When I have a beginning student, I start them with how you sit at the piano. The approach may seem stupid, and you may be saying to yourself, I’m paying the price just to learn how to sit at a piano. Well, kind of. Let me see if I can explain.
I compare starting with sitting at the piano like when you start with weight lifting. I was once in a weightlifting class. Yes, I know it is hard to believe. However, I did enjoy it. When I began in this class, we immediately started lifting weights. I thought to myself, “cool! I’m going to get strong fast”. For a while, it all went well, but then it didn’t. My body started hurting in ways that were not good. Doing squats with weight was making my knees hurt. It wasn’t the usual ache that my muscles usually felt from working out. I gave it no thought and kept going until the few months the class ran was over.
Several years later, I wanted to work out again. This time the class started with no weights. We just went over the form of the weight workouts. As I learned, beginning with the proper form is more important than just jumping straight into lifting weights. The reason is that it helps prevent injuries. The pain I was feeling before, was caused by improper form. The same goes for piano lessons. When a student doesn’t practice how to properly sit at the piano, it can cause injuries. Injuries such as back pain, shoulder pain, etc.
In conclusion, don’t be concerned. Not all my lessons are going to consist of things that may not seem important to getting in there and playing. There is a method to my craziness. If you ever have questions about any of my techniques while teaching please don’t hesitate to ask.