Gloves: For More than Keeping Your Child's Hands Warm

   Snow swirls around the streets of Leningrad, Russia. Pedestrians pull winter coats tighter around themselves. Car lights shine through the flurries. In one large, multi-story building, a window on the corner of the building is lit. Inside the room, frost decorates the window panes. The only occupant – a young man, with a spark of life in his blue eyes – turns out music, gorgeous music, on the upright piano against the wall. He wears a heavy overcoat and plays with a pair of medium-weight, knit gloves – for his dormitory room has no heat.

   At this point in the narrative, the music teacher jerks his enraptured student back into the present – modern Edmonton, a warm and very comfortable music studio, and the two Yamaha baby grands sitting side by side – with this question:

   “Have you ever practiced with gloves on?”

   Ahh . . . no, I hadn’t. My house always had heat?! 

   My music teacher, undeterred by my blank look (which he had undoubtedly seen many times before!), responded with, "Well, it's very good for hand position." 

   Hand position. It's a familiar story -- a familiar problem -- to every piano teacher and student. I remember being a student -- every single one of my teachers told me over and over, "Curve your fingers!" Maybe you were in the same shoes. Maybe your teacher went a step further and rapped your knuckles, only teaching you that playing piano was painful. 

   Don't worry; that method is long obsolete. 

   But something still has to be done about those hands. 

   Facing this problem as a teacher, my thoughts turned to my former teacher's words and his explanation of why gloves were good for hand position. What was to keep me from trying it on my own students? So I did. 

   

   It worked!
   Not perfectly, but it meant improvement for students struggling with their hand position. And that's what we both want -- you as a parent, me as a teacher.
   So happy to find a new way of helping with hand position! If you're in the Onoway region looking for a piano teacher for your child, and you like what you see here, click here to get in touch with me. Hope to hear from you soon!