How to Play Piano Without Moving Your Wrists

When you learn to play the piano, you should start with the correct technique of placement of the fingers, hands and wrist. When you play with a bad form, you fatigue faster, and you may be at increased risk for carpet tunnel syndrome. Piano players should learn how to play piano without moving their wrists.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Piano

1. Keep the forearm, wrist and hand level to the piano in order to limit the amount of stress on your wrists. You should see a parallel line from forearm to wrist.
2. Hold your wrist straight and level, not cocked to one side. Remember to use a relaxed position so that your wrist doesn't get stiff.
3. Play the piano with the tips of your curved fingers for the greatest accuracy. This technique may be difficult in the beginning, but in time, you will build up the strength in your fingers.
4. Move your fingers, not your wrist, when you need to play different notes. If you're playing a wide range of notes, it might be necessary to move your arms, but you should be able to keep your wrists straight throughout this.
5. Extend your fingers closer to the black keys to help you achieve proper hand and wrist techniques. Lift fingers off keys when needed, but remember to keep the wrists at the same height as the keyboard.
6. Consider raising the wrist slightly when playing with the little finger or lowering slightly when playing with the thumb. These two fingers can be more difficult to play and may require a slight movement.

Tips & Warnings

• Advanced pianists sometimes adopt specific hand or wrist motions in their technique, particularly with certain kinds of complex music.