PianoTechnique - Using finger musles to manipulate arm weight without the help of arm muscles.

This is a slow motion demonstration of transferring weight using the fingers via the technique I learned from Carlisle Floyd that was developed by Rudolph Firkusny. The basic principle is that the fundamental motion—up & down—underlies all other motions. In the first example, while the weight of the arm rests on the thumb on C, the 5th finger reaches up a 6th to A. Using the weight of the arm as it's counterbalance, the weight secured and stabilized by the thumb resting on the firm surface of the key bed, the 5th finger depresses A to the key bed. Once the key is fully depressed, the 5th finger takes the weight from the thumb and pulls the hand/arm into a natural, unextended position, their weight now resting fully on the 5th finger. Using this same principle, I can traverse octaves. All of the motion is created by the 5th finger doing the same thing as in the first example, but pulling the hand/arm with greater force and velocity so as to create a momentum that can carry the thumb the full octave, where it lands, depressing the key to the key bed, and the process repeats. This can be done as rapidly as needed with practice. While their is lateral motion, it is a manipulation of the fundamental up-down motion created by the fingers lifting and dropping the weight of the hand/arm. The last example is a passage from the last movement of Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata. In this example, the fingers manipulate the weight in a more complex and coordinated way to negotiate the pattern. It is a little hard to see from this angle, but the up-down motion is modulated such that the 1st, 5th & 9th notes are down motions, while the others are up motions. Since the first note should be soft, yet I need to depress the key, I use my arm to control the attack of the key. After that, though, I’m using the muscles that operate the fingers, rather than the muscles that operate the arm/wrist. The sequence of movements is as follows: • Finger 2 strikes F and pulls the weight from the thumb to the right. • Coordinated with that movement so as to achieve the right timing, finger 3 strikes Ab and pulls the weight from finger 2, which furthers the momentum created by the action of finger 2. • Finger 5 then catches the weight on C. Because the next key that must be played is Db, this occurs with very little drop. Essentially, the 5th finger is catching the weight before the hand actually drops. This allows the momentum created thus far to continue unimpeded. The 5th finger must pivot on its tip, though, to avoid interfering with the motion of that momentum. It also must do this in a specific way, because it must begin the process of directing that momentum through what amounts to a u-turn. To achieve this, it pivots a little to the right, enabling the hand to move to the right, but also curves so as to pull the hand forward. The momentum, then, is altered from a L to R direction to more of a front to back of key direction. • The 4th finger then strikes Db and takes the weight from the 5th finger, pulling the hand/arm forward such that the momentum now is only front to back of key. • The 3rd finger then take the weight from the 4th finger. pulling the hand/arm a little forward. The drop from black key to white is used to assist in turning the momentum from a front to back motion to more of a right to left motion. • The 2nd finger strikes Bb and pulls the weight from the 3rd finger in a right to left motion. • The weight is then dropped on the thumb on Ab, which effectively stops the leftward momentum. • Fingers 4 3 2 1 essentially then do the same thing they just did, but the motion is simpler since they are not having to complete the process of turning the motion from rightward to leftward. • For the last 4 notes, fingers 231 create the up movements, with the arm muscles then used to lift the hand completely off the keyboard. The drops correspond with the stronger pulses of the rhythm, so all of the movement is coordinated with both the path across the topography of the keys and the rhythm of the passage. The arm muscles, except those of the underside of the forearm that operate the fingers, need not do anything at all between the first and last contacts with the keys.