Freeing the Caged Bird – Developing Well-Coordinated, Injury-Preventive Piano Technique

Video training | 1.10 GB

Pianists of all ages and levels are often frustrated and even tragically hindered by discomfort, pain, and injury related to piano playing. Widely misperceived as unavoidable occupational hazards, these problems often result from accumulated muscle tension, structural imbalance, skeletal misalignment, and misunderstanding of basic biomechanics. Rather than soaring freely, the pianist’s musicality is often a songbird caged inside the body.

Barbara Lister-Sink, internationally recognized pioneer in teaching injury-preventive technique, draws inspiration from the superb technical example of such giants as Arthur Rubinstein, and offers a new look into the heart of piano technique, using a scientifically and pedagogically sound approach.

Lister-Sink clearly defines piano technique as the most efficient, natural coordination of the whole body at the piano. With noted anatomist and movement educator Glenna Batson, internationally recognized Alexander Technique instructor, she shows how the body is designed to work best with the piano. Lister-Sink then demonstrates, explains, and corrects potentially obstructive habits by using her own concise step-by-step-approach for teaching technique, from the most basic movements and sensations to the most complex technical challenges. Using in-depth, slow-motion analysis of playing on all levels, she demonstrates how well-coordinated piano technique frees the pianist’s artistry from the cage of physical obstacles.

CONTENT
PART I
•Overview of myths and mysteries of piano technique
•Exploration of body and piano mechanisms

PART II: FIVE-STEP TRAINING PROGRAM FOR DEVELOPING GOOD COORDINATION AT THE PIANO

Step 1 Increase general body awareness and control
Step 2 Develop awareness and control at the piano
Step 3 Train the “basic stroke” or basic form of playing
Step 4 Reinforce basic form through graduated exercises
Step 5 Apply good coordination to sequenced studies

PART III: POTENTIALLY HARMFUL TECHNICAL HABITS

•Raised, tightened shoulders
•Jutting, frozen elbows
•High, flat fingers
•High, stiff, curved fingers
•Artificially formed hand arch
•Holding finger off of keys
•Excessive key pressure and motion
•Supporting weight on lowered wrists
•Heavy, “relaxed” arms