A Pianist's Secret

lies in the palm of his

hand
(adapted from my Piano Course -
Lesson 2)
1. Introduction
2. he !le"or #i$itorium
System
%. he Interossei
&. he aim of $ood Practice
'. !undamental (uidelines
Piano Course on C#-)*+
,a-class Lin.s
(#o/n - op)
PS 1 - Introduction
#r. (raham 0illiams1 my former piano teacher and co-author of our Scales 2
Arpe$$ios 3oo.1 commenced his Classical piano studies at an early a$e. After 22
years of study and performances (includin$ recitals on Australian 4ational radio)
he o5tained his Ph# /ith a thesis on the piano music of the famous contemporary
!rench composer and (the late) 6ead of the Paris Conser7atoire Olivier Messiaen.
his thesis earned him a %-year scholarship in Paris to study under +essiaen and
his /orld reno/n piano teacher /ife 87onne Loriod. After $reetin$ him on his
arri7al at the airport they immediately too. him to the studio1 placed him on the
piano stool and e"plained (as (raham years later /ith a $reat smile related to me) 9
:4o/1 (raham1 the first thin$ you need to do is to learn to play the
piano ;:
:I almost fell of my stool;: (raham confessed to me.
:3ut you .no/ /hat<;: he continued1 :they /ere a5solutely ri$ht;;:
!or a full year (raham /as confined to the small practice studio and not allo/ed
to ma.e a sin$le performance. #urin$ this period he learnt the piano techni=ue
de7eloped 5y !ran- Lis-t and passed on and .ept ali7e in !rance throu$h reno/n
teachers li.e 87onne Loriod and (ermaine +ounier.
he results /ere nothin$ less than spectacular 9 the 5irth of a rich and 5eautiful
crystal clear tone1 an effortless fluidity and a rhythmic capa5ility /ith /hich he
could master e7en the most demandin$ and comple" +essiaen compositions.
8ears later I myself had the $reat fortune to learn this /onderful techni=ue from
(raham 1 5e it at a much more modest le7el of e"pectation and competence. As a
relati7e 5e$inner it too. me a5out % years (instead of 1) to de7elop the techni=ue1
/ith $reatly pleasin$ results in terms of touch1 fluency and tone.
3ein$ a creati7e1 research oriented thin.er1 I could follo/ and ac.no/led$e the
7arious sta$es of de7elopment I /ent throu$h and reco$nise the results. 3ut the
=uestion for me al/ays remained 9 I understand /hat to do and ho/ to do it1 5ut
why is this so ?
!or a full year I .ept searchin$ for the ans/er1 =uestionin$ professionals from the
medical and physiotherapy fields and roamin$ throu$h 7arious 5oo.s and articles.
he ans/er /hich I finally arri7ed at is as simple as it is conclusi7e.
I ha7e al/ays 5elie7ed that understandin$ is the $reatest moti7ator. *nce you
understand why you should practice this or do that1 you 5ecome deeply moti7ated
to follo/ throu$h. his is the 5asis for 5oth my Piano echni=ue Course and my
Sa"ophone Course.
!or the Piano the secret to a fluent techni=ue and stron$1 crystal clear tone1 lies in
the palm of your hand1 as I /ill e"plain to you 5elo/.
(#o/n - >p - op)
PS 2 - he !le"or #i$itorium System
!in$er mo7ements are lar$ely controlled 5y t/o muscle systems.
he first system1 the !le"or #i$itorium system1 is located in the upper
part of the forearm near the el5o/. hese muscles e"tend /ith lon$
tendons that run alon$ the forearm1 under the /rist all the /ay to the
.nuc.les and fin$er ?oints.
his muscle system ena5les us to ha7e a firm hand $rip1 stron$ enou$h to
carry a suitcase1 or e7en hold our entire 5ody /ei$ht /hen han$in$ from
a hori-ontal 5ar (or tree 5ranch).
his !le"or #i$itorium system consists of 9
the Flexors Digitorium Profundus1 /hich run from the el5o/ alon$ the
lo/er arm1 throu$h the 'carpal canal' under the wrist1 to the 1st fin$er ?oint
(nearest the fin$er tip) of each fin$er.
the Lum5ricals1 5ranch off from the !le"ors #i$itorium Profundus at a
point /ithin the hand palm and run to each .nuc.le ?oint.
the Flexors Digitorium Superficialis1 also run from the el5o/1 alon$ the
forearm1 under the wrist1 to the 2nd fin$er ?oint of each fin$er. (hey split
near the end to let the !le"or Profundus tendon pass throu$h to the 1st
fin$er ?oint.)
A5o7e muscles are used to curve (and close) the fin$ers of the hand.
o do this ho/e7er another set of muscles (the Flexor !xtensor "arpi) must
hold the /rist firm (therefore stiffen the wrist)1 other/ise the !le"or #i$itorium
muscles /ould roll up the fin$ers1 hand and /rist li.e a 5am5oo curtain.
(he @"tensors #i$itorium muscles (not shown in a5o7e dia$ram) are
used to straighten the fin$er and .nuc.le ?oints1 openin$ the hand. hese
muscles and their tendons run from the el5o/1 over the wrist and the
#ac$ of the hand to connect /ith the .nuc.le and fin$er ?oints 7ia the
@"tensor @"pansion sheet1 that e"tends o7er the 5ac. of each fin$er.
+ore a5out this muscle system 5elo/.)
he !le"or #i$itorium muscle system is 7ery po/erful and /e use it
continuously for most of our fin$er mo7ements.
6o/e7er these muscles are not suita#le for a $ood piano fin$er
techni=ue1 5ecause 9
1. the muscles are located lar$ely outside the hand1 too far a/ay
from the re=uired delicate fin$er action.
2. they cause a de$ree of stiffening of the wrist.
%. the .ey stro.e 5ecomes a pushing action rather than a freely
re5oundin$ gravity stro$e.
his results in a lac. of tone =uality1 resonance1 clarity and fluency
.
&. e"cessi7e use of these muscles in piano playin$ can easily lead to
repetitive strain in%ury (rsi) and inflammation of the /rist.
(#o/n - >p - op)
PS % - he Interossei
he second muscle system controllin$ fin$er mo7ement is located
entirely /ithin the hand.
It consists of the Palmar and #orsal Interossei muscles. hese are $rafted
on either side of the metacarpal 5one (palm 5one) for each of the four
fin$ers and run to the fin$er 5one (phalan$e) ?ust past each .nuc.le.
>sed indi7idually the Palmar interosseus pulls the fin$er sideways in one
direction1 the #orsal interosseus side/ays in the opposite direction.
0hen used simultaneously the Palmar and #orsal Interossei flex the
$nuc$le %oint for/ard (or1 /hen the hand is in a hori-ontal position1
do/n/ard).
+ost importantly these muscles are located entirely /ithin the hand palm1
and therefore can fle" the .nuc.le ?oint (and achie7e a proper fin$er
action) without stiffening the wrist.
!or a good finger action in piano playin$ /e must therefore use the
&nterossei muscles and fle" the fin$ers from the .nuc.le ?oints. his
lea7es the /rists rela"ed and fle"i5le.
'here is however a pro#lem
In e7ery day fin$er mo7ement the Interossei play only a secondary and
supporti7e role in fle"in$ the .nuc.les.
he prime movers in .nuc.le fle"ion are the (um#ricals1 for t/o
reasons 9
1. 0hen the .nuc.le ?oint is fully e"tended the &nterossei are parallel to1 and
in line with the palm and fin$er 5one.
In this position the Interossei cannot start to fle" the .nuc.le ?oint for/ard
(or do/n/ard).
he (um#ricals approach the fin$er 5one at a larger angle than the
Interossei.
his means that they can fle" the .nuc.le ?oint e7en /hen the .nuc.le ?oint
is fully e"tended.
he Lum5ricals are therefore the starter muscles for the .nuc.le fle"
action.
2. he (um#ricals1 5ein$ an offshoots of the po/erful !le"ors #i$itorium
Profundus are much stronger than the Interossei muscles.
0e therefore rely on the Lum5ricals to do most of the .nuc.le
mo7ements throu$hout our daily acti7ities1 includin$ our fin$er actions
on the $ey#oard.
(#o/n - >p - op)
PS & - he aim of $ood Piano Practice
It no/ 5ecomes clear that in order to de7elop a $ood fin$er techni=ue on
the piano it is necessary to reverse nature.
8ou must upgrade the &nterossei from /ea. supportin$ muscles to
5ecome the Prime movers and learn to trust and rely on them in that
dominant function.
As this starts to happen the role of the Flexors Digitorium and
(um#ricals /ill $radually diminish to a secondary function in7ol7ed
mainly /hen special play techni=ues re=uire this.
o de7elop the Interossei muscles you must 9
1. Al/ays play /ith a good hand position.
he .nuc.le ?oint is not strai$ht 5ut sli$htly fle"ed.
In this position the Interossei can function as starter muscles.
2. #e7elop &nterossei muscle strength.
hrou$h regular techni)ue practice as outlined in my Piano echni=ue
Course.
(radually the &nterossei /ill 5ecome stron$er. 8ou /ill notice this 5y a
most peculiar feelin$ /ithin the palms of your hands 9 the interossei1 as
they 5ecome thic.er1 are pushin$ out the palm 5ones /idenin$ your
hands.
*nce the interossei ha7e 5ecome stron$ enou$h to support the hand and
arm it is time for the fle"ors and lum5ricals to phase out their action.
his mental step of trusting your fingers /as for me at the time the most
difficult process.
Sooner or later ho/e7er the 5rain /ill $et the messa$e and $radually
diminish and rela" the fle"ors and let the interossei do the /or. . his
then frees up the wrist1 ena5lin$ the de7elopment of tone1 resonance1
clarity1 $reat e7enness and fluency in your playin$.
,ust playin$ piano re$ularly does not necessarily stren$then the Interossei
muscles.
3ut sustained re$ular practice of the right exercises in the correct way
/ill.
(#o/n - >p - op)
PS ' - !undamental (uidelines
(ood piano techni=ue ma"imises the use of t/o sets of muscles.
1. he &nterossei1 to support the /ei$ht of the hand1 arm or 5ody and to assist
/hen re=uired to the $ra7ity .eystro.e.
2. the !xtensors Digitorium1 to lift the fin$ers off the .ey5oard after they
ha7e played each note.
(@"tensor #i$itorium actions do not stiffen the /rist1 as the natural /ei$ht
of the hand pre7ents any up/ards fle"in$ or insta5ility of the /rist.)
!or a $ood fin$er techni=ue follo/ these simple $uidelines 9
1. Aeep the hands always over the $ey#oard (not in front of it) /ith
the thum#s pointing downwards1 so that the /ei$ht of the hand is
supported 5y the fin$ers (Interossei).
2. Aeep the hands #alanced on the fingers1 /ith a slight forward
pressure to/ards the piano. (his .eeps the fin$er ?oints loc.ed in
position.)
*ever pull the hand #ac$wards1 for this either causes the fin$ers
to collapse1 or1 in an attempt to pre7ent this1 /ill 5rin$ the !le"or
#i$itorium muscles into action causin$ stiffenin$ of the /rist.
%. >se the $nuc$le %oints for all fin$er action.
&. >se gravity1 7i-. the natural drop of the fin$er1 hand or arm1 as the
main source of energy.
It is most useful to ha7e some understandin$ of the the muscle actions for
a $ood fin$er techni=ue.
6o/e7er do not #ecome o#sessive a5out it /hile practisin$.
,ust follo/ the simple instructions1 lesson schedules and e"ercises
pro7ided in my Piano echni=ue Course (at your o/n pace) and thin$s
/ill fall into place and de7elop naturally.
(>p - op - ,a-class Lin.s)
B 2CC& +ichael !urstner (,a-class)