The Yoga of Pianism

There is a small yoga movement, within the larger branch of Kundalini called Lasia Yoga. It was started hundreds of years ago when yogis would hold single poses, or "asanas" until they literally collapsed and fell out of them. This is a process that can actually take hours. The point is that only while you're in the asana can you figure out what muscles you need, and those muscles that you are only using because you aren't conscious of the fact that you were using them in the first place. When you develop awareness like a yoga master, you are aware of so much, and the practice of yoga becomes so efficient, that you can stay in the same pose for hours on end. All the time, we all use muscles, some large and some very small, that we aren't consciously aware of. I would argue that, just like in yoga, the mastery and continued study of the piano involves a conscious, efficient application that involves mastery of muscle control on a finite level.

In terms of Breithaupt's exercises, perhaps some of them could have merit if you, for the most part, ignore his instructions. I believe that any of the exercises which ask you to sit and focus on your body and the execution at the piano have some worth. Anything that widens your awareness of what's going on while you play will only make you stronger, with better technique. In my experience with trying Breithaupt's way of free fall, and others as well, I never found it to be very useful. Over the years, I have definitely gotten better as utilizing the weight of my body and understood what some of my teachers were getting at. However, I can't completely agree with the idea of an ACTUAL free fall, because relaxing every single muscle is not only terrifying when trying to hit an actual note, it's actually very imprecise. As Gerig and many others agree, you cannot have a complete relaxation at the piano. Even when you get close to an actual free fall (which I would argue that while it's not a completely true free fall, being as relaxed as possible is ideal) your hand needs to prepare whatever you are about to play when you land.

While the idea of weight in piano playing is crucial, especially as we come to more modern repertoire, the problem with Breithaupt's method is that he doesn't fully understand what he's trying to express. As Gerig points out, there is an extreme contradiction, and even fallacy in that one could be completely passive muscularly while still DOING something. Even the usage of the word "passive" is incorrect and not specific enough. If we were to be completely passive when sitting at the piano, we would fall off the bench and crumple on the floor and not move. And even then, our involuntary muscles would continue to contract and release, keeping us alive.

Another problem that Gerig also points out is that Breithaupt explains things very poorly. While I was reading, I had no idea by what he meant about forearms "oscillating". The first joints of your finger bent it? If he means what I think he means he's going against SO many things Dr. Nosikova has been trying to drill into my head for the last 4 years. I also have no idea what it means to "play from the shoulder". I found it extremely interesting that Levinskaya, who advocates arm weight, decided to study with Godowsky because Breithaupt's playing was so imprecise. With the poor explanation and understanding of the coordination and the extremely fast and subtle details at the piano, Breithaupt seems to have done away with some of the things that can make our instrument so magical, with a sloppy, loose hand.

In order to fully understand these muscles and how they work, practicing consciously is not enough. We must devote ourselves to the study of our physiology as well. My yoga teacher says that a person could master hatha yoga (yoga of the body) in shavasana (when you lie on the floor on your back and try to relax every muscle that you possibly can). Of course it would take decades to develop that kind of awareness, and some would ask what's the point? The mastery of so many things in life are interconnected, and the committed study to evolve, developing awareness of yourself and what is around you is the only way to make a life genuinely worth living.