Piano teachers don’t just teach music. We teach posture and coordination, resilience and confidence. These life skills can be learned in other activities such as ballet or karate, but do you notice that playing an instrument, unlike ballet or karate, requires sitting? Lots and lots of sitting?
Your young musician may practice for a few minutes then declare, “I’m tired.” You think, Tired of sitting? Really?
Believe me, he really is tired. This is because his muscles are tired from poor posture.
Sitting at the piano is not like sitting at a desk, where one can lean back on the chair. If you’re using a chair for your piano bench, have your child sit on the very edge of it, with his legs able to move about. An important detail is to keep his knees below the hips. Trying to sit upright if the knees are at the same elevation as the hips puts a strain on the lower back, which forces a slouch. Bringing the knees down will keep him sitting upright and, not to mention, improve circulation, which keeps him awake.
If his feet do not reach the floor, then a small step stool placed at his feet will offer support.
A keyboard at the dining room table is too highly placed. His wrists should be straight and his elbows slightly greater than a right angle. If you put him on a high stool so that his wrists are correct, you’ll see that his knees will bump against the lower lip of the table, and he’ll be too far back. He’ll have to hunch over and declare, once again, “I’m tired.” A solution would be acquire a keyboard stand (double braced is better) and a music bench. Both these items are adjustable and will improve his posture, thus increasing his practice time.
