Ten Tips to Improve Your Posture for Piano Performance

Proper posture for piano performance is challenging to develop – and even more difficult to learn if you have already developed bad habits! However, it is crucial for developing good technique and for keeping your body healthy and happy as your pour hours of time into practice.

What is good posture? What is the “correct” and proper way to play a piano? Here are ten things to keep in mind:

1) Keep your fingers curved and relaxed. Strain and tension will tire your fingers quickly and make it challenging to play.

2) Keep thumbs straight but relaxed.

3) Align head, shoulders, and hips for balance. This is key for maintaining proper posture. Don’t slouch!

4) Rest your feed on the floor or a footstool.

5) Keep fingers curved out during performance, and never concaved.

6) Use the weight of your arm to press the keys. The most important thing to remember in all of these tips is that the way you play should not fatigue you. You should be building up endurance to be able to play longer and more demanding pieces.

7) Keep your wrist flexible to reduce tension.

8) Align pinky finger, wrist, and elbow.

9) When reaching for notes, lean side to side rather than scooting on the bench. There’s no need to waste energy scooting around. You’ll also develop a “home base” this way and avoid the need to reposition yourself.

10) Play pinky finger near the tip. Don’t press the whole pinky flat on the keys.

Did we miss anything? Have you developed any bad habits that you need to break? Let us know!