Chapter One: Piano Technique¶
- I. Introduction
- II. Basic Procedures for Piano Practice
- 1. The Practice Routine
- 2. Finger Positions
- 3. Bench Height and Distance from Piano
- 4. Starting a Piece: Listening and Analysis (Für Elise)
- 5. Practice the Difficult Sections First
- 6. Shortening Difficult Passages: Segmental (Bar-by-Bar) Practice
- 7. Hands Separate Practice: Acquiring Technique
- 8. Continuity Rule
- 9. Chord Attack
- 10. Gravity Drop, Chord Practice, and Relaxation
- 11. Parallel Sets
- 12. Learning, Memorizing, and Mental Play
- 13. Velocity, Choice of Practice Speed
- 14. How to Relax
- 15. Post Practice Improvement (PPI)
- 16. Dangers of Slow Play - Pitfalls of the Intuitive Method
- 17. Importance of Slow Play
- 18. Fingering
- 19. Accurate Tempo and the Metronome
- 20. Weak Left Hand; Using One Hand to Teach the Other
- 21. Building Endurance, Breathing
- 22. Bad Habits: A Pianist’s Worst Enemy
- 23. Damper Pedal
- 24. Soft Pedal: Hammer Voicing, Physics of the Piano Sound
- 25. Hands Together and Mental Play
- 26. Summary
- III. Selected Topics in Piano Practice
- 1. Tone, Rhythm, Legato, Staccato
- 2. Cycling (Chopin’s Fantaisie Impromptu)
- 3. Trills & Tremolos
- 4. Hand, Finger, Body Motions for Technique
- 5. Playing Fast: Scales, Arpeggios, and Chromatic Scales
- 6. Memorizing
- 7. Exercises
- 8. Outlining (Beethoven’s Sonata #1)
- 9. Polishing a Piece - Eliminating Flubs
- 10. Cold Hands, Slippery Fingers, Illness, Hand Injury, Ear Damage
- 11. Sight Reading
- 12. Learning Relative Pitch and Absolute Pitch (Sight Singing, Composing)
- 13. Video Recording and Audio Recording Your Own Playing
- 14. Preparing for Performances and Recitals
- 15. Origin and Control of Nervousness
- 16. Teaching
- 17. Upright, Grand & Electronic Pianos; Purchasing and Care
- 18. How to Start Learning Piano: Youngest Children to Old Adults
- 19. The “Ideal” Practice Routine (Bach’s Teachings and Invention #4)
- 20. Bach: the Greatest Composer and Teacher
- 21. The Psychology of Piano
- 22. Summary of Method
- IV. Music, Mathematics, and Research
- V. Jazz, Fake Books, and Improvisation