Hi,

When playing piano, I know that it`s recommended that you keep your wrist
straight, or avoid unnecessary movement of the wrist. But aren`t there times
when you should angle the wrist to play the piano more efficiently?

I would assume that most people here would turn their wrist counter clockwise
(with the right hand) when playing near the fallboard, or in other words when
playing the white cracks between the black notes. So isn`t the default
position of the wrist for average sized hands, when playing black notes, is to
angle the wrist so that the other fingers can slot in and play between the
black notes more easily?

I think I have average sized hands, and my fingers can slot in between the
black notes with a straight wrist, though depending on which finger it is, it
can be a tight fit. sometimes when playing the white cracks between the black
notes, depending on where I`m coming from or the angle in which I`m attacking
the notes, sometimes the fingers drag down the surrounding black notes, when
my only intention was to play the white note. I`m sure that most of you know
what I mean by that, as it`s not a new phenomenon. LOL

The main problem I have with this is like in a legato phrase. For example,
playing with the right hand, I play middle E with the thumb, and the next note
to be played is the C# note to the right. To play this, I stretch the (5)
finger to C, and THEN play C (natural) and B descending, with fingers (4) and
(3), respectively. I noticed that in this situation, that my hand was moved
up towards the fallboard when connecting to C#, and when playing C (natural)
and B descending, the fingers often get stuck between the black notes. I
think what happens is that my fingers flatten out or something and that`s why
they are getting stuck, because I noticed that when the fingers get caught up
between the black, the fingers look they have flattened out. This is really
the only problem I have when playing between the blacks. This scenario I just
mentioned.

I have noticed that there are two solutions to this.

1) I noticed that if I angle my wrist, counter clockwise, that I can play the
notes descending without getting caught up between the black keys. Also
turning the wrist forces the fingers to play on their tips, or the fleshy pad
of the finger.

2) I could make an attempt to curve my fingers more when playing the descending
notes, as opposed to angling or turning the wrist too much counter-clockwise.



so what is the best solution for someone with average sized hands, in your
opinion? I think both solutions could work, but maybe someone has some
insight or advice from their own playing experience they could share.

regards and many thanks,
Ty Steel