velvetpage (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
velvetpage) wrote2010-05-31 07:12 pm
velvetpage) wrote2010-05-31 07:12 pm
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That explains it.
I was having some trouble with the chords in a few of the pieces I was playing. They seemed to be stretching my hands in ways they didn't want to go. But I know that I could have played them once with no trouble.
It occurred to me that since I was using the piano to build strength in my hands and arms, perhaps I should try some of the exercises I used to do. So I ran through my major scales and four-note major chord formations plus arpeggios. This was the first part of my technique run I used to do when I was still taking lessons - all the way through the four-octave major scales, then the four-note triads, then the broken triads, then the arpeggios, then repeat for the minors, then I'd do dominants. I'd spend twenty minutes at a time just on technique before I got to the pieces.
Now I'm remembering what it means to have a really good range of motion in my hands. It didn't quite hurt - I would have stopped if it had - but it certainly stretched. I couldn't play them smoothly, especially the arpeggios - I started them at C and went up by semitones, and only got to E before giving up on them for the time being. I think I only got to about F with the solid chords, too, and didn't try minors or dominants at all.
Then I pulled out Chopin's Waltz in C# Major and played it better than I ever have.
One thing is clear: if I'm going to use the piano as exercise, it pays to do the exercises properly. I guess this means I just added ten minutes of piano technique to my daily routine.
It occurred to me that since I was using the piano to build strength in my hands and arms, perhaps I should try some of the exercises I used to do. So I ran through my major scales and four-note major chord formations plus arpeggios. This was the first part of my technique run I used to do when I was still taking lessons - all the way through the four-octave major scales, then the four-note triads, then the broken triads, then the arpeggios, then repeat for the minors, then I'd do dominants. I'd spend twenty minutes at a time just on technique before I got to the pieces.
Now I'm remembering what it means to have a really good range of motion in my hands. It didn't quite hurt - I would have stopped if it had - but it certainly stretched. I couldn't play them smoothly, especially the arpeggios - I started them at C and went up by semitones, and only got to E before giving up on them for the time being. I think I only got to about F with the solid chords, too, and didn't try minors or dominants at all.
Then I pulled out Chopin's Waltz in C# Major and played it better than I ever have.
One thing is clear: if I'm going to use the piano as exercise, it pays to do the exercises properly. I guess this means I just added ten minutes of piano technique to my daily routine.