Five Fingers
My piano chum, Leon Whitesell, has a brand new Facebook group called Piano Playing Questions. In a recent post, Leon referred to the five-finger exercise formulae of famous Russian teacher,…
Chess or Checkers?
I have written extensively about the subject of slow practice on this blog and elsewhere. Since slow practice is such a cornerstone of our practice routine I don't apologise for making a…
The Dance of the Dampers
The subtleties of the right pedal are extremely hard to pin down. I can show a student what I am doing with my hands, fingers and arm to produce a…
A Beautiful Process for Scales
I was back at Steinway Hall in London recently, recording a new series of video demonstrations for Pianist Magazine. The first is on scales and arpeggios, and now that it…
Practising Chopin’s “Ocean” Etude
In last week's post on ties and repeated notes, I referred to Chopin's Ocean Etude (more properly known as op. 25 no. 12). A reader contacted me asking if I…
Looping – How to Manage Repetition Rhythmically
Piano playing requires extremely sophisticated motor skills and superfine coordination. While we acquire these skills for a new piece or if we are polishing up an old one, a certain…
A Tool for Memory Work: Tracking
Memorising a piece takes plenty of time and energy, and requires a strategy more sophisticated than simply closing the score after several weeks of reading it. Some memory work is…
The Adult Amateur
Some adults play the piano for pleasure, it is a thread that goes through their lives from childhood to old age and what a wonderful joy, solace, outlet for self…
The Other End of the Telescope
A respected colleague teaching at the College level used to challenge his new students in their first lesson with him by getting them to play almost impossibly slowly with the…