Hand Shape

[theprettyplaces]

I don't know how to word this, but isn't there a proper hand position or shape it should take when playing? It's a posture that I think is supposed to make playing easier. How would you describe it to a non piano player?

[jamienc]

Of course, everyone will approach the keyboard from a different perspective based upon their own physiological composition and technical comfort when coordinating everything that makes the key activate. For me, I have always found great facility when I maintain the “support” of the fingers from underneath within the palm of the hand. I tend to keep a straighter finger and engage almost everything from the big knuckle. From the side, my hand creates a sort of “pyramid” shaped look, which helps me to have access to the last joint close to the end of each finger. When I maintain those joints in as loose a fashion as possible, they act as shock absorbers that enable me to play rapidly but lightly and quietly as well. It’s difficult to explain without demonstrating, but I can get evenness and speed with that particular set-up.

[pianopro181]

I don't know how to word this, but isn't there a proper hand position or shape it should take when playing? It's a posture that I think is supposed to make playing easier. How would you describe it to a non piano player?

If you drop your hands by your waist and then pick them back up naturally and place them on the keys that’s your natural hand position. In general you don’t want to curl your fingers too much because that is unnatural and will cause negative tension but you also don’t want to play too flat as you’ll have less momentum and versatility in your finger movement. Also make sure your seating is correct as that will have an effect on your hand posture. You don’t want to sit too high or too low for that matter and you want to base it around your natural height and arm reach. Somewhere in the middle where the forearms are roughly parallel to the ground is usually correct and if you want to sit slightly higher or lower than that that is also ok. Also make sure you’re not sitting too close or too far away from the piano. A good way to measure that is to see if your fists can touch the parallel surface of the piano in front of you without too much effort and with full extension of the arms.

[ego0720]

I don't know how to word this, but isn't there a proper hand position or shape it should take when playing? It's a posture that I think is supposed to make playing easier. How would you describe it to a non piano player?

A new revelation for me is also the feel. My hand, in relaxing at its peak, plays like it’s numb (like somebody injects with lidocaine). This can be consciously controlled. I become extremely sensitive to the energy my hands exert and the amount of power used is heightened as far as awareness. The push from my forearms, metacarpals, and knuckles do most of the pushing and the fingers do more finesse movements. In my head I visualize two limbs (from elbow to fingertips) moving without the body and everything else is blacked out. That’s my perfect playing. When it does, I play and let the feelings guide the experience.

Pianopro181 pretty much described it well. I pointed out the “Michelangelo creation of Adam” picture as one of the natural images to look at to remind oneself of the natural posture to return to. My goal is to return to this state as much as is humanly possible. Minimize usage of hand form that deviates from this.

[lelle]

It's good to have an idea of the natural shape of your hand. I approach it from the other direction however - if my hand is relaxed and feels physically peaceful, it'll most likely have the "right" shape. So I find the shape by listening to my body and relaxing, not by thinking about the shape if that makes sense.