🎵 JJ's Piano Playing 🎹

Documenting the journey rediscovering my piano hobby.

Project maintained by jjvanzon Hosted on GitHub Pages — Theme by mattgraham

Methods

JJ van Zon, 2022

Summary in bullet points of videos about piano technique by Barbara Lister-Sink.

General intros skipped here.
Eliminate Chronic Muscle Tension: 1) Regain AWARENESS of the STATE of the tensed muscles. 2) Regain CONSCIOUS CONTROL of the tensed muscles. 3) Learn and apply the principles and sensations of EFFICIENT muscle use.
~ Fundamental coordination same for all smaller movements: “Basic form”.
“Basic stroke”
Interplay of mechanisms of piano and body.
Efficient, free motion, economical, no redundant movements.
Emotion not to translate to body motion.
Arms light, fingers hang freely, wrist fall used.
“Arm arch”
~ Fluidity
Whole body: fingers, wrist, arm, torso.
Less good physical habits: 1) Raised, tightened shoulders. 2) Jutting out elbows. 3) High, flat fingers. 4) High, curved fingers (low wrists). 5) Artificially formed hand arch (old teaching). 6) Holding fingers off keys (letting them rest instead). 7) Excessive key pressure and motion (‘choreography’) (finger pressure). 8) Supporting weight on lowered wrists. 9) Heavy, ‘relaxed’ arms.
Control physical responses as emotional content is added.
- Decide how the music should sound.
- Find the best physical coordination for making music.
- Listen for music-making in the sound, not in excess body motion and effort.
MAXIMUM musical result with MINIMUM physical effort.
- Timing is perfect.
- Body alignment is continually optimal.
- The right muscles are used with the right amount of effort at the right time.

With more leaps it looks like fluid bows of arm motion.
Going to a different position quickly, may be more controlled, heading off faster and arriving slower. Maybe that’s what she’s doing. Her ‘fluidity’ still seems to show some redundant motion and some ‘jerkiness’ in that aspect.