Everything Piano

A Closer Look At The “Gravity Drop”

Don't Fight Gravity!

In my last post, I talked about something called the “gravity drop.” I think it’s important to take a closer look at it for you to really see how physics can work with you or against you when you play the piano. Try this exercise to see how the gravity drop works with your own hands and your own piano:

Place your right hand on the piano and your fingers (1, 3, and 5) in the correct position to play the chord, C-E-G.
Remember to keep your entire arm and body relaxed.
Keep your wrists flexible, and begin to lift your hand about 5 to 20 centimeters above the keys.
Allow gravity to let your hand drop, and let your hand and fingers drop as one entire unit, without moving the fingers.
Your hands should be completely relaxed during the entire drop, and then as your fingers come to impact the keys, you need to “set” your fingers and wrists to take the shock of landing and depressing those keys (remember to keep flexibility in your wrists).

You are now letting gravity lower your hand, therefore referencing your strength or sensitivity to a completely constant force. Maybe it doesn’t seem that interesting right now, but to really dig deep into piano playing, it’s necessary to look at how physics compliments the structure of the human body to create, you guessed it, music.

Did you know that an underweight 6 year-old and an enormous sumo wrestler dropping their hands from the exact same height onto the piano will produce sounds of equal loudness?

Why does this happen? This happens because the speed of gravitational fall is actually independent of weight or mass and the piano hammer will be launched into free flight as soon as the knuckles are taken off the jack, which are the last few millimeters before striking the strings.

If you majored in physics, you might say, “Ok, what about kinetic energy? Kinetic energy is conserved so the above statements are not precisely true.”

Piano keys do not have the mechanical structure to physically act like an “elastic collision.” In an elastic collision, the piano key would fly off the fingertip at a high velocity, sort of like when you play staccato. However, because the fingers are kept relaxed and fingertips soft, inelastic collisions are produced and kinetic energy is not conserved. The smaller mass, which are the piano keys, can stay with the larger mass, which are your fingers/arm/hands, which results in a controlled key drop.

Now, the sumo wrester will probably create a slightly louder sound because of his arm being 20 times heavier (momentum conservation), but the difference between his sound and the sound of the 6 year-old will be relatively small.

So, what’s so great about practicing YOUR gravity drop?

Using gravity to lower your hands allows you to rid yourself of all forces and all tenseness that cause some of your fingers to land before others. And most importantly, using the gravity drop allows you to practice relaxation.

Gravity is the perfect force for playing the piano, and it’s no coincidence. Human beings have evolved under the complete influence of gravity; walking, running, jumping, and of course, playing the piano. Just remember that you only need the amount of force that is relatively equal to that supplied by gravity. You don’t need to bang the keys or keep your hands tense. This will be detrimental to your practicing. It’s a great idea to practice the gravity drop for a number of weeks or even months, every time you practice. Once you are truly relaxed, you’ll be able to feel the gravitational effect on your hands as you play.

Elise’s Musical Tip For The Day:

At the time of impacting the keys, stiffening your hand will ensure that your entire weight of your arm will transfer to the key drop. However, make sure not to add force during the stiffening. This takes practice. A pure gravity drop becomes more difficult as you increase the height of your hand. That’s why I recommended a height of 5 to 20 centimeters from the keys. Choosing a height of 5 centimeters will be easier because you will have a better chance of not adding your own forceful impact in combination to gravity.

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Tags: Arm, Chords, Energy, Fingers, Force, Gravity, Hands, Key Drop, Momentum, Relax, Relaxation, Wrists