I NEED PIANO ADVISE! NOW!
 
Is it normal for your left arm to cramp?
I can barley practice without it cramping up with in few minutes.
 
I can play mein hanons perfect but mein left arm just wont let me.
So it can't be tech. Can't be cause I use mein right for everything can it?
 
Could be way I'm sitting? I'm round 5'9 in height how far should I sit from the piano?
 
The piano comes very easy to me Dosn't take long for me learn new tech.
 
Thanks

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.

Know mein left arm hurts holding book when write some times.  "The Virtuoso Pianist" I play that book everyday mein goal is 16th notes at 108 tempo. Right now I'm doing book one hanons 1-10 I can do think all them at 60 but mein left arm just won't let me keep going. So figure start ten. What been doing is 7,8,9 and 10 at 60 till perfect. 
Though it takes me not long get hanon down to keep practicing mein left arm cramps.  


Well I sit little back mein elbows hands are how they should be. Should I lean in little you saying?

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.

Well the piano I'm playing on "Williams symphony digital piano" That comes built in cabinet. 

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. 

A good local piano teacher will do wonders for you. 

Find one and take some lessons. 


My teacher used to talk about proper setting posture to me all the time. 

And something about letting my fingers do the playing. 

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 

Are you saying you have always had cerebral palsy, or did you come to that conclusion from Googling symptoms? Because unless you were already known to have it, it's very unlikely that that's the case. 

Not being a keyboard player, I find it much harder to play with my left hand and so I usually stick to inputting parts that can be played with one hand. And yes, my left hand cramps up if I try to play the same as what I'm playing with my right hand. It's just a keyboard thing - I can play classical guitar to quite a high standard so it's not as if my left hand is underdeveloped. But it's a very different position to the guitar. 

If you have problems with the muscles or tendons in your arms, i.e. "tennis elbow" or tendinitis or any related issue, I would recommend the use of a "Therabar." The exercises which are done with it work wonders for arm and tendon problems. I used one to cure myself of tennis elbow. 

http://www.amazon.com/Thera-Band-Flexbar-Hand-Exerciser-Tennis/dp/B000P7YMW0 

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