Rounded Hand Shape
Lesson Book page 4
- Open and closed hand
- Curved fingers
- Flexible wrist
what's new
- Making a rounded hand shape
- Using a flexible wrist
what's important
let's get started
- Put your left (or right) hand straight out in front of you. Which finger is the longest? The shortest?
- We can do a magic trick to make all the fingers the same length. (Demonstrate a curved hand position.)
- Curve your fingers to make a C. Now your fingertips are in a line. Magic!
- Imagine you're holding a small round apple over the keys. Drop the apple gently. Now wave goodbye to the keys. Let your wrists flop.
It's easier to set the standard at the outset than to undo bad habits later.
explore and create
Open-Close
Open and close your hand into a C shape in rhythm. I'll play some music while we say Open-Close. (Download duet)
partner pages
Technique & Artistry
p. 3 Let's Learn About Technique
Piano technique means skill. This page compares piano technique to a basketball player dribbling, a ballerina leaping, and a painter making brush strokes. Piano technique uses the muscles of the fingers, wrists, arms, and torso.
p. 4 Five Secrets for Piano Technique
The opening pages of this book show five technique secrets for this level. These are used as warm-ups throughout the book.
- Karate Pose helps establish good posture at the piano. The student may do Karate Pose at each lesson to correct slouching or sitting too close.
- Blooming Flowers uses the image of a bud slowly opening to a rounded hand shape. The student may do this easily at any time during the lesson to reestablish a good hand position.
- These technique secrets will be used throughout the book. The two secrets in T & A, p. 4 may be introduced at any time during the Lesson Book Unit 1, pp. 4-9.
Remind students to "hang loose" at the keyboard.
pedagogy pointers
Developing a curved, natural, and relaxed hand position is an important first step in shaping a student's technique.
It will take many reminders before this hand shape becomes second nature, but the sooner the process is begun, the better the chance of succeeding.
It is far easier to set the standard at the outset than to undo bad habits later.
It is equally important to help a student develop a flexible wrist. Analogies like waving goodbye or shaking drops off the fingertips are easy ways to introduce this concept.
Gentle reminders combined with careful observation (on your part) will help foster a natural flexibility.