The Real Wonders of Piano + Mobility You Didn't Realize (ft. Sophia Suwiryo)

Previously, I had a blog that discussed Mobility + Piano. This blog though, is amplified. This is featuring a passage from Sophia Suwiryo, an internationally recognized pianist.

“When people think about playing piano, they usually think about the fingers first. But there is actually so much more involved. The way we sit, our posture, our shoulders, arms, and wrists all affect how we play and how comfortable we feel while performing. Mobility is important for pianists because it helps us move naturally and avoid unnecessary tension. When our body is too stiff, it can make playing feel harder and limit how much expression we can put into the music. Having good mobility helps us stay relaxed while still having control over our movements.

For example, relaxed shoulders can help our arms move more freely across the keyboard, and flexible wrists allow us to connect our movements to the sound we create. It’s not about being completely relaxed or having no structure …it’s about finding the right balance between control and freedom. I think this connection is really important because at Keys of Creation [project], we believe music is about more than just learning notes. Music helps us build confidence, creativity, and a stronger connection with ourselves and others. Taking care of our bodies is another part of becoming a better musician. The biggest idea is that our body is part of our instrument. When we understand how we move, we can play with more comfort, confidence, and expression. Music and mobility work together to help musicians grow both as performers and as individuals” (Sophia Suwiryo).

And even other instruments too. No matter what instrument you’re playing, you’ve got some movement going on (yes, even being in a choir).

Students from MIT, UMich, and other schools did a project on the human body connecting movement and music, specifically piano (Piano player technology as a research tool). 

Their big question was: “…is there a way to improve the performance and our understanding of how the performer and their instrument work together to create this magic, while also minimizing performance-related injuries?”.

Yes. You can also get injured from playing piano. In fact, sometimes if you get really injured in piano, you have to relearn all the technique and hand dexterity again. This is why injury prevention is important not only in sports, but also instruments and daily tasks/life too. 

They first started comparing dance to piano, and realized that “both expressive and sustainable movements might share a common denominator. ‘A key insight was that elastic tissues play a crucial role in coordinated, expressive, and sustainable movements in dance — a principle that could extend beyond dancing,’ he notes”.

Together, they soon figured out that “‘... studying elastic tissues could shed light on reducing injury risk, as well as understanding musical expression and embodiment in the context of piano playing’”.

There was a problem though. They’ve been using a digital piano, which doesn’t replicate the actual expression and depth of a real piano.

Later, the researchers decided to bring grand pianos to the lab and “observed that the instruments player piano technology could both capture pianists’ hammer strike velocities and reproduce them to play back the performance. Monitoring Kim’s performance on the concert grand piano, for example, both noted marked differences in her playing style [playing freely]”.

With all the different research and lab work, they wondered if it’s possible to redesign the way piano is taught. 

“I want us to bridge the gap between artistic expression and biomechanical efficiency”.

“Each wants to reduce occurrences of playing-related injuries and improve how musicians learn their craft”.

And honestly, this may be just the beginning of a new way to for real not only preventing injury when playing piano… but also looking at a new way of piano thinking.

“Traditional teaching relies heavily on subjective descriptions and metaphors passed down through generations,” she says.

“While valuable, these approaches could be enhanced with objective, scientific understanding of the physical mechanisms behind skilled piano performance — evidence-driven piano pedagogy, if you will”.

Piano and mobility come together hand-in-hand in such an aspiring/creative way that when I realize - applying piano skills I learned from my teacher + putting it through each group mobility session just opens another gate to the future. I’ve got to be honest though, a lot of times, I envision piano as a BIG part of mobility, and believe that this similarly behaves in sports and daily life too, which explains expression not only in music, but in life too. Overall, this is exactly why “taking care of our bodies is another part of becoming a better musician” (Sophia Suwiryo).

Check out my other blog I wrote similarly here, it’ll help to fill in some of the holes.

(You just learned something that only less than 5% of people know).

Citation

Daniel, Benjamin. “The Human Body, Its Movement, and Music.” MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Apr. 2025, https://news.mit.edu/2025/human-body-its-movement-and-music-0407. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.