This is very interesting. Thank you for finding this article and reading it to us and furthermore elaborating what it means in detail! Can‘t wait for part two!👍🏼👍🏼
I'd be curious to hear you expand on when you find it more useful to use curved fingers vs flat fingers. Maybe even some specific examples of passages? I used to play with flat fingers all the time, then my professor in college "broke" that habit and I did feel that my fingers became physically stronger when I focused on keeping them curved. But, now that I am coming back after a long break, I'm finding that a sort of hybrid approach can be helpful.
It's not that one is better than the other, it's that they both have their place. I think it's wrong to teach a system where "this is the way your fingers should look all the time" because music doesn't sound the same all the time. Unfortunately many are taught this method and therefore go on to teach the same way. The same way an artist uses different brushes for different textures is an analogy. Different tonal colors and articulations require a physically different approach. Sharper and more articulate passages tend to work better with more curved fingers, and flatter fingers with more arm weight generally work better with more lyrical and legato passages. If you watch videos of a really good pianist playing very different pieces you will see a lot of physical changes. Hope that helps!
