About Piano Technique

Thomas Mark, pianist and faculty at Marylhurst University, holds that injuries are caused by stressful movement. In his paper he explains the four causes of injury being:

1. Co-contradiction: Is when both muscles contract at the same time while the one muscle should contract as the other release.



2. Awkward positions: A muscle attached to the bone moves by means of a tendon that passes over joint or several joints as in the case of fingers. The position of the bone effects the efficiency of the tendon. Awkward or extreme positions of the wrist can cause injuries.



3. Static muscular activity: As muscles contract they decrease and increase in length, which is called dynamic activity. If the muscles remain static without changing length then this inhibits blood circulation which makes the muscle fatigued and prone to injury.



4. Excessive force: Pushing the keys with more force than is required, which in a well-regulated piano is only fifty grams (about the weight of ten nickels), can also cause injuries to the hands.

Any of these alone or in combination can be the source of the pain pianists experience. Besides these four causes, Thomas Mark also adds that the body's resistance to injury and it's ability to recover play an important factor. Resistance through age decreases and that's why pianists develop problems in their thirties and forties. Their body's resistance to stress decreases. Resting becomes very important. When a person gets adequate rest he is more resistant to injuries.

To sum up, the causes for all these muscle stresses and aggrevated nerves are the result of years of practicing with a kind of technique that proves to be dangerous and not healthy for the body itself. What we need to look at this point is the way we play our instrument, the piano. In some cases it is one little movement that makes all the difference in the world, that we were not aware of because it had become a habit over the years! As we all know, habits are difficult to change but very necessary in order to cure hand injuries. Thomas Mark believes that pianist's problems are rarely medical; they are actually movement problems. An injury, he says, would count as a medical problem if it were caused by illness or trauma. 95% of pianist's cases are not medical problems but the way they habitually use their bodies.

A good pianist can play in a way that stresses the body for two main reasons:

1. Most people's technique is not chosen. The player does not analyze his/her movements when practicing; rather he tries to find a way that feels comfortable and natural. Most of the time what feels natural is also very dangerous and can create hand injuries.


2. Pianists are taught most of the time stressful movements. No teacher intentionally would teach harmful movements, but most teachers lack of knowledge on efficient movement.

Thomas Mark gives the example of playing with curved fingers. He explains how the definition of curved fingers is vague, because when we hold our hands hanging at our sides they already have a natural curve to them. He believes that this is the natural position that hands should have when playing the piano.

Many teachers ask for more curved fingers which makes it stressful for the hands. Thomas Mark also holds that the movements that can cause injury are not necessarily painful. We don't feel pain sometimes. The movements are dangerous only in repetitive cases. Piano playing is one of them because it requires a lot of repetitive motions. For example the hourly rate of repetition for sixteenth notes at a metronome of 120 is 28,800, while 1500 or so repetitions per hour are considered highly repetitive and can cause injuries. So, from the figures we can see the risk of a pianist being proned to repetitive stress injuries!

In conclusion, Thomas Mark offers some of his practical suggestions that can help
prevent injuries that piano teachers may find very useful:

1. Correct bench height: It is not the same for everyone. The tip of the elbow must be even with the top of the white keys while the hands are on the keyboard and we are sitting up straight.


2. Avoid dropping the wrist: The wrist should be straight with the forearm, neither arching nor falling below the level of the main knuckles.


3. Avoid ulnar and radial deviation: The hand should not be turned to either side, but should be straight with the forearm sideways as well as up and down.

More information about technique and dealing with hand injuries can be found on Thomas Mark's website http://www.pianomap.com. Also look for his book "What Every Pianist Needs to Know About the Body" accompanied with a videotape of demonsrated examples. The book is expected to be in stores in early 2003 published by GIA Publications.

Some suggestions by Paul Marxhause:

1. Inform yourself by reading resources on causes and prevention of injuries.
2. Evaluate your technique by reducing body usage that involves fixed and tensed
   positions.
3. Always warm up before practice or performance.
4. Take lots of breaks to stretch and relax. Take breaks every few minutes and every hour or so. Constant tension and repetitive motion is the most important factor on performance related injuries.
5. Pace yourself by learning to say "no" when your body can't handle too many concerts and preparation time.
6. Get medical help when you experience pain and difficulty in playing. Most musicians are very bad about going to doctors and stopping practice, but it's better to stop playing for a few months than ending up with a permanent injury.
7. Evaluate other activities as your problem might be caused by other things you do often such as computer use, sports, hobbies, etc.
8. Pay attention to your body; pain is the signal your body sends to let you know that there is something wrong going on. Learn what is good for your body before you end up with pain through The Feldenkrais Method, yoga, Alexander Technique.
9. Check out your instrument, see if it's too large, or if you could use lighter strings or reeds.
10. Be careful with strengthening methods, with devices such as Gripmaster, putty, or musical exercises (e.g. Hanon). Overdoing on any of these may cause damage to your body as well. If you want to build strength talk to a qualified doctor or physical therapist, if necessary.

At this point we have come to the conclusion of this brief history and causes of erformance-related injuries as well as some helpful guidelines on preventing possible injuries. Now we will go ahead to the next section where we look at the psychological impact that hand injuries can have on musicians and specifically on pianists.

MORE SUGGESTIONS ON PIANO TECHNIQUE....

Arm weight is also very important in piano playing. It plays an important role on the creation of different levels of sounds and musical shadings. The shoulders should be relaxed and not raised up or moved forwards when the hands are placed on the piano. When passing over the thumb the elbow should not be raised but one should let the thumb go after its depressed the note. With the wrist slightly outwards and the back of the hand in horizontal position the fourth and third fingers are in a comfortable position to complete the passage and a very slight movement of the elbow is necessary.

According to Mr. Feuchtwanger the hand must be horizontal on the keyboard and not tilted towards the little finger. It seems very natural position to tilt to the side but the anatomy of the body makes for a vertical position of the hands when the arms are absolutely relaxed!

Dr. Steve Roberson's article called "Latest Thoughts on Technique" summarizes in sixty-nine points on various views in technique by Jozsef Gat, Reginal Gerig, George Kochevitsky, Otto Ortmann, and Arnold Schultz. Some of these points are:

1. All technical work should follow a clear musical intention. Imagination must precede execution, which is always aided by first having inwardly audibilized the sound.
2. Oblique horizontal shifting of the medial axis of the hand (defined as a line along the forearm through the fourth finger) induces increased physiological strain. In other words, the hand and forearm should remain straight whenever possible.
3. The forearm should be horizontal to the ground and at the level of key escapement; this allows maximum efficiency of finger movement into the key; if the arm is too low or too high, the finger arc is not vertical at its mid-point; if the arm is high, the finger tip moves toward the body; if the arm is low, the tip moves toward the fallboard; when the forearm is horizontal and at escapement level, the finger tip moves directly in to the keybed and its mid-point, thus facilitating tonal control and minimizing energy loss.
4. Sitting on the front half of the bench encourages the upper body to lean foreword, a position that allows for the greatest possible control over dynamic nuances.
5. The shoulders should not rise and fall; they should remain relaxed.

One should keep in mind that through the years there have been different schools of technique and that one can find contradictory teachings among them.

Potentially Harmful Technical Habits
by
Barbara Lister-Sink

1. Playing with raised shoulders: Causes chronic tension in the neck and arms
2. Jutting elbows: Jutting out the elbows block the energy we transfer to the arm
3. Articulating with high flat fingers
4. High curved fingers
5. Artificially formed hand arch
6. Holding fingers off keys
7. Excessive key pressure and motion: Adding expressive but not excessive body movements
8. Supporting weight on lower wrists
9. Heavy "relaxed" arms

Basic Stroke

Barbara Lister-Sink, in her video explains the importance of the "basic stroke" which is the way a pianist hits the keys. This stroke helps the hands so that tension never accumulates. The four components of the Basic Stroke are:

1. Easy, efficient LIFT of the forearm.
2. FREEFALL of the forearm.
3. Optimal BONE ALIGNMENT and MUSCLE CONTRACTION at the
   moment of impact.
4. INSTANTANEOUS RELEASE of unnecessary arm tension.

"The last two happen simultaneously but must be understood separately".

In order to acquire the optimal alignment of the arm and hand bones place hand on various sizes of different balls to feel the natural size and curve of hand arch. The purpose of instantaneous muscle contraction is to stabilize the joints so weight can be transmitted form the arm to the key and the pianist will feel no effort. Muscles must relax and refresh between contraction to prevent injuries.

Applying Basic Stroke to Scales and Arpeggios Guiding Principles

1. Start with simplest movement towards more complex ones


2. Master each step before going to the next one. For ex. One note
   per stroke, then two notes, three, four, and finally five notes

Applying Basic Stroke to Graduated Sight-Reading and Graduated Studies
If the music is too demanding the pianist won't be able to control his body movements.

- For starting point "Progressive Sigght Reading Exercises"by Hannah Smith (Published in 1893) are recommended.
- For movement complexity next step is wwith "Mikrokosmos Vol. 1-6" by Bela Bartok. Also "Album for the Young" by Robert Schumann is recommended for more musical pieces. In "Little Study" from the Album of the Young one can practice with three notes per stroke. For more advanced levels one can try the "Allegro Agitato" by Carl Czerny which also has three notes per stroke example.

Achieving Mastery
"Freeing the Caged Bird"
(Quotes by B. Lister- Sink)

"Mastery is MAXIMUM musical result with MINIMUM physical effort which means

-timing of movement of muscles must be perfect

-body alignment must be correct

-right muscles are being used with right amount of effort at the right time
and we can hear the music flow with true freedom and physical effortlessness.

As Chopin told his students "Easily, easily!!!" In order to achieve mastery the pianist should control physical responses as emotional content is added. The pianist should be aware of all the following steps

- decide how the music should sound

- find the best physical coordination for making music

- listen for music making in sound not in excess body motion and effort"

"The secret to virtuoso technique is the mastery of impulsed fragments which prevents tension build up. Good technique is good coordination of the entire body with the piano. It takes time, knowledgeable guidance, patience, and mental discipline. The rewards are richer sound, greater tonal control, more natural rhythmic flow and extraordinary feeling of playing effortless. A musicianship is like a songbird. Poorly coordinated technique is a cage that imprisons it. Free well coordinated piano technique allows the song bird to take flight and sing forever outside the bars of any cage"

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