Don’t Try This at Home! – Mechanical Aids to Practice
If you were a student at the Stuttgart Conservatory in the mid 1800‘s during the reign of Sigismund Lebert and Ludwig Stark, you would have had to practise a strict…
The History of Piano Technique: Studies and Exercises
There has been much feedback and lively debate on last week's post about Czerny and his legacy of studies and exercises. It seems some piano teachers firmly believe in assigning…
The History of Piano Technique: The Finger School
The connecting link between the harpsichord and the early piano was undoubtedly Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788), whose treatise Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments was revered by Muzio Clementi (1752-1832), Johann…
South London Concert Series
On Friday evening I was delighted to attend the launch of an exciting new venture, the South London Concert Series at the 1901 Arts Club. The brainchild of the indefatigable…
The History of Piano Technique (Part 2)
One of the things that really gets my goat is the totally erroneous statement that the harpsichord is incapable of expression. Many famous and influential pianists who should know better…
The History of Piano Technique (Part 1)
Writing about the history of piano technique for my new eBook I recalled vividly my harpsichord studies with Ruth Dyson at the RCM, and her insistence that the fingers play from…
My new eBook on Technique
When I started work on Part 2 of Practising the Piano, I had only a rough outline of the content I wanted to cover. I soon found that the project…
Practising the Piano Part 2 Now Available
I am delighted to announce the release today of Part 2 of my Practising the Piano eBook series, available via www.practisingthepiano.com/eBooks. Part 1 (published in March) dealt with practice methodology (techniques of learning)…
The Weakest Link
In the run-up to Christmas, I am reminded of the low-tech decorations we used to make at school back in the day - paper chains. We would lick the gummed…
Solving a Problem in Beethoven’s op. 79
The other day, a student brought in a problem with Beethoven's Sonata in G, op. 79 - the cross rhythms in the last movement. In several places, one hand is…