The piano (Italian: pianoforte) is a keyboard instrument in Western classical music and is known as the "King of Instruments". It consists of 88 keys (52 white keys, 36 black keys) and a metal string soundboard. Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731) invented the piano in 1709. Below are examples of correct sitting postures for pianos that I have collected and compiled. Welcome to refer to them.

The correct sitting posture for the piano (1)

The correct sitting position for practicing and playing the piano means that the distance between the seat and the piano is appropriate, and the piano keyboard is exactly in the middle, not to the left or to the left. Right, the height of the seat itself is moderate. Simply put, the front and back, left and right, and height must be correct.

Correct sitting position will allow the piano player to fully control and drive the 88 keys of the piano. It will also provide maximum flexibility for the body, especially the hands and arms, on the piano keyboard. convenient. This is one of the prerequisites for developing and developing correct piano playing techniques.

Incorrect sitting position (whether front or back, left or right, height or any other aspect is inappropriate) will inevitably cause some inconvenience. Inconvenient situations will inevitably affect the correct grasp of technology. In severe cases, it can also cause problems in piano playing.

The significance of practicing piano in the correct sitting position is also to form a stable sense of distance between the eyes, arms and each key of the piano. With this sense of distance, when we want to play a certain note, we only need to glance at it and we will find the note. With highly accurate distance sensing, you can play the sound you want to play without even looking at it. If a blind person plays the piano, this distance is even more important. Generally, normal people will also improve their ability to read music.

So, don’t underestimate the importance of where you sit. When we see pianists sitting down at concerts, they often adjust their seats. After he confirmed that the sitting position was suitable for overall control of the piano keyboard, easy to move, and established a stable sense of distance, he began to consider playing. This also tells us that the first thing before starting to play the piano is to adjust your sitting position.

Adjusting the seat includes three aspects:

(1) Adjust the distance between the seat and the piano. Sit up straight with your upper body, gently lift your hands with your arms and place them on top of the piano keyboard. At this time, if the elbow is just a little bit in front of the chest of the vertical line of the upper body, and the upper arm and forearm form an obtuse angle slightly larger than 90 degrees, the distance between the seat and the piano keys will be basically appropriate. If the elbow moves forward too much, the angle between the upper arm and the forearm is more than 90 degrees, and the whole arm feels a little "straightened", it means that you are sitting far away, and you should move the piano bench a little closer to the keyboard. On the contrary, if when the hands are placed on the piano keyboard, the elbows are not moved to the front, but are even moved a little behind the vertical line of the upper body, causing a "squiggly" feeling in the arms. This indicates that you are sitting too close to the keyboard. Move the piano stool back moderately.

(2) Find the middle point of the entire keyboard. For a piano with a keyhole, the keyhole is in the middle. If there is no keyhole, you can place your feet directly opposite the two pedals of the piano. At this time, if your legs do not deviate left or right, you are sitting in the middle. Alternatively, you can find the middle point on the keyboard. The middle point of the piano's 88 keyboards is between the first E and F keys to the right of middle C; for the 85th keyboard, it is on the first E flat to the right of middle C. Find the middle point, sit in the center, and take control.

(3) Adjust the height of the seat. Sit up straight with your upper body and place your hands on the piano keyboard. At this time, if your elbows are slightly higher than the plane of the piano keyboard and you sit as low as possible, it is generally appropriate. But if your elbows are too much higher than the plane of the piano keyboard, your arms seem to be hanging a bit, and your wrists cannot be naturally flat, it means that the seat is too high, so lower the piano bench appropriately. On the contrary, if your elbows are significantly lower than the plane of the piano keyboard when you place your hands on the piano keyboard, it means that the sitting position is low, and the piano bench should be raised appropriately.

The above are all general standards.

Among them, sitting at the middle point has the same requirements for everyone. The height, front and back of the sitting position may not be absolutely the same for everyone, but for oneself, there should be a stable adjustment scale.

The most important thing before and after practicing piano is the relationship between sitting posture and body coordination

Body coordination involves the basic sitting posture and posture of piano playing, starting from Some issues that need to be clarified at the beginning of the first lesson need to be continuously developed and better applied as the program deepens. The basis for ensuring body coordination is correct and reasonable sitting posture. From the beginning of piano learning, students must be made clear that the front, back, and height of sitting must be adjusted according to their physical conditions. Sitting too close makes the hands lack room for movement and affects the stretch of the arms; sitting too far away affects the control of the keyboard and is not conducive to the concentration of power; sitting too high or too low also affects the reasonable and free use of power. . The lower arm should be basically in line with the piano keyboard. The body should be in a more active state that is conducive to movement, so first of all, you should be slightly straighter, do not hunch over, do not shrug your shoulders and shrink your neck, and maintain the natural coordination of your upper body. As the level and degree increase, more and more requirements are put forward for changes in intensity, speed, musical mood and color, so physical participation and adjustment become more and more important. We can see some good piano performances, the body is very coordinated and adjusted at any time, instead of being stiff and tense. The buttocks should be seated stably and firmly in the middle of the piano bench. In order to facilitate flexibility and strength, do not sit full, just sit halfway. And in order to take care of the high and low notes, you should sit in the middle of the piano and don't move around at will. Put your legs on both sides of the piano pedal. When playing hard, the left leg can be withdrawn as the fulcrum of the whole body. This is the basic requirement for sitting posture. As for the left and right adjustment of the body, it is mainly based on the pitch of the sound. Take the musical scale as an example. When playing in the weak bass range, the center of gravity of the body should be placed towards the left leg; when playing in the middle range, the center of gravity of the body should be balanced on both sides; When playing a scale in the same direction, the body has a center of gravity shift process from left to right, and from right to left.

Let’s talk about the front and back positions of the upper body. The front and back of the upper body can be determined according to the volume and strength of the body. The general rule is that when the intensity is weak, the body can be in a more upright position. The stronger the intensity, the further the body can lean forward. The range of movement of the entire body is based on sitting upright, and gradually leans forward as the volume increases. On the contrary, as the volume decreases, gradually return to the sitting position of the body from the forward leaning position. It should be noted that there is generally no need to lean back in the body position. However, at the advanced level, in some very quiet weak passages, you can also lean back appropriately according to the needs of the performance. However, in the basic learning stage, it is not recommended to focus backward, because students must first achieve the goal of putting down their strength. The above-mentioned front and rear adjustments should be flexible, coordinated, and changeable at any time, and the force should be elastic. If there is forward force, there must be a corresponding reaction force. Therefore, no matter how strong the force is, it cannot be an unchanging and fixed front force. Lean, if there is a forward movement, there must be a return movement. This must be remembered. There are body movements left and right that change with the height of the piano keyboard; there are also body movements back and forth that change with the strength. These movements are ever-changing in the music. From this, our flexible body adjustment can make the body look like the same shape. A tree swaying in the wind, quiet music, the body movements will be quiet, and music with large changes, the body will have corresponding large movements, this is reasonable and consistent. During grading examinations and teaching, it will be found that some students lean backward when playing the piano and cannot use their energy, resulting in weak voice; some students have a stiff body and poor adjustment when playing the piano, and the music they play is dull and lacks change, often Appearing indifferent, this has something to do with the inner sense of music and the necessary physical adjustments caused by it; some students also move around on the piano bench when playing the piano, and will not sit firmly in the middle, and then shake their bodies from side to side; to a certain extent Among students with higher grades, because their bodies cannot coordinate their efforts, they cannot produce strong and rich sounds, their music cannot achieve a climax, and it lacks the proper changes in intensity... These problems are all common to It depends on whether the body is coordinated or not.

Correct sitting posture on the piano (2)

Mistake: Sitting on the piano bench too much, the feet cannot swing freely.

Error: The piano bench is too far forward and the body is too close to the piano.

Error: The soles of the feet are not firmly planted and the center is unstable.

Error: Hunchback, shrug.

Error: The bench is too high, affecting the movement of the hands.

① The legs are perpendicular to the ground, about one to two fists wide between the feet.

② The thighs are slightly downward. (If you are not tall enough, you can place a small bench under your feet)

③ It is appropriate to sit 1/3 to 1/2 of the piano bench, not too much or too little.

④ The forearms are basically parallel to the ground (the height of the piano bench affects the angle of the arms)

⑤ Sit up straight and lean forward slightly

⑥ Let the upper arms droop naturally. The angle with the forearm is slightly greater than 90 degrees (if the angle is too small, move the piano stool forward, otherwise move the piano stool backward)

Correct sitting posture at the piano (3)

Many people It is easy to overlook the importance of sitting posture when playing the piano, but in fact, the correct sitting posture when playing the piano is very particular, and it directly affects the tone and style of our playing. Different pianists sit in different postures.

The height of the sitting posture

For example, Gould sat very short, and some people sat very high. In fact, the height of your sitting posture when playing the piano depends on the style of the performance. This is something that my teacher Dominique Merlet attaches great importance to. Classical styles, such as Bach, Haydn, and Mozart, should sit lower, which will help the fingers to be closed, the playing sound will be more penetrating, and the small notes will be clearer; romantic styles, such as Chopin, Liszt, and Schumann Sit relatively high, which increases the movement space of the upper arms and makes the performance smoother and more comfortable.

The front and back of the sitting posture

The front and rear of the sitting posture should be chosen according to the figure of the performer. Most Asians are suitable to sit further back, so that they can lean forward slightly. We can use forward lean to help produce a richer sound. If the player is overweight, the relaxed strength of his arms can produce a strong and rich tone, and he can choose to sit closer to the piano.

Waist posture

Some pianists sit upright, and some pianists hunch their backs. Which one is correct? Different piano schools also have different views on waist posture. : The Italian piano school emphasizes that the waist should be straight when playing, and the fingertips should be pointed when playing, so that the sound produced is clear, aloof, and has an aristocratic beauty; while the Russian school advocates a slight bend in the waist, so that you will naturally relax when playing, and the performance will be more beautiful. The sound is warm and full, emphasizing the singing nature of the lines, and has a kind of affinity.

When playing the piano reaches a certain level, there is no absolute right or wrong way to sit. The key is to find a sitting posture that suits you, and sit in a natural, relaxed, and upright posture when playing.