I NEED PIANO ADVISE! NOW!

It may if you do not use it as much as the right hand. I don't practice that much anymore (until I start doing that) but if you want to exercise your fingers then "The Virtuoso Pianist" is the book to get. 60 exercises to build up your fingers. You may have to see a doctor, as my arm does not cramp up. Does your arm cramp up when you type? Same type of thing or similar. I sit from the keyboard where I am comfortable for both my feet (pedals - volume - hold) and arms don't get too tired. Too far back, and you may use your arms more to hold them out. I'm about a foot away, and a little taller (inch or so). I think if you lean your back may have something to do with it also.

I don't lean in much, but I have a synth, and use both feet also (volume and hold pedals) so I adjusted the stand for the synth so when I sit on my 24" stool I am comfortable. Right height for the synthesizer and stool height for me because sitting too low for me does not work.

You know when I watch Lola Astanova perform she leans little. Maybe if I got extra piano teacher who here not just on skype. You know to help body movement. 

I did but the lady never got back. The teacher i use on skype great he just can't see everything.

I found mein problem "Cerebral palsy" very mild though is effecting the left arm. 
It's not relax though I feel relax.  

I can play beautifully if not for this cerebral palsy make it hard learn new tech.

Thanks 

Hey marcus,

Here's how to sit properly at the piano.
1) Stool height. It should be adjusted so that your elbows are at a level or slightly higher than the keyboard. This means that your forearm is either parallel to the ground or else sloping down towards the keys.

2) How to sit on the stool. Just at the very edge. The only part of your body that should be touching the stool is the small of your back. In other words, the edge of the stool should be in line where your thighs meet your behind.

3) How far out. Put your hands on the keyboard as if you're about to play. Now bring your elbows together as if you are about to touch them with each other. Can you do that or is your torso in the middle? You need to clear that space for your elbow so if you can't bring your elbows together, you need to nudge the stool backwards. So... just to test your position - fingers on the keys, elbows together with a little gap between them and your stomach. Got it? :)

4) The back. Sit up straight and arch your back a little - there should be an imaginary string running from between your shoulder blades, down and over the hollow of your back to the lower backbone, so that the string is not touching your vertebrae. A bit like this: 'string' -> |) <- 'hollow of your back'.

5) Drop your shoulders! If you keep your shoulders up towards your neck, it means that you're tensing up. This will translate into tension all over your body.

6) Your wrists should be firm but subtle - just tense enough to achieve enough control. You can practice relaxation like so: -

Lift your arm up about a foot from the keyboard. Concentrate on relaxing it as much as possible. Drop your arm like a dead weight as if your fingers / palm will go right through the keyboard; a bit like a ghost hand.

The minute you hit the keys (it's irrelevant what you hit), tense up just enough so that your hand doesn't fall off the keyboard. Then bring the wrist up into its proper position (wrist-elbow parallel to the ground).

With this exercise / experiment, you'll discover that that's all the tension / strength you need to make a sound come out of those keys.

7) Should you lean forward? No. It will give you back problems and put tension on your inner elbows. The only time you should lean forward is when you want to use your body weight for a fortissimo passage. Try playing hard on the keys with your arms only and listen carefully. Now try to "lean into" the keys when your fingers hit the keyboard. Done properly, you will notice you get a fuller 'rounder' sound when you lean in because you're putting your whole body weight into it. There is a whole lot of physics of why this happens, but that's beyond the point for now.

A few more notes: -

Do you keep breathing normally while playing? If not, it means that you're tensing up. Usually this happens during difficult passages. If that's the case, slow it down. When this happens, it means that our brain hasn't figured out yet how to play that particular passage, so we slow it down until we get it perfect. Then speed it up.

Stop practicing Hanon. It's a waste of time. Hanon is just a bunch of exercises that are completely and utterly UN-musical. Think about it - it's 60 exercises meant to improve your trills in 3-4 and 4-5 fingers, stretches and whatnot...

You're MUCH better off practicing real music which has real-music-situations. And while you're practicing you are not only improving your technique, you're also practicing on how to be musical - which is the most important bit of the whole point of practicing.

Study Bach - it's great on all aspects of technique. Chopin will improve your touch. You're interested in stride piano? Chopin is your guy! Liszt will make you want to conquer the pieces he wrote.

These 3, and countless other composers will help you practice what Hanon is doing for you but in a much much more productive and MUSICAL way!

One last thing: If you are dropping things from your left hand, it could be a bad case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Go to a doctor NOW. Ideally go to a doctor who specializes in sports injuries.

Don't procrastinate on these things - if it's CTS, you might end up needing surgery to fix it. If it develops into tendinitis, you're off playing for months if not years before full recovery. And I'm sure you don't want that. I don't mean to scare you - these are things that happened to some of my colleagues because of bad posture and technique.

I hope this helps,
Sam

I play the piano less than the guitar, but if learning the piano as a first instrument is anything like learning the guitar, some of it may just be concentrating so hard that you are fighting yourself. It's a big problem with newbie guitar players. You are straining so hard and squeezing so hard because you are tensed up from trying to play and get your brain ahead of your hands. Then later you realize that it takes almost no pressure at all to do the same thing.

If it is getting that bad you should talk to your doctor to check it out and then see about getting you to a physiotherapist. Yes it is expensive but you might only have to go once unless there really is some damage aside from cramping. They can show you some stretches and exercises to keep the tendons limber and build up strength. There are some therapists who deal specifically with music related injuries so if you can find/afford a session with one of them it's even better. For now get a couple of those hot/cold gel packs and keep one in the freezer. After you finish playing and the hand/arm is cramped up grab the cold pack and apply it to the area for 10 minutes or so and toss the other pack in the microwave while you ice the area. Then replace the cold pack with the warm one. Do this twice. It will take down a lot of the swelling which is what's causing the pain. Also ibuprofin (Advil) helps. If you have ever taken any kind of martial arts do some of the hand/wrist stretching exercises before playing and that should help a lot. I could try to describe some stretches for you but I'm not sure how well they will translate into text. Most of all though... a little pain is okay to work through but a LOT of pain means you should stop, shake off and wait out the cramp and then return to playing again. Practicing scales to warm up and simple patterns first will also help avoid cramping.

Yeah do hanons mein teacher figure be best do some hanons on mein left hand to excessive 4th, 5th fnger. Also some scales. As for tech he not concern I pick up easy plus compose mein own work.

I did contact doctor they wrote for PT come out. Been waiting on some gloves sense July of 2011.
And sorry for your cramp not easy fight thanks and you to.