Proper Hand Posture at The Piano

Lesson 1-3: Proper Hand Posture at The Piano

This is video number 3 of the first lesson of the piano and keyboard course for beginners. It is a good time to review what we have learned in the first two tutorials, in which we have learned to locate the note C in various parts of the keyboard, and in which we have learned what an octave is. In the case of the keyboard that we are using, the Yamaha PSR-E453, we have 5 octaves, and we can locate the note C six times.

We will have to exercise to recognize this note at a glance since it is the starting point to recognize the other notes. In this case it is easy because you already know that it is the key to the left of each set of two black keys.

Of these different C notes we will look for one that we will call the middle C. In the video you can listen to how this gift sounds to learn to distinguish it from the others. In an acoustic piano this two is in the center of the keyboard, in the case of the Yamaha PSR-E453 it is a little to the left of the center of the instrument, this is because we have an odd number of octaves. If we had 6 octaves it would be in the center.

We will start by playing the white keys one by one starting from C to the right. After 2 we will successively find the re, the mi, the fa and the sun. These five notes go from low to high, and make up what we call a scale, in this case the scale would only have 5 notes. We will play each key with a different finger, that is, we will use the little finger of the left hand to play C, the ring finger to play D, the middle finger to play E, the index finger for F and finally the thumb for A. note sun.

If you have an electronic keyboard, you will surely have different sounds on it, such as violins, trumpets, etc. It is advisable to do this exercise with a piano sound, because we will perceive better if we are doing it well. On the Yamaha PSR-E453 keyboard we have an excellent acoustic piano sound, which will come in handy for practicing. Later we can try other electric piano or organ sounds.

The fingers must be slightly curved, and the hand must feel relaxed, without tension. Avoid playing with straight and stiff fingers, and the palm of the hand should be about 5 centimeters above the keyboard.

We will do the same exercise with the right hand, but this time we will start by playing C with the thumb, D with the index finger, M with the middle finger, F with the ring finger and G with the little finger. This way of using the fingers, which we will call fingering, has its logic, since the hands are symmetrical.

We will try this exercise in different octaves, and in this way we will get our ears used to recognizing how the sound changes depending on the part of the piano keyboard that we are using. The most important thing is to practice in the central zone of the keyboard because it is going to be the one that we are going to use the most at the moment.

Another important recommendation is to prevent the sound of the different notes from mixing. This means that while we have the key of C pressed, we also play the key of D, with which both sounds would be heard at the same time. To avoid this it is important to lift the finger that is playing C before pressing the D key with the next finger. You can see this in the video.