Healthy Piano Playing

Piano playing is a deeply satisfying artistic activity, but it can also be very demanding physically on our arms and hands. Just as elite athletes understand and care for their bodies, so should pianists think carefully about their approach to playing and practising. A healthy piano technique not only avoids injury – it also helps to achieve greater freedom of expression, a more beautiful sound and quicker progress. In this guide, author Penelope Roskell provides detailed information on each of the most common injuries affecting pianists with numerous video demonstrations of practical remedial exercises to aid recovery and prevent relapse.

Contents

Author

Penelope Roskell

Penelope Roskell is equally renowned as a performer of international calibre and as an inspirational teacher and professor of piano at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. She is the author of The Complete Pianist: From Healthy Technique to Natural Artistry and is the leading UK specialist in healthy piano playing. She holds a clinic at the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine for pianists with injuries and her guide to preventing and recovering from injury is available here.

Author profile >>

Purchase options

Related content

Developing the Left Hand

Do you feel that your left hand is weaker than your right hand, and is holding you back in your piano playing? In these videos, Graham Fitch shows how a selection of studies and exercises from Berens's The Training of the Left Hand (Op. 89) can be used to develop... Read >>


Graham Fitch Technique

A Practical Guide to Forearm Rotation

Forearm rotation is a way of coordinating the arm with the fingers in very specific and controlled ways. Tiny movements in the forearm share with the fingers the job of putting down the keys and can yield significant benefits, including improved coordination, reduced tension and a feeling of greater strength... Read >>


Graham Fitch Technique

Technical Exercises and Regimes

This section provides an introduction to what will ultimately be an extensive library of technical exercises and provides an overview of exercise regimens for aspects of playing such as warm-ups, finger exercises, chord playing, octaves, double notes, repeated notes and trills.... Read >>


Graham Fitch Technique