Pedalling for Resonance
In the days before the piano was invented, harpsichordists did not have any sort of sustaining device and so created resonance using the technique of overholding (or finger pedalling). On…
Improve Your Thumb Technique
Wouldn't it be great if Nature had designed our hands with the fingers in reverse order? If the "strong" thumb were on the outside of the hand and the "weak" pinky on…
Don’t Play!
We tend to think of sitting at the piano and practising totally in terms of making sounds. If we’re not moving our fingers up and down, we’re not really practising,…
Five-a-Side Team Events: Some Thoughts on Chord Playing
In my youth I was fortunate enough to have some lessons with Philip Fowke, the first one was on Rachmaninov's rather overplayed Prelude in C sharp minor. I recall the…