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I used to be able to play my casio CDP 100 for hours on end.

I turned the x stand on its side so the key bed height is 25 inches. (floor to the top of the white keys).

I bought myself an ex school Danemann which due to UK law is placed on castors putting the key bed to 30 inches.

I use telephone books placed under my seat to lift me up these 5 inches. However I have to float my feet because the pedals are so far off the floor.

Both instances my forearms are parallel to the keys

I find my Danemann to sound lovely, and my casio to be deeply artificial sounding.

But I find playing my Daneman to be tiring, is it because the action is so much heavier (in comparison my casio feels really light to touch).

Or a position issue?

Fatigue from the much louder sounds it makes?



I do love to play on my acoustic but as said I find I have to take regular breaks.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

How long ago did you make this switch?

I bought it right at the end of November.

Is it getting better or getting worse?

I'm not sure, because instead of a marathon 90 minute sessions I'd put in with my DP, I might play for 25 minutes wander off do something else then come back for another half hour, then another half hour later on.

Seems to be fading a bit because of this,

If your feet are floating, that will affect the rest of your body.

Have you looked at finding a box that would fit under the pedals. It would have to be pretty wide and deep enough that you could rest normally?

Of course many kids sit with their feet dangling down so I suspect the real issue is tension.

Lifting weights, stretching, and sitting in the sauna got rid of all my back and posture problems while playing the piano. I'm not a big muscular guy, I didn't become super strong, but twice a week really made a huge difference.

If you are perched with your feet dangling, then you will be using the muscles of your torso to hold you up. Obviously there will be tension. Fix the seating.

Regular breaks are good, anyway. My acoustic definitely has a heavier action than my Casio. I like to keep my elbows a bit higher than the standard position, to attack the keys from above, so to speak, and use more weight if needed. I can still reach the pedals, but my piano has the keybed at 28" in spite of the castors.

That's the problem. I had the same thing.

The solution is to put something under your heels so your feet are supported at a comfortable level. It has to be completely comfortable at both ends of the pedal's travel.

I use a scrap of 2x6 with my Knabe. With the piano up on casters, you may need something thicker.

Thanks for the suggestions. A couple of telephone books will have to do for now. I reckon an upturned mitre box should do the trick.

My digital piano sits on a desk, which is much higher than the piano stand. I bought a used bar stool with a low back to the seat, and it is about the right height. Before that, I used a makeshift seat booster, and that was not a good solution.

Hi Mken,

If your feet were floating - of course, muscles in your body have to compenste that position and it will create several tensions in your body.

The shoulders fatigue has often to do with sitting posture as well.

I would mention a few things that are considered important in the sitting posture (according to the Alexanders technique for example):

1) The body has to be supported by sitting bones mainly.

If you sit backwawrds on the piano stool so, that your legs will touch the stool, it will push the sitting bones support out of balance and other muscles get involved to maintain the straight position.

If you try sitting on the edge with your sitting bones and then in the middle of the stool with your sitting bones, you will notice a big difference.

When leg muscles touch the stool and support the body, first the lower abdominals will sense tension and the next step is the shoulder tension.

So sitting on the edge and supporting with sitting bones is important.

2) The so called "frank straight" position might be even harmful if to take it word by word. It is important that the body remains natural and relaxed.

So the next step after sitting bones is the balance of the backbone. If you find a comfortable position where backbone is well balanced (each part of it is naturally on the previous) and the head is in the centre of the balance, then it is a healthy posture.

3) What is additionally very important and often the decider of the pianists "fate" is the connection point of the body and keys.

If each finger is playing in a way where all three parts of the finger move sensitively and are involved in the playing process, the muscules in the palm will activate.

The way of playing where each finger goes from naturally curved position into a little bit more straight position while pushing the key, relieves the forearms from a huge tension.

If fingers are being used as "fixed blocks", however curved or flat they are, it leaves most of the work on forearm muscles and finally it will cause several troubles and pain. Also that kind of touch is very numb. And that is why forearm pain is so widespread and often a reason for abandoning the piano.

Sensitive use of figers will be the way to incorporation all the body naturally into the playing process.

(the information is taken from an article by a physicists group who researched thouroughlly different ways of piano playing). That is the best they found. According to my experience, it gives excellent results.

Best wishes,
Jaak

Right -- And the big forearm muscles acting via tendons are inherently slower than the little muscles in your hands. You need them for power sometimes, but for speed you need to develop the interossei and lumbricals.

So after a week or so of putting boards under the pedals and raising the 'floor' which I put my feet on, I find pedal control better.

However I found the real cause, it's work related the piles and piles of work I have to do this time of year means I sit with bad posture at work for long periods to get the work done.

Are you able to make any changes to the ergonomics at work? (I'm serious.)

I've placed an order for a chair with better support, it should arrive in a few days.

Thank goodness.

I'm actually looking seriously at the idea of work desks with a treadmill, where you work not only standing up, but walking. Presently I rotate between a regular chair, a kneeling chair, and an exercise ball, in order to not be in a static position for hours.