Piano Basics · Chapter 3 of 9

Sitting and Hand Shape

Good playing starts before the first note: a comfortable seat, loose shoulders and a gently curved hand.

You don’t need to sit like a statue. The goal is to be comfortable and free to move, so your arms and fingers can do their work without strain.

The seat

Where

Sit facing the middle of the keyboard, with middle C roughly in front of you. Sit on the front half of the bench or chair, not all the way back.

How high

With your hands resting on the keys, your forearms should be about level with the keys. If you sit too low, add a firm cushion. Feet rest flat on the floor; a child can rest them on a box or footstool.

How far

Sit far enough back that your elbows are a little in front of your body, with room to move your arms from side to side. Your knees go just under the front edge of the keys.

Sit tall but easy. Let your shoulders drop and your arms hang loosely from them. If you notice your shoulders creeping up while you play, let them down again.

The hand

Let one arm hang at your side for a moment, completely loose. Look at your fingers: they curve gently all by themselves. That’s the shape you want on the keys.

Curved fingers, as if your hand were resting on a small ball.
Play on the fingertips, on the pad just behind the nail. The thumb plays on its side, near the corner of the nail.
A level wrist, neither sagging below the keys nor raised high.
Gentle knuckles: a rounded bridge across the back of the hand, not flat or caved in.

To play a note, let the finger drop into the key: the key goes down, the note sounds, and you let the key come back up. You don’t need to push hard. On a piano, the faster a key goes down, the louder the note.

Sit at your piano or keyboard (or just at a table) and check each one.

I’m facing the middle of the keyboard, with middle C in front of me.
I’m sitting on the front half of the seat, with my feet flat.
My forearms are about level with the keys.
My shoulders are down and loose.
My fingers are curved, resting on their tips.
My wrist is level, not drooping.

Gentle first notes

Put your right thumb on middle C and let one finger rest on each white key up to G. Play the keys one at a time, slowly, and listen to each note until it fades. Try to make every note the same loudness.

The small numbers on the keys are finger numbers. The next chapter explains them. On the keys on this screen, pressing nearer the front edge of a key plays a little louder, a bit like pressing a real key faster.

Take breaks. Short practice with a relaxed body works better than long practice with a tense one. If your hands, arms or shoulders feel tight, stop, shake them out, and rest before you go on.

Remember

Sit facing middle C, on the front half of the seat, forearms level with the keys.
Loose shoulders; curved fingers; play on the fingertips.
Let each finger drop into the key. No need to push hard.