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The present investigation of physiological mechanics was undertaken in order to establish a sound physiological basis for the mechanics of piano technique. The experimental work connected with it has extended over a period of five years, a great part of which was given over to the necessary verification of data and to improvements in methods of recording. It is published as the second part of a general investigation of piano technique, of which the first part is the Physical Basis of Piano Touch and Tone already mentioned, and of which the third part will be a study, now in course of preparation, on the psychological phases of the problem. The interrelation among these parts must be kept in mind in interpreting the present results, because the limitations within which certain topics are here treated, are otherwise not commensurate with their relative importance. The present investigation is limited to the mechanics of muscular action particularly of the movements used in piano-playing. Problems of coordination, in so far as they involve neural and cortical activity, are left untouched, or are treated fragmentarily, in order to keep the study within its prescribed limits.