Wayne Hawkins - Piano Aerobics

Back when I was still in my twenties, I had the good fortune to meet professional baseball pitcher Tom Seaver when I was playing in a jazz club. I had an interest in pitching for baseball and he had an interest in jazz piano. I inquired about the technique in throwing a slider. He replied, Well, show me how to play [the piano] like that and Ill show you. I responded, Pretend you have a baseball in each hand. Turn your hands over and you will have good hand position [for playing the piano]. He then gave me a nice tip on how to throw that elusive pitch.

Here are some things to keep in mind regarding this technique:

• Turn both palms up.
• Put a baseball (or softball for larger hands)in each hand.
• Take care to not grip the baseball.
• Treat it more like an egg.
• Turn palms down and let baseballs drop.
• Place your hands over the piano keys.

Ways to warm up cold hands:

• Rub hands together.
• Shake hands and fingers.
• Use one hand to massage the other.
• Put palms together and expand all fingers in a comfortable stretch.
• Close fist, then open.

Stretching exercises: Start by planting the thumb and stretching the other fingers.

Now, stretch the left hand.

If your hand is larger you can try a larger interval. Here are some other stretches. Please follow the fingerings and take your time.

• It is a great tool that can help smooth out technique.
• It trains the musician to keep a constant tempo.
• It is essential for modern styles of music, such as those found in this book.

• Set your metronome to quarter note = 60.
• Turn on the metronome.
• Tap or clap the following figures matching the quarter note pulse.

If you are having trouble playing in time, here are some possible suggestions:

• Clap or tap the rhythms.
• It is important to listen carefully and play exactly with the click. In general, if you are in sync, you will hear the click less.
• Relax. It will take awhile to internalize the click and listen.

Musicians refer to keeping good time as a groove. The term groove also refers to the spot where an old phonograph record needle sits while playing a record.