One of the first thing I go over with all my students is how to determine the right height of the bench. If the bench is not at the right height in hinders all aspects of your piano playing. If the seat is too low it may the weight of the arm to fall back and not be balanced over the key. If the seat is too high its hard to release the full weight of the arm over each key.
So what is the right height? When you are seated on the bench your elbow should be level with the top of the keys. The way that I coach my self and my students is as follows:
- Sit at the keyboard and place your hands on the keys.
- Take a book and place it under your elbow
- Make sure the book or ruler is flush with the top of the keys
- Check that your Elbow is also parallel with the tops of the keys
Correct Height
You'll notice that my wrist is aligned with my forearm and hand. My elbow is level with the keys and I am sitting upright.