How do I play the piano without tension?

Question

Why is my wrist not feeling flexible?

What is the ideal position for full-body playing?

How many times do I have to repeat an exercise before it is a conditioned reflex?

How do I get rid of performance anxiety?

Why is the quality of my sound so poor?

Answer 1

Hey there!

I know exactly how you’re feeling. When I first started playing piano, I played with a lot of tension, not only in my wrists but in my back and shoulders. I found a new piano teacher a year or so after that and she would joke that I played like a football player. We worked on my posture for a while until I started to play more relaxed. It really came down to constantly monitoring yourself while you are practicing and only use proper technic when approaching everything. I used to jump on things and play everything too fast from the beginning and realized I needed to start slow and play everything properly. There are also a variety of exercises I did before practicing any standard rep. Scales and arpeggios were just the beginning.

As for how long it takes, it’s not going to happen overnight. It probably took me a year to get to the point of relaxation that made me feel confident, but I kept building from there.

Performance anxiety is rough. I have definitely dealt with that before. I used to do breathing exercises which do help a lot, but it got to a point for me, where I needed a doctor’s input. Not everyone needs to go that route, but I did.

When it comes to tone, your tone will vastly improve with proper technic. These are all things a good piano teacher can help with! I’d love to work with you and help address these thing, so let me know. At any rate, I hope this helps!

Answer 2

Hi! Happy to help with this.

When it comes to wrist and body tension, posture can often be an issue. Many musicians struggle with this and end up with tendonitis or similar issues, which is something I've faced in my work as a player and producer.

While I'm not a doctor (and you should definitely seek one out if you begin to struggle with pain), here's a few things I learned from my PT through a bout of tendonitis I had last year. Your arms are functionally one complete tendon that split off further down the arm into several different ones. One of the best ways to avoid tension, injury, or poor posture in general is to strengthen your shoulder and back muscles so that they're pulled back instead of slouched forwards. If you're supporting your playing with your whole arm instead of just with your wrists, the tendon will be less strained. That way, it's easier to round your palm and have better dynamic control with your fingers. Another good thing to check is if your piano bench is at the right height. If you sit at your piano with your feet on the floor, and you feel like your hands can come down with your shoulders in proper alignment, it's going to be a lot easier to support

When it comes to the quality of your sound and getting rid of performance anxiety, it may be helpful to practice mindfulness and meditation before practicing piano. Feeling worried about how you sound and discomfort when playing are likely having a negative impact on your overall tension, sound, and posture. The ten percent happier podcast has some wonderful brief guided meditations. It's easy to lose sight of the joy of performing and creating in pursuit of perfecting artistry, stay in touch with your love for art and music. You're asking the right questions and I'm rooting for you!