Going Through Growth Spurts

I have been teaching in Sparks/Reno ever since I graduated from college and I taught here before I left for college also. Some of my students have been with me for four or more years. And many of them were anywhere from 7-10 years old when they started lessons with me. That means that they were and are with me during some major growing years! Some of them have shot up in height several inches (feels like feet) and when I am teaching them, they are sitting on the piano bench and suddenly I realize they look like giants! Not really, but there is definitely a big height difference.

This has a few implications for my students. Often, they don't realize they have grown A TON. Or maybe they know that they have grown, but they don't realize that this affects how close they should or shouldn't be sitting to the piano.

I don't know the average height changes in children between the ages of 10 and 14, all I know is that there is constant growing going on. I also know that many boys and girls start taking lessons at a fairly young age. That would mean that when they start their lessons, they are sitting pretty close to the piano with the bench scooted as close as possible to the keys. But by the time they are 10, 11, 12...there has been some pretty noticeable growing. But they still want to sit as close to the piano as they did when they started because that is what they are used to.

When a student has grown a couple or more inches, the distance they used to sit away from the piano is no longer a healthy playing distance and here are the reasons why.

1. They are learning how to use "arm weight" when playing, This becomes extremely difficult to do when their elbows are jammed at a 75 degree angle. They need more distance from the keys to open up their elbows to at least 120 degrees. This allows them freedom of motion and use of full arm weight. Arm weight playing is crucial to having a full, rich sound.

2. Their elbows being jammed at the 75 degree angle will also effect their wrists. Their wrists will drop lower than the keys, staying somewhat useless and this in turn will cause their fingers to have to work harder, compensating for the lack of wrist motion.

3. The students' heads will sometimes have to drop forward for them to be able to properly look at the keys, instead of having a better, full view of the piano that sitting farther back would give them. This doesn't necessarily have an effect on their technique, but it's just plain uncomfortable!

The main idea to take away is how the student sits will greatly affect their technique, their sound, and their abilities. AND their comfort level! So be aware, students and parents of students! Where and how you sit matters!