This is a study course for adult beginners who are self-taught piano students.
For the first time, let’s learn “how to play the piano properly”.
When you can do this unconsciously, you will naturally find it easier to play the piano and your piano progress will speed up.
Although it may sound logical from the first time, it is not necessary to learn it in writing, but it is important to learn it with the body first.
It is not a fun lesson, but make sure you learn it well.
I will now explain in detail.
The time required is “about 15 minutes”.
目次
Theme of this issue
- Sitting.”
- Hand placement.”
- Chair position.”
- Chair height.”
ways of sitting
The first thing to learn is how to sit in a piano chair.
Practicing the piano in the wrong sitting position will not make you better.
In particular, the higher the difficulty of the target piece, the more important piano seating becomes.
(1) Sit shallow
Piano keys are not pressed by finger force alone.
Play with the weight of the upper body.
To do this, also sit in a chair Sit shallow. Try to do so.
A good rule of thumb is to be able to move the knees and open and close the crotch freely while seated.
It’s almost to the point where your thighs don’t even touch the chair.
Conversely, if you sit too deeply in the piano chair, your weight, which should be on the keys, will be on the chair, and you will have difficulty pressing the keys.
This would slow down the process of pressing one keyboard key and then the next keyboard key.
This is especially true when playing difficult or fast-paced music.
Make sure to remember the shallow sitting position.
(2) Stretch your back
The next consideration is posture.
Some people often play the piano with their backs rounded, which is incorrect.
Basically, the correct posture is to play with a straight back.
You may have seen scenes of good piano players playing with their backs rounded, and that is a technique for shifting weight to add inflection to their playing.
Please note that that is not the basic way to perform.
However, it is not necessary to stretch the spine so far that it becomes tight.
If too much force is applied, you will not be able to put your weight on the keyboard.
Please note that it is not necessary to make a clean 90° angle, as we will show next.
Be conscious of keeping your back straight, but relax moderately.
(iii) Bend over a little.
Next is the position of the body’s center of gravity.
As mentioned above, piano keys are pressed with weight.
If the upper body is at a nice 90° angle or, conversely, if it is too warped, you will have to use only the force of your fingers when pressing the keyboard.
To avoid this, lean forward slightly so that you can smoothly place your weight on the keyboard.
(4) Pull back your chin.
The last one is the face.
Have you ever had your jaw lifted because you exerted too much force when taking a picture, for example?
The same thing tends to happen with piano playing.
Be sure to keep the front of your face between the keyboard and the place where you place the music sheet, and pull your chin back appropriately.
How to place your hand
The next thing to remember is how to place your hands.
This is a point to be especially careful about.
This is because I feel that there are so many images and videos I see on the Internet that show people placing their fingers incorrectly.
Be aware of how to properly place your hands as a beginner and learn it well.
(1) Relax your shoulders
The first prerequisite is to relax your shoulders.
If the “posture” and the “chair height,” which will be discussed later, are correct, the patient will be in a state of natural relaxation.
First, with your posture straight, drop your hands straight down without putting your hands on the keyboard.
Please remember well how to relax at this time.
You will be playing the piano in this shoulder position.
A common practice is to lean forward too much or to perform in an overly tight, tight-fitting outfit with shoulders that are strained.
This makes it impossible to move the shoulders and creates an unnatural space between sounds, like a katakana word.
This is especially true for songs that use more keys.
(2) Place fingertips on the keyboard
Next, actually place your fingers on the keyboard.
Do not place the fingerprints curled up on the fingertip (belly of the finger) on the keyboard.
Also, the wrist should not be on the keyboard.
Place only the “fingertips” vertically on the keyboard.
(Only the thumb is placed diagonally.)
This is due to the hardness of the skin of the fingers.
This is because on the piano, where the loudness of the sound is controlled by the strength with which the keys are pressed, the use of soft finger bellies makes it difficult to control this.
This is why the piano is played with relatively hard fingertips.
Of course, nails should be cut short.
Not only is this difficult to play, but it can also cause injury.
(iii) Be a complete stranger
Finally, there is the shape of the hand.
Keep your hands rounded and on the keyboard.
This “roundness” is taught in a variety of expressions depending on the piano teacher who teaches it (or the country).
When I was a little girl, I was taught that it was like holding an egg in the palm of your hand.
Although it is difficult to generalize about the size of hands since they vary from person to person, if I had to use an analogy, I would say that they are “about as round as when you type on a computer keyboard”.
Chair position
Next is the position of the chair.
Being aware of the front/back and left/right positions will change the strain on your body when you play.
The analogy is like adjusting the driver’s seat in a car.
Don’t bother, but be aware and adjust the position of your chair each time.
(1) Point straight at the center of the keyboard
When setting up the chair, position it so that it faces the center of the piano keys.
Except for special occasions, such as when two people are playing on one piano or when a score uses only low notes, the piano should be centered so that the player’s body is facing the middle of the piano.
(2) Place it in front of the keyboard.
I have learned to “sit shallow in my chair.”
In this shallow sitting position, the correct chair position is “knees under the keyboard.
Do not put the chair too deep into the piano, but find the best position for your body by gradually adjusting it.
Chair Height
Finally, the height of the chair.
If only one person uses the piano, you can adjust it the first time and be done with it, but if several people use the piano, you should adjust the chair each time.
The height should not be too low or too high for smooth piano playing.
Adjust the height to suit your body.
(1) Heel touches the floor
The first thing to be aware of is the feet.
Try sitting in a chair with your knees at 90°.
At this time, if the heel is not firmly on the ground, the force to press the keyboard will be unstable.
Adjust the height to the point where the heel rests firmly when sitting shallow.
(2) Elbow at 90° when fingers are placed on the keyboard.
The next thing to be aware of is the elbow.
The height of the chair should be such that when you place your hands on the keyboard with the “posture” described so far in mind, your elbows should be at “almost 90°”.
If the chair is too high, the elbows open; if it is too low, the elbows close.
When playing the piano, you may play high or low notes.
At that time, you slide your arm to the right or left keyboard, and your elbow is the fulcrum for one of these movements.
If the elbow cannot support the hand beyond it firmly, “the keyboard in front of you can be played firmly, but the keyboard to the right will be unstable.
It is important to maintain an optimal elbow angle by adjusting the height of the chair to prevent this from happening.
Summary of this lesson
- Sitting.”
- Sit so shallow that you can hardly put your thighs on the floor.
- Stretch your back as much as possible without straining.
- Bend your body forward slightly so that your face is in front of your elbows.
- Pull back your chin and turn your face to a position where you can easily see the keys and the music.
- Hand placement.”
- …relax your shoulders.
- Place fingertips on the keyboard
- Curl your hand as if you were holding an egg between the keyboard and your palm.
- Chair position.”
- Point it straight at the front of the piano.
- When sitting shallow in a chair, the knee comes under the keyboard.
- Chair height.”
- Heels on the floor
- Elbow at 90° when fingers are on the keyboard.
Basic Piano Course
- Step 1: How to play correctly
- Step 2: Tone names and keyboard positions
- Step 3: Notes and Rests
- Step 4: Notation and clef
- Step 5: Bars and slurs
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