Miguel de Maria -> posture and virtuosity (Oct. 29 2006 0:41:01)
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I was playing at a gig today when I had one of those "aha" moments. Lately I have been feeling kind of weak and sloppy playing and it's been bumming me out! I was even about ready to buy a new guitar :). My wrists would start to get a little numb or tight and I would get stiff generally. Anyway, I was in this state and for some reason I remembered this book I read by Harold Taylor, called "The Pianist's Talent." One of the main characteristics of piano virtuosos is that they have an erect and effortless posture, generally characterized by "expansion" rather than "compression." I realized that I had lately fallen into a habit of compression--slouching, pulling with the fingers, arms crunched in a little. Yeah, disgusting. I decided to "expand," so I sat straighter, left the arms expand and balloon out a little, and play with my fingers barely touching the strings. Whoa! It made a huge difference. I decided to bust out Panaderos and I smoked it. It was easy and effortless and enjoyable, like it's supposed to be. If you find yourself in a rut and things just don't seem to be working, try expanding and see if it does anything for you. By the way, shortly after I started playing this way, I noticed a very good-looking blond kept looking over at me. She was probably 25+, but she was acting like a high schooler, kept looking and pretending she wasn't. I'm not Florian--this kind of thing doesn't happen to me a lot--so I wonder if it was because of my new, confident, expanding posture. Or maybe because I was playing better. Or maybe because I was sitting taller and I could see around me more easily. Either way... :)
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