Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Critique my posture (updated pics)

I'm 5'11 140 lbs so I don't have much meat on these bones. Any sort of extreme sitting position (like straight up) for too long kills me.

Methinks you should work on your core stability muscles, so that you can sit further back and give yourself more arm - and leg - room, without getting fatigued with maintaining your posture.

Strength training does wonders. Even if you've developed a slouching sort of posture with rounded shoulders from long hours at the computer, it can be corrected.

A teacher might help or not. Because obviously in your case it's not about a young fit person who can simply correct the posture by will. Piano teachers are not physiotherapists. You really need to get one or work on this yourself and gradually. I talk from experience.

Despite what people seem to think rounded shoulders cannot be completely corrected in many cases according to my phycisist. It depends on the age and one's body structure and how the muscles are attached. And it definitely cannot be forced, but has to come naturally, otherwise there will be even more tension. But rounded shoulders are not necessary a big problem if you can free your arms while playing.

Trying to straighten you upper back or keep the shoulders back deliberately is not an answer! It can cause really bad tension. The answer is to strengthen the muscles on the abdomen, butt and the lower back which will eventually let the upper back be relaxed but less hunched. And not everyone has similar structure, some people naturally have a more curved back.

As for the back: I have a structural defect which makes my lower back a big issue. Leaning back for support is not an answer, you just cannot learn to play properly like that. Yes, you should work on your core strength and exercise away from the piano to have better posture, but I understand your limitations. Maybe try to exercise just a little bit and start slowly. I would just start sitting much further away, even lean forward a bit too much if necessary (a habit you may need to work on later) to prevent the pain in the back. Just play as long as you can and stop when it gets too painful. Get an adjustable good padded bench (it really is a must!) and experiement with different heights. What I have learned is that depending on the state of my back I need to change the height, so I am not always sitting on the same height.

And a tip: Get a comfortable back support belt to use while playing! During difficult times this has enabled me to practice for longer periods.

Radu Lupu has had chronic back pain these last 40 years. He uses the chair back to avoid it, so he's not necessarily a good example to emulate.

I think moving the chair back a little is the most important change you should consider. Because of your back problem it seems like not leaning back in the chair is not a possible change at present. I don't think your posture is poor at all.

Although the ramrod straight back and leaning slightly forward a la Horowitz seems to be the most popular among professionals there are some very good pianists that actually lean back in the chair or have hunched shoulders.
Frederic Chiu is fantastic and leans back as does Radu Lupu:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3nUvzApF2E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR6z1hzhVD0

Daniil Trifonov often plays hunched over the keyboard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIEqFuwUbwU&index=2&list=PL3AA5590654A5962D

All the more reason not to emulate Lupu, don't you think?

If Lupu uses the chair with the back to help him with his back pain, I think that's a good reason for the OP to do the same thing.

Slightly off topic, but a group of us attending the Summer Piano Academy in Victoria. B.C. all went out to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. Many tables had seats with cushions but no backs. When I looked around, people at other tables were slouching, squirming, leaning, hunching and looking quite uncomfortable. I was amused to see everyone at our table, (all pianists) were sitting ramrod straight, completely relaxed and unaware of their beautiful posture.

Nor were we uncomfortable, were we?

Cheers!