingers:

It surprises me somewhat to hear that you consider your non-dominant hand stiffer and slower. What I have found is that my non-dominant hand is noticeably more agile and supple than my dominant hand which, while certainly stronger in the sense of control, lacks a certain flexibility, I assume owing to a lifetime of gripping.

I am not convinced that complete symmetry of technique and sensation would be worth putting much effort into acquiring. Most piano music does not have symmetric properties and indeed, the sound produced by a keyboard is decidedly unsymmetrical anyway.

[minimozart007]

er...HS practice anyone?

[whynot]

This is an interesting question.  While I agree with the others who predict that this wouldn't help much in left hand agility, I do see a broader merit in being a little more ambidextrous.  Where I imagine the change would happen is actually in the brain, in making new connections, teaching it more routing options, and just general reacting and subconscious problem-solving in your playing.  I say go for it, spend a little time on it every day, and report back on what's happening.  I'd be very interested! 

 

[maryruth]

this is a bit of a tangent--but it has to do with writing with the left hand (for right handed) people.  (by the way, I'm not sure that writing with your left hand would help at the piano--different movements involved) But anyways...I've discovered that it's easiest to write with my left hand backwards.  Literally, I write from left to right and the letters are completely backwards (in cursive).  When I hold it up in a mirror it's perfectly legible.  Is that strange or what?  Does it come from contrary motion studies at the piano?  HA!

[abell88]

Actually, maryruth, I've read that some left-handed people find that as well.

[thalbergmad]

etirw sdrawkcab, uoy naem ekil siht?

[abell88]

 !siht ekil ,damgreblaht oN

[maryruth]

Ha....Yeah, like that.  In the opposite direction---plus, the letters are completely backwards, too. 

So, you've read about people doing this?  Where?  I'd like to know.  So, the left-handed people you mentioned, do they write backwards with their right or left hands?    Just curious.

[abell88]

So, you've read about people doing this?  Where?  I'd like to know.  So, the left-handed people you mentioned, do they write backwards with their right or left hands?    Just curious.

It was many years ago, I think in the Toronto Star newspaper (or maybe Reader's Digest??), in an article on left-handedness. I'm interested in the subject of handedness because my husband and brother are left-handed, and my piano teacher was complete ambidextrous. (He was the pitcher on his high school baseball team, and when they brought out a switch-hitter he would just switch his pitching hand!)

And to answer your other question, the left-handed people wrote backwards with their left hand.

[thalbergmad]

!siht ekil ,damgreblaht oN

won ees i ho

[Kenasam]

I agree with most responses here.  Playing Bach is a great thing to do to help the left hand.  I don't think spending time handwriting will accomplish much.
Many years ago I began to think about helping the left hand, since I too am right handed.  So I consciously did things such as holding my eating utensils in my left hand when I ate a meal (that was a challenge at first!).  Opening doors with my left hand, etc.  And now, it's very natural for me to do such tasks with the left hand.  Did it improve my left hand playing technique?  I really don't know, but it opened up more awareness that gee, I do have a left hand, LOL, and I can use it just as well as my right (with the exception of handwriting).   

[nanabush]

I write with my left hand, and do most things with my left, but my right hand is still stronger on piano.. If I had started by always playing faster stuff and more technical stuff on the left hand, then I would need an opposite side piano...Trust me, writing will not help you, it'll make you better at writing ...I can't write at all with my right, and it is how I like it when I play piano, my left I'm not pleased with too much, but i write perfectly with it...

[danyal]

I tried writing with my left hand. I started stuttering after a few days. Maybe its got something to do with the sides of the brain. Who knows. All I know is when I stopped doing it, the jerking in my speech stopped. It wasnt really seriously bad, but noticeable though. Play Bach. I dont believe in things like Hanon or Czerny, because boredom while practising doesnt do much for inspiration, and emotional progress, which, in music, is just as important as technique. Could you sit for 8 hours a day doing something you didnt enjoy?

[Triton]

Hi

I am left handed. It does not help me. My right hand is ten times better than my left. Seriously.

I finished Chopin 10/04, and now it is better. But before that...
Anyway the reason of why the left hand is bad is because of the pieces that we play. If i had not played so many pieces that contained melody in the right hand rather than left hand, i had been better in my left.
Also, a thing that i do is that i often play my pieces wherever i like. I play them on me, tables, jkj jkøkjkj jkø hehe (yeah on the keyboard for the computer ), practically everywhere. But almost every time with the right hand 

Well getting back to the topic...
IT DOES NOT HELP

Good luck
Joern