A “natural” hand position?

In my experience, most piano teachers agree  a natural hand position is the starting point for playing the piano. However, variations are rife, including that of holding:

An orange

orange

A grapefruitgrapefruit
An egg (unsure if raw or boiled)egg A golf ballgolf ball

A fluffy chicken

chicken

Or a tennis balltennis ball

 

moran 1

Alignment and Natural Hand Position (Moran, 2008, p. 20). 

© Copyright 2008, used with permission.

moran 2

Natural Hand Position Versus Five-finger Position (Moran, 2008, p. 21). 

© Copyright 2008, used with permission.

Mary Moran’s books, Basic Alignment and Rotation, can be  purchased here: http://www.golandskyinstitute.org/store/category/books

In the Taubman Approach, one’s natural hand position is found when the arm is by one’s side, as shown above. The main bridge is neither collapsed nor pulled up, each knuckle is present. The fingers are neither over-extended, nor curled. There is no tension, yet there is no heavy relaxation, rather there is the freedom and structure that allows ease of movement.

In my teaching experience, adults are often amazed that, unlike the five-finger position they were taught in childhood, their natural hand position does not occupy five white keys. They are even more surprised to discover that a child’s small hand may cover four keys or even fewer. It must be noted that the natural or neutral hand position is a starting point; the look of the hand will change according to the demands of the passage. The hand will be more open for larger intervals and chords, and vary according to the register and the demands of the passage.

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