Strength

[Dazzer]

I find myself lacking strength nowadays... yes i'm a weakling. and my piano's a pregnant dog.

does anyone have problems with strength? what can be done?

[nomis]

Have a read through the links at this thread: https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,8406.0.html

[Dazzer]

pregnant dog.. LOL

[Kassaa]

Play on heavy piano's, play Hanon (hides for SteinwayGuy)

[steinwayguy]

Play on heavy piano's, play Hanon (hides for SteinwayGuy)

Thanks for the mention. 

[xvimbi]

Play on heavy piano's, play Hanon (hides for SteinwayGuy)

You can hide from SteinwayGuy, but not from me! 

[bernhard]

Play on heavy piano's, play Hanon (hides for SteinwayGuy)

I'm keeping an eye on you too.

[pianonut]

maybe you overdid it, and need to rest a bit.  strength to me, comes from the diaphram (much like singers).  when you are tired, piano rep doesn't come out the same as when you are rested, eat a good meal (or drink gatorade ) and breath as you are supposed to.

when i'm tired, i don't breath well in my pieces.  sometimes i even forget to breath, because the concentration level gets me.  now, i try to breath really well at the beginning of each piece.  it sound kind of crazy, but what i mean is take a BIG breath of air in, enjoy it, let it out and then start playing.  it's sort of a private thing i do, and noone has to hear you panting in your practice room or anything.  just a quiet breath as many singers do before they sing.  it gives you extra ooomph if you leave just a little breath left inside to sqeeze out as you are going through difficult passages (much like lifting weights or exercising in other ways - you don't want your lungs completely full or completely empty, but something inbetween and you keep it cycling so you are somewhere in the middle most of the time)  this can help endurance.

[whynot]

Good mention on the breathing.  That really helps me, too, when I pay attention to it.

[Dazzer]

that's not really what i'm referring to.

nowadays when i play (few years ago it wasn't that bad) when i played, after awhile usually during hte piece, my right forearm would start to tense up, and lock up. very uncomfortable to play. and impossible to get any strength out of it... i guess maybe relaxing is the key.

[pianonut]

maybe you are trying too hard. of course, some pieces are really difficult.  maybe you have to take smaller sections and try to relax through them.  my teacher has made a point to tell me when my neck is tense.  i always thought that it started with hands/wrist, but everything starts from your back, imo, and the middle of your back at that.  all the nerves are connected to one another and make the whole top of your body function.  so, like you say, when you relax the nerves, your neck, shoulder, arms should be as relaxed as your forearms.  i try to concentrate during my pieces on relaxing from the neck down instead of from the arms.

the sooner you catch tenseness the more you can deal with it (and not get tendonitis).  also, as SOON as you start feeling any adverse reactions from practice, you should stop for awhile.  and, also get some second opinions (if it happens a lot) as to what techniques you can use to eliminate it.  or, if you need to take a few breaks in your practice time.   

[xvimbi]

that's not really what i'm referring to.

nowadays when i play (few years ago it wasn't that bad) when i played, after awhile usually during hte piece, my right forearm would start to tense up, and lock up. very uncomfortable to play. and impossible to get any strength out of it... i guess maybe relaxing is the key.

Tenseness has little to do with lack of strength but is rather due to lack of coordination. Check out all those threads on co-contraction of muscles.

[pianonut]

yes.  i suppose strength and coordination are different, although as you progress you gain both, right?  i don't think strength is something that you should strive for - because as i've been learning - it really takes very little effort to make even a sfz sound on a piano.  sometimes we try too hard.  experiment with as little of effort as possible to make a sound. 

i tend to like stiff pianos because they get you so many gradations of dynamics that are even.  my teacher, on the other hand, is good enough to get the sounds he wants from VERY (i call 'flatulant') easy playing pianos.  i asked him awhile back if his piano was broken  but the sounds he gets out of it are incomprehensible - and he'll never get tendonitis with this type of piano.

[xvimbi]

yes.  i suppose strength and coordination are different, although as you progress you gain both, right?

Absolutely. After all when muscles are used, they do develop up to a certain plateau. One can't prevent it.

i don't think strength is something that you should strive for - because as i've been learning - it really takes very little effort to make even a sfz sound on a piano.  sometimes we try too hard.  experiment with as little of effort as possible to make a sound. 

This is the important aspect that many beginning pianists are often misguided about. Strength development should not be an emphasis! The emphasis should indeed be on coordination and eceonomy of motions.

i tend to like stiff pianos because they get you so many gradations of dynamics that are even.  my teacher, on the other hand, is good enough to get the sounds he wants from VERY (i call 'flatulant') easy playing pianos.  i asked him awhile back if his piano was broken  but the sounds he gets out of it are incomprehensible - and he'll never get tendonitis with this type of piano.

I like your expression 'flatulent playing'. 

However, I do have to say something about your last statement. No piano will ever cause tendonitis, no matter how stiff its action is (within reason, of course) if one has proper technique.

[rohansahai]

Try meditation........concentrating your entire energy in your hands.