How to playing as relaxed as possible?

[unknown-user]

Hi everyone,

recently my teacher mentioned that I’ve been playing too much with my arms and hence my arms are tensed up — she said I should find a balance for my fingers and transfer the weight to my fingers while playing instead.

Anyone knows what exactly does this mean, and
do you know any exercises to make me stop using my arms so much and work my fingers instead?

Also, on another note, do you guys know any good exercises to strengthen my third fingers as the last joint tends to collapse when playing downward arpeggios. (ie like those in the orchestra excerpt of ‘La Forza del Destino by Verdi)

[alice-freeman]

I found that working with an instructor of the Alexander Technique made a world of difference in my harp playing. See http://www.alexandertechnique.com/ for more information. Hopefully you can find an instructor in that or the Feldenkrais Method (http://www.feldenkrais.com/) near you.

— Alice in windy Wyoming

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

Practise very slowly, relaxing each finger and every muscle in your arms completely after every note. If you do this every day, eventually the muscles will stay relaxed even when you are playing quickly.

[Author]

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