Backwards Piano Roundup

Thank to a little hint from @synthgear and inspired by this “backwards” piano post, I recently went on a journey into the YouTube world of backwards piano playing. Here are some of my favorites, categorized into what will surely be a dominant typology of backwards piano styles:

(If you’re reading in the Tumblr dashboard or RSS, these vids probably won’t show up, so click on over!)

First, and most common, the “back on bench, arms crossed”:

If you look at the hands, you’ll notice that they are still basically in the same position as regular playing, just made more complicated by the crossed arms and lack of clear sight lines.

This style also be accomplished from under the piano, without a bench:

Now, the “back on piano” style, which still puts the hands in the proper position, and this time, just eliminated sight lines and scuffs up your piano:

And I can’t embed this one, but there is also the “legs flipped over head” style, which seems to be not too difficult, provided you can fling your legs over your head.

Or the age-old favorite, “accidentally put camera upside down.”

But my favorite style, of which I have two variations here, is the “thumbs out” style, which actually puts your fingers on the keys with your thumbs apart instead of together. The “sitting upright thumbs out”:

(see also this horrifying variation, “sitting upright thumbs out, freaky double-jointed elbows.”)

And the “back on bench thumbs out”:

Or “standing up thumbs out”:

The cream of the crop is probably this one, in which a guy plays “The Entertainer” regularly, then sitting upright thumbs out, then sitting on floor thumbs out PEDALING WITH HEAD:

I couldn’t seem to find any with someone laying on top of a grand piano, playing so their fingers point away from the piano (like in the Allora & Calzadilla piece I linked above). If you find any other categories, let me know in the comments!