I've finally got to the bottom of why i'm awful at staccato scales with the left hand. I'd never noticed it before, but, whereas my right wrist is basically striaght when i play the piano, the left is floppy, so makes a king of v-shape.

I was wondering if anyone could recommend some exercises or something that would improve the strength of my left wrist, because i have no idea.

I'm not sure if this is official advice or just me, but why not play the scales with hands separate for a while, playing the left hand slowly and taking great care to make sure the position of the wrist is as it should be. THen slowly re-incorporate the right hand, trying to concentrate on still leading with the left. Eventually it should all work, fingers crossed. Knowing the problem is half the solution.

I think I've tried that already - spent the last week play only LH scales anyway, it didnt seem to make much difference. My LH fingers have got better at playing, but i'm pretty sure my wrist is still the same.

Make sure, too, that you 'lead' with your wrist. Don't allow your fingers to push ahead of it. Allow your arm to move in order to do this. I don't know if that can possibly be clear without a visual aid. Do you know what I mean?!

...fingers crossed....

That might just add to the problem


A

I'm not sure if this is official advice or just me, but why not play the scales with hands separate for a while, playing the left hand slowly and taking great care to make sure the position of the wrist is as it should be. Then slowly re-incorporate the right hand, ...

I think I've tried that already - spent the last week play only LH scales anyway, it didnt seem to make much difference. My LH fingers have got better at playing, but i'm pretty sure my wrist is still the same.
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My 2p worth:

1. It is unlikely that your wrist is "weak" and needs to be "strengthened". If there is something wrong with your technique it is more likely to be th way you have become accustomed to using your wrist. So you need to work on establishing new muscular habits, and learning to interpret different sensations as "correct"

2. One week is nothing. It might take a few months to get the knack of naturally and unconsciously playing with a new hand position

3. YOu say you have "got to the bottom of the reason for your weak staccatto scales" but are you sure? There isn't necessarily anything wrong with your wrist position. Watch some top pianists. They use low wrists, high wrists, curled fingers, flat fingers. Some are calm and steady, others leap about frantically. Have you had your technique assessed by a good teacher?

4. Hands separate practice is good, but I wouldn't practice ONLY the LH. Keep up the right hand work.

I have been trying to improve trills and ornaments in the left hand. Some days I think I have elephants rather than fingers! My approach is to do double of everything in the left hand - ie any scales, exercises, pieces that I am doing hands separately I do 2 lots with the left hand. It is working but it is slow. Also I am always twiddling my fingers whenever I get a chance.
Good luck with your hard work

Doing double will only help if you're doing it right in the first place. Otherwise you are just getting an error into an even deeper groove: Practice doesn't make perfect - it makes permanent!


Hi Tom, glad you managed to get onto the board!

Flicking through threads here, I've just read my own post and it doesn't really explain what I mean well at all! When I say not to let your fingers get ahead of your wrist, I mean horizontally. When you're ascending with your left hand, make sure your wrist is pulling your fingers, rather than being dragged behind. If you're doing the former it will require less muscle power and you will get more clarity through being more relaxed. Think of your forearm like the arm of a robot, which supports your wrist and fingers. Your wrist shouldn't bob up and down when bringing thumb under or fingers over. Your hand should be in a position that allows you to do this without there being undue strength required from your wrist - even in staccato. I'd agree with Mad Tom's first point; relax and try different techniques rather than thinking of it as a stamina-building exercise. The fastest swimmers, for instance, are fast because of their technique as much as because of their strength.

And if all else fails, PM Phil...

I dont think you need to worry about the strength of your wrist for playing staccato passages. I might well get 'slated' for this (it's likely) but there are so many different approaches regarding technique, as long as your back is straight you shouldn't have any problems. You can play staccato solely using your fingers, assuming you have good reflexes and suppleness. You don't need to use your wrist at all, infact the less strain you put on it the better it probably is.

IMO you don't need to go through this tortured approach of repeating everything like a million times to improve. I think it should just be natural to be honest, just use whatever you were given.

I remember reading about Schumann, whose teacher insisted that he tied some of his fingers with a piece of string in order to improve strength. Obsessive and insane, technique is something that should develop gradually not suddenly by force.

I don't think you'll be slated - or you shouldn't be! I agree, anyway! I heard once that Haydn, for instance, should be played with 'an iron fist in a velvet glove' - implying that it's stability in the wrists that allows the subtlety to come from the fingers once they have freedom to relax with a solid support. This doesn't take undue strength; it may just take a little concentration and thinking about for a while.