Avoid the Wrist Wrinkle - Why Piano Students Should Delay Use of the Thumb

One of the most effective ways to help students build good piano technique is to delay the use of the thumb. In fact, it’s probably one of the most important steps in learning to play with good technique.  

First, lets think about what it means to have “Good Technique”.

Good technique is:

• The ability to produce variation of tone when playing any key with any finger

• Evenness of tone regardless of which finger is being used

• The ability to perform rapid passages whilst controlling the tone quality of each note

• The ability to differentiate between voices in polyphonic passages

The piano is a vast, complicated instrument. In order to control the production of sound it absolutely matters how each key is pressed.

To begin, I believe that it’s helpful to be completely honest about the fact that developing good technique takes a lot of time. It’s totally normal for children to spend many years creating a healthy physical relationship with the piano. However, it is also true that the process can be severely delayed and sometimes ruined, if the early days of learning technique don’t follow a few simple principles. This includes delaying the use of the thumb. 

The first step in developing healthy technique is to create good alignment between the player and the piano. This includes correct posture and distance from the keyboard. It means that the player sits at the correct height and that feet are flat and being used as support for the upper body. It includes a softness of the muscles in the shoulders, back and arms to allow for freedom of movement and the ability to use the weight of the arm. 

Most importantly though is the alignment between the keyboard and the arm. Above all else students should avoid the dreaded winkle in the wrist. The wrist wrinkle comes from premature use of the thumb before the arc in the hand has been developed. 

The arc in the hand is what is needed to pull the thumb forward so that it can reach the keys. 

This is why it is important to begin with the tip of the third finger - it helps build the domed hand shape that will eventually bring the thumb forward. 

This is all especially important for children who are growing so quickly that they literally change from one lesson to the next. If we continue to adjust their alignment and gently develop the shape of the palm, then technique comes. When they finally use their thumb it rests naturally on it’s own tip on the edge of the key without compromising the wrist. 

This takes time but it’s time worth taking. 

The PianoForte method allows piano students to develop technique naturally. It begins with use of the third finger and delays use of the thumb. This allows teachers to take time teaching technique without needing to rewrite fingerings or try to prematurely manage the thumb. The PianoForte method is full of music that is fun, beautiful and engaging without rushing ahead harmfully. 

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