Excellent video! I've been playing for over 20 years and nobody really explained this to me... Thanks so much for sharing!
Olly

So far I have watched every video Robert Estrin has done this past year or two and I love them. I just wish there were more and perhaps a well-illustrated book for sale because I am self-taught and can use a lot of help.

Woooooooooooooowwww!!!!!

So many things to say...

Do you think they brought out the tuner/tech between numbers?

Wouldn't you love to tag along with Tom for piano shopping?

Hopefully you don't emulate on your own piano!?!

Ever wonder what feedback you'd get if you posted this to the Tuner/Tech Forum?

Hi everyone,

I agree that Robert's video is excellent. I particularly like that he stresses the importance of getting maximum results with minimum effort.

And there's another aspect to this: using the weight of your arm to produce tone. When you stop pushing downwards on the key, and instead, let gravity do the work, you stay relaxed, and you also gain greater control over dynamics.

Here's a video I created that demonstrates this approach. I hope some of you find it helpful!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4_LdrP0c1A

By the way, someone here talks about a problem with their pinky sticking straight up. Using arm weight may help to overcome this problem. And that's because when you play by releasing weight (rather than pushing), you're constantly sending the message to your body: Release. Let go. Relax.

And that includes even your pinky. :o)

So relaxation gets "built into" your technique in the most fundamental way possible, and that can only be a good thing!

--Bruce

This is quality.thanks guys

wonderful video! especially helpful for adult beginners like myself. thank you!!

I also have the problem of the "teacup pinkie" on my right hand only. I'm wondering if it will cause trouble down the road. I am not currently noticing any problems.

My teacher told me about the "pinkie", that it would the result of a too tense hand. I think that it could disappear by having much more routine in piano playing, and thus approaching it much more relaxed. My teacher advised me to routinely do some excercises (scales and arpegios) in which I fully concentrate on posture (full body to finger tip), and within this of course concentrating also on hand and finger posture. I get corrected on this each lesson again. Corrections became by time so subtle, that I sometimes wonder what it would be what is still not good, but my teacher really insists on it to maximum detail. It´s hard for me to say WHAT I changed over time, but yes, the pinkie is disappearing. I now only suffer it on new pieces and hard passages, which supports my teacher´s view that it is all about playing relaxed.

I enjoy these videos very much. Robert Estrin is a really cool guy that knows how to make learning fun. I hope you keep these vids coming.

During my years taking piano lessons, I had some good teachers, and one great teacher. His name was Alexander Mlynarski; the piano teacher lineage went back through Paderewski, and on back many generations to Beethoven, according to my teacher (whom I have no reason to doubt).

He taught that my hand should be shaped as though I were holding a large orange. Wrist low, knuckles high, elbows out slightly, hand always relaxed when possible between playing and sustaining chords.