Perfect Piano Posture Problems

How to talk about “good posture” with pianists

Abby Halpin, physical therapist and coach, talks about the concept of "good posture" for pianists, a review of the workshop she led for the Vermont Music Teachers Association last weekend.

Major takeaways:

1. There is no such thing as good or bad posture while playing piano. Instilling that idea only makes a musician have to choose a body position and stick with it all the time in order to be good.

2. Piano injuries arise from a lack of variety more than the actual body position itself.

3. Muscles are happiest when they are in their middle range, so whatever feels easiest, is probably right.

4. Whenever talking about piano posture, use sensation cues rather than action cues whenever possible to avoid a rigid strategy

5. Encourage the use of body position as a means of communication. It will allow for the variety the pianists’ body needs to stay healthy playing the piano for longer.