Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum making solid contact with the keys before playing?

Is it always necessary that the fingers be completely in contact with the keys you're about to play before you play them (as oppose to, for example, dropping on them from above without prior contact)? I've read that this is the preferable way to play, and I try to do so when I'm learning a new piece and playing at a very slow tempo (and hence playing very deliberately). However, it's difficult for me to do this at faster tempi. Is it enough that I be confident that my fingers are directly over the correct keys before playing (without necessarily being in contact with them), or is prior contact highly desirable?

How long is a moment?

More time than it takes to depress a key using a finger that's already in contact with the key.

Is it?

Longer? Shorter? If anything it could be shorter. Infinitesimal! Of course the fingers are going to be making some contact with the keys before sound is produced in any event. I'm afraid this might be too existential for me! Can you think of a better way to phrase my initial concern? I wonder if I'm worrying over something insignificant.

So, make that your moment of contact before depressing.

I'd rather contact someone before getting depressed myself!

A drill I sometimes do for accuracy training is to take a piece I know fairly well, slow the tempo way down, and without looking, move my fingers to the keys well in advance, feeling each key, but playing at the correct rhythm. This allows me to isolate the motions and distances to the keys separately from the turmoil of playing at full speed. After doing this a few times I usually get a cleaner play at regular tempo. In short, I think it's preferable to make early contact. Not only does it provide greater accuracy but also encourages you to be thinking ahead of the music rather than rushing. I suppose it could be a problem if you develop an awkward pause between notes, but with practice you should be able to make each touch/feel a split-second process that doesn't impede speed. (Fair warning: This is a beginner's observation. YMMV, of course.)

Aha! If I understand what you're saying, I think I was worrying over nothing.

Oh, I'm a beginner as well, believe me! (I've listened to your recordings, and you're farther along than me ) What you describe is how I attempt to learn any new piece I'm working on. I work very slowly and deliberately, and I get my fingers where they need to be in advance of playing. For me, this is difficult to do at faster tempi, and is was wondering if it is necessary. What I meant was, if I'm confident that my fingers are above the correct keys (not far above mind you; just a few millimeters) is it necessary for the fingers to be resting on the keys before depressing. It's difficult for me to describe physical actions and sensations at the piano, so I probably did a poor job of phrasing my original concern. I've read elsewhere on Piano World that when playing scales, the fingers should be in contact with the keys in advance of playing them (but as keyboardklutz pointed out what exactly does this mean, anyway? Of course the fingers are going to be making some contact prior to playing, regardless of how soon in advance they reach their intended location.) I was wondering if all playing should be in this manner, one-hundred percent of the time.

My usual way of learning a new piece is to start very slowly, and gradually increase the tempo. However, I like your suggestion of playing a well-learned piece very slowly, and immediately afterwards play the piece a tempo.

Hovering above the keys seems to me like an unnecessary strain... If you're relaxed, I think, your arm/hand would fall down automatically until they are on the keys... the keys help you to keep your arm up... they take some of the weight for you... why not let them? That's just my experience (beginner [1 yr.] here as well ;)) so you might want to check your arms and shoulders and so on are actually really relaxed and not all tensed up...

at some point you won't actually have time to hover anymore, anyway...

You're thinking too hard about the playing process. It also depends upon what you're playing. If you're playing stacatto, you're going to lift your fingers immediately off a key or keys in order to produce the quick short sound required.

If you're playing a series of chords, it may be necessary to move your complete hand to the new position. When I do this, I get my fingers in the fingering position, while the hand/arm is in motion, ready to come down on the next chord.

I don't hover over the keys then press down, or at least I never thought this deep about it; it just happens.

John

The answer is no, it is not always necessary. That is a very vague answer to a very vague question.



Do you have a teacher? Playing an instrument is something that isn't learned from books.

I thought not; I'm always somewhat skeptical of proclamations that something should always be done in a certain way, with no exceptions ever.


I do.

I think this was what I was trying to describe. If I'm quickly moving to a new position, I will assume the needed hand shape before reaching my destination as you mention. I was simply wondering if preparing for a new position requires having fingers resting on the keys of the new destination before playing. I gather that the answer is "no" ?

An old piano teacher once explained to me that it is better to never let you fingers touch the keys before you actually play the note. So for example, you "build" the chord in your hand up in the air and then let it drop to hit the correct notes. He explained that not letting the fingers touch the keys before you actually play them makes it easier to play with speed, and that it developed a greater sense of accuracy. He even said that it affected the 'feel' or 'tone' of your playing, and your use of dinamics [I hope that is the english word for the difference between playint in pp, p, mp, mf, f, etc.] So he explained, in rather many arguments which seemed pretty much logical, that basically every aspect of your playing can be influenced by just hitting the notes 'from up high in the air'.

The answer is yes. The question is - how long is a rest?

A "rest" or "a period of rest" can be infinitesimally short, no?

Keyboardklutz, what do you think of galex's teacher's opinion?

What is very helpful (for big jumps at least) is to practice the move very quickly without actually touching the destination keys at all. Get used to the distance and how your hands should be positioned before actually pressing the key or keys.

Craziness (and I am not alone).