Piano Technique

Minimum Hand Tension

Health professional talk about " the position of function" of the hand- a neutral position from which the fingers function with the greatest strength and efficiency ( see Figure 1). Dr.Emil Pascarelli suggests finding this position by extending your forearm, not bending you wrist in any particular direction, and turning your hand palm up. The natural curve your hand assumes is the position of function. If you keep that curve and slimly turn your hand over onto a piano keyboard, you have a strong, comfortable, loose hand .Whatever instrument you play, staying as close to this model as possible will help you avoid straining your hand and arm. Deviating from it excessively by keeping your fingers raised,curled, or unnecessarily far apart will cause strain.

Figure 1

Instrumental teacher find that students usually play with too much tension in their finger. Some musicians overexert the fingers to exercise their muscles and strengthen, them. The fingers themselves don't have any muscles in them; the muscles that control the fingers are in the rest of the hand and mainly in the firearm. Tendons extend from these muscles to move the fingers. So over tensing the finger creates excess tension in the forearm. This tension prevents the free flow of energy into the hand. making playing difficult and creating an unpleasant sound.

Figure 2