I was talking to my physiotherapist the other day and she mentioned the fact that pianists were known as having 6 fingers. I thought it was just another one of those expressions, but she explained that the ability to move and control independently the first phalange of the finger is what they consider “the sixth finger”.  This post is therefore dedicated to the best 6 finger’s pianist I know : Krystian Zimerman. The first time I tried this technique was when I came to study with him. It is a difficult technique to learn on the modern piano as the weight of the keys is rather heavy and using this only phalange means that one uses less the hand and arm and therefore the strain is greater on the muscles. On the other hand, when I started getting acquainted with pianofortes, this technique proved the best and most natural way to produce a quality sound on them, as the weight of the arm only “crushes” the sound and doesn’t let it lift and vibrate.