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It was all in the wrist
Stephanie, Mark and Kevin Lane at the Boston grand piano in their home.
A repetitive wrist injury spelled certain doom for 15-year-old Kevin Lane’s future as a pianist. The pain restricted playing to about 15 minutes a day ... not nearly enough time to practice, especially with piano exams coming up. But, things began to look up once he started playing a Boston grand piano.
However, before we get to the happy ending, let’s start at the beginning, say, nine years ago. Back then, Kevin’s parents – Ross and Colleen Lane – purchased a “10th hand” piano for their children, thinking “it would be good enough to suit our purposes,” Mrs. Lane says. “After all, we didn’t know how long they’d play.”
Flash ahead to the present and you’ll find the three Lane children – who want to be music teachers – still taking piano lessons, especially Kevin, who is preparing for the Royal Conservatory of Music’s grade-eight piano exam. But there also is 13-year-old Mark, who’s ready to take the grade-six exam, while Stephanie, 8, is studying introductory piano.
Over the years, the family’s “purposes” described by Mrs. Lane obviously changed, as did their need for a new piano. That, in turn, took them to Irene Besse Keyboards of Calgary, Alberta, the exclusive dealer for the family of Steinway-designed pianos in southern Alberta, Canada. And when Kevin sat at a Boston grand piano, relaxed and confident, his choice became obvious.
Kevin’s piano teacher – Dr. Peter Jancewicz, who works with students suffering from repetitive-strain injuries at Mount Royal College in Calgary – had noticed that Kevin’s fingers and shoulders were very tense when he played. He wasn’t using enough arm energy and was pressing the keys too forcefully. But from the first time he sat at the Boston, something remarkable took place.
“His shoulders dropped and his fingers relaxed,” Mrs. Lane recalls. And when Kevin remarked about the Boston’s “beautiful sound” and that the piano “plays itself,” it was all his mother needed. “That’s what I’ve been waiting to hear,” she remarked.
So what was the difference? Irene Besse explained the advantages of Steinway’s pear-shaped hammers – also found on Steinway-designed Boston grand pianos – and demonstrated how hammers work with gravity on a grand piano, hitting the strings from underneath to provide a lighter, quicker, repetitive action.
Mrs. Lane, an occupational therapist, noticed that in the first few weeks that Kevin played the Boston grand … and by adjusting his technique at Dr. Jancewicz’s urging … his wrist stopped hurting. Moreover, his practice time eventually improved to three pain-free hours a day. She’s pleased with the Boston’s “full, rich sound that all the children enjoy.”
“I used to make the children close the door when they practiced on the old upright because it sounded awful,” she laughs. But now the Boston grand is on display in the living room windows that overlook a golf course. Mr. Lane also enjoys the beautiful sound, but his view is somewhat more pragmatic. “It’s an investment in our kids and our home,” he says, “and it’s also for our entertainment.”
When the piano was delivered, the Lane children – who are home-schooled – jockeyed for their turn at the keyboard. “The piano was played all the time,” Mrs. Lane is proud to admit, adding that developing a schedule eliminated the musical log jam.
Now, the music flows freely … and regularly … says Mrs. Lane. “Owning the Boston piano has been a wonderful experience for our children,” she says proudly before admitting, “and I may even start taking lessons with my husband.”