In today's article I want to go over how to get started at the piano. I already covered how to determine the correct seat height which is a crucial first step in a complete piano technique. Now we can actually start playing notes. The video lesson is about dropping into the keys. This is the first finger/hand/arm motion you need to master in order to start developing a complete technique. The key take aways are:
- Make sure you finger hand and arm drop freely into the key with nothing impeding the motion. You can practice this motion by dropping your arm in your lap.
- When you land on the keys check your wrist? Is it flat to your hand arm and fingers?
- Do you feel like the weight of your arm in balanced over your fingertips. The finger should feel solid on the bottom of the key.
- Knuckles - is your hand collapsed and floppy or is there a pronounced knuckle at each join in your fingers.
A lot of these things take time to develop and feel. It helps if you can be in person with me so I can check your hands and make sure the motions are correct but hopefully this video helps.