Sore Paws, ouch Options

[monkey flute]

hi a friend of mine has left a large keyboard in my music room so i thought while i have it (he is working abroad for 10 weeks ) maybe a little learning would be good

can anyone explain to me the posture my hands and wrists should obtain i think i must be doing it wrong as after about 15 mins my hands ache

i have bought a teach yourself piano book and have can use my mums piano at the week ends and would love to play more than ode to joy

thanks for any advice monkey flute (IMG:style_emoticons/default/party1.gif)

[sbhoa]

Sit at the right height so that when your hand are on the piano your forearms are more or less parallel with the floor.
Your elbows should be just in front of your body.
One way fo finding your right hand position is to relax your arms at your sides then, without changing how your hands are, lift them onto the keyboard.
Try not to tense your arms or wrists.
As it's a new activity the even doing it correctly may start to get uncomfortable fairly soon as you are training new muscles.
Stop when this happens and come back to it later. Little and often is the key.

[sarice]

I agree with Sbhoa, especially about the advice of completely relaxing your arms and keeping them like that at the piano. With my young students as they begin, we try an exercise called "heavy wet ropes" which is actually quite effective. Sit at the piano with your arms by your sides and let your head fall onto the keys and feel all of the weight in your arms. Slowly draw your head up and keep your arms relaxed and weighted, like "heavy wet ropes." That is the weight that you should access when playing piano in order to create sound, not weight from muscles which causes undo tension and pain!
Also, make sure that your shoulders are dropped and there is no tension in that area, as that often triggers tension lower in the arm.
Finally, make sure that your elbows are not tucked into your sides, as that causes tension.
Good luck!
Once you find what works in relieving your tension, make sure you try to remember how it physically feels so that you can re-create it!
Have fun!

*sarice*

[chocolate girl]

yes i agree to (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

xxx