Why Use a Piano Cushion and Footstool?

From the very beginning of your piano training, building healthy habits means doing the right things – yet it also means not doing the wrong things! Using a piano cushion and footstool provides several benefits to young or small statured students; not using these tools can create trouble that sneaks up and accumulates over time. When a student is physically well balanced at the piano, they become more skilled and music enjoyment increases: longer daily practices and a favorable outlook about upcoming lessons can also result. When a student is set up well, they tire less quickly and avoid developing poor habits. Listeners viewing a student who is truly comfortable, will enjoy the music without becoming distracted.

Here are CYM’s Reasons Why using a piano cushion and footstool will benefit your child:

To Establish Proper Posture 

Appropriately adjusted, the cushion/footstool allows a student to sit at the correct height and distance from the instrument.

  • What is your child’s best positioning? That which facilitates balanced access relative to the piano itself and their individual torso and limb lengths – as explained by your teacher. A few really good teachers are listed here https://craftyourmusic.com/).
  • The footstool ensures that feet are properly supported and soles flat, and that knees are at the same level/slightly below the hips. 
  • The cushion provides support for the lower back, reducing strain on this area of the body, which allows the frame to lift arms more easily… and its presence also makes sure that the student is high enough above the piano keys.
  • From the start, using this combination of tools prevents reaching for the piano keys or slouching, poor habits, discomfort, or any awkward body positioning.  
  • Since no child’s proportions are exactly the same, achieving proper posture at the piano is a customized experience provided by your teacher in the weekly individual lesson – and the set up changes as the student grows. With the existence of a duplicated set up at home, students will play with accuracy and ease! 

To Be (and Remain) Comfortable

Sitting at the piano in a balanced way is enjoyable and can increase practice session duration. 

  • A cushion/footstool set helps pianists shift their weight as needed, change position easily, and affords them a soft surface on which to sit and stay as they develop stamina, strength, and coordination. 
  • If a student is not using appropriate posture, their muscles work harder in order to maintain a best stance while playing, causing unnecessary fatigue. Cramping and numbness in the feet and legs can also occur.
  • Using a cushion/footstool helps reduce strain and stress to muscles so that a student can play without becoming sore, irritable, or discouraged; they will keep at piano practice for longer periods of time if physically unimpeded.

To Improve Technique 

By providing a stable and comfortable seating position, a footstool/cushion set helps students develop solid technique and form, becoming pianists who play with accuracy, subtlety, and even speed.

  • Being balanced physically at the instrument lets a student experience smooth coordination between brain, body, and hands.
  • By maintaining good posture, the muscles involved in piano playing will not work harder than required.
  • Increasingly difficult piano techniques are within reach and can be quickly adopted when a student is sitting comfortably. 
  • When a pianist’s whole body is properly supported, they have greater control over the quality of the sound created.

To Become Confident

Using a cushion/footstool set positively supports a student’s ability to control how they experience learning to play the piano. Having that awareness can define a student’s musical trajectory right from the start of their music education. 

  • Students who feel relaxed at the piano will also feel secure; those are usually the kids who advance to learn new skills more readily since they are not spending time unconsciously fighting through awkward positioning.
  • Being well oriented and ready to learn new skills feels good and provides motivation to students that is long-lasting. 
  • Students who are physically comfortable and like playing the piano will more easily become musically expressive since there is nothing holding them back!
  • Becoming an involved and expressive player boosts students’ overall enjoyment and possibly their understanding of the positive causes they can make through music.
  • Confidence can lead students to use their piano playing to reach out beyond their immediate networks and create meaningful musical experiences. These can leave significant impressions that contribute to the wellbeing of others. 

And that’s what playing music is all about – right!? Enjoy your piano lessons!

For a free-used piano footstool/cushion set OR a never-before-used (and still in it’s original shipping box) piano footstool at $95, email mwest@craftyourmusic.com