Chapter 1 of 25 · Getting started

Posture and hand shape

Before the first note: how to sit, and how to hold the hand. Get these two right and every note after them is easier, and kinder to the body.

Written by Clara Sohyun Park · Updated 8 October 2026

Set up the stool

Two things to set: how high the stool is, and how far it is from the keys. Then sit tall, like a puppet on a string.

  • Front half of the stool, feet flat on the floor, leaning a little toward the piano.
  • Height: the forearm is level with the keys.
  • Distance: the elbows sit just in front of you and away from your body, about a fist from your sides.
  • Feet don't reach? Put a footstool or a sturdy box under them.

Four ways it goes wrong

✗ Stool too low

The forearm slopes up to the keys and the shoulders hunch. Raise the stool.

✗ Stool too high

The forearm slopes down onto the keys and the feet swing. Lower the stool until the forearm is level.

✗ Too close

The elbows are squashed in against the body. Slide the stool back a little.

✗ Too far

The arms reach out ahead of the body. Slide the stool closer.

Let the arm carry the hand

The fingertips stay connected to the piano, but the whole arm does the work: from above, it leads the hand and the fingers, with the elbows free and away from the body. Even while a finger presses a key, the whole arm stays free. Six moves, in this order, from the big parts of the body to the small ones: each one gets the arm ready for the next. A few minutes at the start of practice.

1 · Rag doll

Flop forward and let both arms hang heavy. Shake them loose, then float the hands up and set them gently on the keys.

2 · Elbow wings

Check the elbows are free, not stuck to the body: let them float out like wings, then back. Stop in the middle, a fist from the body.

3 · Arm glide

Now the whole arm: skate along the keys. The round hand rides on the arm to the next group of keys. The fingers ride, they don't walk.

4 · Arm drop

Lift the whole arm and let it drop into a key on finger 3: firm tip, soft wrist, a round sound.

5 · Knuckle bridge

The knuckles are a bridge a little car can drive over. Press one key slowly and hold for three: the bridge stays up.

6 · Wrist balloon

As the key goes down, a balloon lifts the wrist straight back up to level. The wrist never sinks, and the fingertip stays on the key.

A round hand

Let the arms hang, then lift the hands as if holding a small ball. That round shape is the one to keep on the keys.

  • Knuckles up, like a bridge, and play on the fingertips.
  • A free wrist: with the fingertip on the key, the hand can sway up and down and side to side, as if a roller sat under the forearm.
  • Keep an eye on the knuckles and the tips, so they don't cave in.
  • The thumb bends in and plays on the side of its tip, like a tipped boat.

The thumb seen from the front of the keyboard: it bends in, and the side of its tip touches the key.

Five faults, and what helps

✗ Flat fingers

The key is played with the soft middle of the finger. Try: hold a small ball, or a mandarin, and put that round shape on the keys.

✗ Knuckles collapsed

The bridge has fallen in, lower than the wrist. Try: the knuckle bridge warm-up, with the knuckles staying up.

✗ Tip joint caving in

The last joint bends backwards as the finger plays. Notice it: play slowly on the tip, press down and hold, and feel it stay firm, like a little pillar.

✗ Wrist dropped

The wrist sinks below the keys and the hand has to push up. Try: the wrist balloon, back up to level after each key.

✗ Wrist too high

The wrist hunches up and the fingers poke straight down. Try: let it sink until it's level with the forearm.

Finger numbers

Every finger has a number, 1 to 5, starting from the thumb. It's the same on both hands, so both thumbs are 1 and both little fingers are 5. Teachers say "put finger 2 on D" all the time, so the numbers need to be automatic before reading fingering on the page.

1 Captain Thumb2 Pointer3 Tall Middle4 Shy Ring5 Baby Pinky

The mirror game: hold both hands up and wiggle each finger as you say its number. Then someone calls "Right hand, 3!" and you wiggle it. Swap, and you call.

First finger walks

Now put it together: sit well, make a round hand, and play. Start small: one note, then two, three, four, and all five. From key to key the hand draws a little rainbow: relaxed, never squeezed tight, the whole hand helping. One circle is one steady beat; an empty dashed circle holds the note for one more beat.

  1. Hop on 3One note: an arm drop on every 3.
    33333
  2. NeighboursTwo notes next door, taking turns.
    2323323
  3. Up and backThree notes: up, then back down.
    123321
  4. Little hillFour notes: up the hill and down.
    1234321
  5. Stairs and slideAll five: up the stairs, then down the slide.
    1234554321

Right hand first, then left hand. Move on to the next tune only when the hand stays round.

My five checks

Before playing, every time, for every student, not only beginners.

Before playing

  • Front half of the stool
  • Feet flat, leaning a little toward the piano
  • Sit tall, like a puppet on a string
  • Forearm level with the keys, elbows away from the body
  • Round hand, play on the tips

And while playing

  • The whole arm stays free, even while a finger presses
  • The wrist comes back up to level after each key
  • The thumb plays on the side of its tip
  • Shoulders down and loose

Free worksheet

Worksheet page: Is this a good set-up? Circle the tick or the cross, tick the set-up at home for five days, then draw yourself at the piano.

Is this a good set-up?

Tick or cross four pictures of sitting at the piano, tick your set-up at home for five days, then draw yourself at the piano and colour a star for each thing you drew. One A4 page.

Print this pageThe whole chapter: Lesson Book + Workbook

Try it on screen

Move the stool until every check turns green, do the six warm-ups with a moving picture of each, play the finger walks along with a steady beat, and play "Which finger?" on both hands.

Open the lesson

Common questions

How high should a piano stool be for a child?

High enough that the forearm is level with the keys. If the feet then don't reach the floor, put a footstool or a sturdy box under them rather than lowering the stool.

Should the wrist be high or low?

Neither: level with the forearm, and free, as if on a roller. After each key goes down, it comes straight back up to level instead of sinking.

How far from the piano should you sit?

Close enough that the elbows sit just in front of the body, away from your sides by about a fist. Squashed elbows mean too close; arms reaching out mean too far.