Piano Playing Posture

Part of the Video Series How to Play the Piano

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Proper posture is a key part of effectively playing the piano - learn the correct posture when sitting down at a piano in this free online video.

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Video Transcript

Piano Playing Posture
Hi my name is Omri and today we are going to talk about proper positioning at the piano. So first of all, we sit at the bench and we want to sit at about the last half of the bench; meaning the forward half of the bench. So we position ourselves towards the end of the bench and we want to be a comfortable distance. Now comfortable distance so that we can reach the notes, play them comfortably and with power and reach the peddles without having to bend forward or raise our shoulders or anything. Is if you just stick your fist out and it touches the back board against the end of the notes that’s about proper distance for most people. Okay? Now when I sit at the piano I always want to have my back up straight because you gain your power not just from your fingers or from your wrists but from your whole arm all the way up to your shoulders. You want to have a nice straight back for support. When I put my hands out I want them to be a little bit curved; I don’t want my elbows to be totally straight because again everything is round and this is how you get the continuous motion and the continuous power. The way that I want my fingers to be focused is in the same way. I want them to be round because round shapes have more power and rounded fingers will also have more control. A good way to describe just how rounded your fingers should be is if you take a tennis ball and you grip it in your hand, that is about how rounded your fingers should be. They should be like a claw; they should be very round. And that also allows all my fingers to be aligned because naturally they are different lengths. By rounding my fingers I’ll be able to play any notes that I want.

About the Expert

Expert: Omri Goldshtrom has been playing the piano for over 10 years. He currently teaches lessons to students of all ages. Read More