How to improve your piano playing? There are many ways to enhance your piano playing capability. For example, you’re a starting cook, you won’t know if your food is delicious and well-cooked if you don’t master the basics. Therefore, in piano playing there are also things to consider in order to execute playing with ease but at the same time sounding beautiful.
Finger Dexterity
Finger dexterity is the ability of our fingers to move swiftly, independently, and precisely over the piano keyboard. The ability to play intricate melodies, rapid passages, and difficult technical pieces with easily all require high finger dexterity.
Finger dexterity is crucial since it allows for swift, autonomous, and precise finger motions on the keyboard. Your fingers are must be independent, controlled, strong, flexible, and agile. Your fingers may move freely without feeling of strangling when you achieve finger independence and as a result, you will have an accurate and controlled playing. Flexibility supports relaxed finger and hand positions, which improves control and fluidity. When you developed finger agility, your finger movements will be quick and fluid between various keys or positions on the Piano.
You can practice exercises that focus on particular finger combinations, rhythms, and articulations to increase their finger dexterity. These drills promote coordination, finger flexibility, and strength. You must repeat these exercises requently, in order to develop muscle memory and teach your fingers to move more quickly. When you finger experience greater trials gradually, their dexterity improves over time.
Finger dexterity can only be developed with constant practice, perseverance, and attention to correct technique. Piano players can improve their finger dexterity and improve their ability to play quick sections, complicated melodies, and technically challenging songs by including focused exercises into daily practice regimens.
The short videos below can be used as a starting to increase finger dexterity, you can start slow then fast.
Hand Positioning
The hands and wrists must be in an ideal and comfortable position to achieve technical precision, flexibility, and musical expression. Hand positioning is a crucial aspect of piano playing. It’s important to have a correct hand form, with fingers that are naturally “C”-shaped and somewhat rounded. Better finger control, agility, and precision are all made possible by this hand shape when playing. Avoiding excessive tension or collapsing the hand is vital since these actions can limit flexibility, cause weariness, or even result in damage.
Wrist alignment is just as important to hand positioning as hand shape. It is ideal for the wrists to be untense, level, and in line with the forearm. They should be in a neutral position, not too high or too low. A tension-free approach is ensured by proper wrist alignment, allowing for more range of finger movement and reducing muscular strain. Excessive wrist flexion might interfere with technical fluency and alter the natural flow of action.
Another part of hand posture is using the arms as support and weight. The weight should be put on the keys with the arms supported and at ease. This gives off a smooth, controlled touch that improves tone and emotion. For a balanced and dynamic tone, it’s crucial to strike a balance between arm weight and finger control.
In hand positioning, the placement of the thumb is crucial. When playing the piano, the thumb offers support and stability. Align your thumb with your hand’s natural curvature and place it lower than the other fingers. Effective thumb crossing, octave jumping, and thumb-under movements are mini skills that you can achieve by proper thumb placement. Keeping a steady and regulated thumb posture throughout various musical parts promotes technical precision and fluidity.
Posture
Starting with a good seated position at the piano, for you posture. Sit forward on the bench while keeping your alignment balanced. Avoid slouching or leaning too much forward or backward. Keep your spine upright. Your knees should be just below the height of the keyboard, with your feet flat on the floor. This promotes stability and enables optimum weight distribution and balance. Your reach and posture as a whole can be hampered by sitting too far back or perching on the edge of the bench.
When playing the piano, you must have a good posture maintained by proper upper body alignment. Your shoulder should be relaxed and have leveled neither elevated nor slumped forward. Tensing your shoulder muscles can cause stiffness and limit your range of motion. To easily reach the keys without straining or overextending, the arms should be somewhat forward. Maintain an open, expanded chest for unobstructed breathing and the best support possible while performing.
Put your elbows a little bit away from your sides and place your hands at a comfortable distance from the keyboard. To enable a natural and relaxed hand position, your hands should be at or just slightly above the key level. Avoid raising or lowering your hands excessively as this might put strain on your wrists and restrict finger movement. You can see the keys and have distinct visual reference points while playing if you keep the right distance and hand-eye alignment.
Photo by Tuấn Kiệt Jr. from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-a-woman-in-a-red-dress-playing-the-piano-7716500/
Pedal Usage
Piano Has 3 pedals : The Sustain/Damper Pedal, Soft Pedal and the Sostenuto Pedal. Bu We’re focusting on the most common used pedal which is the Sustain Pedal since it is most used on the Keyboard Piano/ Electric Piano.
The piano’s sustain pedal, is like as I said, the one that you will use the most frequently. When pressed in an Acoustic Piano, it removes all of the string’s dampers, enabling the played notes to sustain or ring out. You must use the sustain pedal to link notes, provide a fluid and legato tone, and increase your piano’s resonance. To simplify, it is prolonging or sustaining the sound of the last pressed chords, arpeggios, and melodies. It is important when playing that you remove the pedal before striking set of notes to prevent muddying or overly blending the harmonics. You must utilize the damper pedal paying close attention to the tonal effect and applying it sparingly to get the desired musical impression.
There you have it. They say that basic is everything. After you followed and practice all the tips in here faithfully, you will feel that you’re playing much better. If ever you have more tips than what I shared, feel free in the comments section. Please remember the name – surechords.com for more articles like this.
