Books on piano technique!!!

[mikkeljs]

FAST FAST FAST FAST.....I want a good book about piano technique, and it can´t go fast enought! Something that goes maniacally into details with everything about approach, legato, preparation during practice as well as preparation before performance! How to study, memorize, play, live, eat and s*** so that no questions can be ever arised again! I don´t want to experiment for months and more months before getting to a simple result, that somebody could just have told me! I have the feeling that I could have written a book today and send it 5 years back in time to myself, and it pisses me so much off that I wasn´t taught those things but had to figure out little by little. 

I have been looking for books, but it seems that most of them are either working on a lower level or they are simply not well explained enought. Does there exist at all any books that describes every single atom of a pianist in all kinds of situations? Of cause such a book would be quite crazy, but still, the crazyness has its root in the primitivity of the spoken language. 

[Holden]

FAST FAST FAST FAST.....I want a good book about piano technique, and it can´t go fast enought! Something that goes maniacally into details with everything about approach, legato, preparation during practice as well as preparation before performance! How to study, memorize, play, live, eat and s*** so that no questions can be ever arised again! I don´t want to experiment for months and more months before getting to a simple result, that somebody could just have told me! I have the feeling that I could have written a book today and send it 5 years back in time to myself, and it pisses me so much off that I wasn´t taught those things but had to figure out little by little. 

I have been looking for books, but it seems that most of them are either working on a lower level or they are simply not well explained enought. Does there exist at all any books that describes every single atom of a pianist in all kinds of situations? Of cause such a book would be quite crazy, but still, the crazyness has its root in the primitivity of the spoken language.

That book is called a piano teacher and like all books it's the one you choose to 'read' that makes all the difference

[mikkeljs]

That book is called a piano teacher and like all books it's the one you choose to 'read' that makes all the difference

I already have the best piano teacher in Denmark! She is fantastic but I just need something else to supply, since there are a few questions that keep comming back, and I simply can´t understand her in those few cases, and she probably can´t understand me either. And those are the few questions, that I spent all my time on. I thought it could be a good idea to read another pianists diary about practicing and lessons!

[yyy.]

There is a book written by Alfred Cortot called Rational Principles of Pianoforte Technique, I found it really helpful and comprehensive.
He also wrote the student edition for Chopin Etudes Op.12 and Op.25.

[mikkeljs]

There is a book written by Alfred Cortot called Rational Principles of Pianoforte Technique, I found it really helpful and comprehensive.
He also wrote the student edition for Chopin Etudes Op.12 and Op.25.

I know the book, and I followed it strictly one hour pr day for almost a year. Just missing the last few chapters. I also found it extremely helpful how it creates a full spectrum across the difference of technique in its most reduced form. But this was before I got into more advanced problems, that I couldn´t reduce to a triviality. Those problems was mostly about approach to the instrument.

Ok this thread is pretty old by now,  wasn´t able to respont, have been busy for quite a while. I  regularly discussed my problems with my teacher and now I finally have a comfortable understanding of her. It seems to be a problem of interpreting her advice. She never really disagreed with my opinion, she just tend to express herself like that. When she want me to practice melody in a spontanous way, she finally said, that it´s only ment as an impulse and that she very much support if Im isolating parts of the melody and fixing the interpretation as well. This whole problem has now come to an end.

About getting to a complete spectrum of piano technique as I find in Cortot, my teacher has told me many times, that she don´t believe there is any such complete way of explaining piano technique and no particularly repertoire that defines such a spectrum, but that one should discover new pieces one by one.  I still don´t like this idea, I hope that I will one day find such a spectrum to make myself more conscious as a pianist, but as my teacher don´t seem to have such a consciousness either, I don´t worry too much, because she is a good pianist!

I still find it frustrating how much information that could be written down about practicing, and no one has ever done it. All books I know including the Cortot, of which is my favourite, are far too surficial and incomplete, according to what could be written.

[Saul]

This is my 2 cents about piano technique, some things that I learned from others and some personal observations:

Loose wrists is a must and a great foundation in playing with ease and power.

Sitting too close to the piano is a no no, you must let your arms have freedom of movement, when you sit too close to the piano, the piano itself limits this freedom and as a result the playing is not free but forced, and that adds tension, which is not good at all.

The horrible misconception that one must physically hit the piano hard with the fingers in order to achieve a louder and powerful sound. This mistake makes you lose much needed energy. The piano keys need only a soft and gentle touch of the fingers, and once pressed the sound is produced instantly, there's no need to hit the keys hard.

Chopin had said that playing the piano is like an artist moving his hand with the brush from side to side, its like painting.

Now imagine an artist hitting the canvas hard with his brush, what would happen?

The canvas might break, the color might spill, and no painting will be created.

Also remember that the music is not found in the piano, but its in you. Just like the painting is not found on the canvas, its in you, an you must let it reveal itself through you. Some people play the piano and they are looking to find the music from the piano, like its there somewhere. Little they know, that the piano has no music, its just a physical lifeless soulless instrument that will not generate any sounds if you wouldn't touch it.

What is the piano then?

The piano is a means to reveal the music that you have inside of you to come outside to the world.
If you're at peace and at comfort with the music that you have inside you, then the music will flow out more easily. If your tense about the music and impatience and nervous, it will reflect on the playing.

Someone once asked Horowitz:

Where does he get such power  in his playing?

He answered that he imagines that his fingers sing, and when his fingers 'sing' naturally the power comes from that.

How many people play the piano as if their fingers are actually singing?

The first element of good singing is ease and relaxation, not to push it, and not to force it,  the singing must come from calmness. Now if we try to sing with our fingers and we use tension, force and restlessness, then why are we surprised that our 'singing fingers' are not 'singing' but screeching?

A problem with finger technique, is a problem with singing fingers. Learning how to sing with your fingers will improve your piano technique considerably.

Cheers,

Saul

[mikkeljs]

This is my 2 cents about piano technique, some things that I learned from others and some personal observations:

Loose wrists is a must and a great foundation in playing with ease and power.

Sitting too close to the piano is a no no, you must let your arms have freedom of movement, when you sit too close to the piano, the piano itself limits this freedom and as a result the playing is not free but forced, and that adds tension, which is not good at all.

The horrible misconception that one must physically hit the piano hard with the fingers in order to achieve a louder and powerful sound. This mistake makes you lose much needed energy. The piano keys need only a soft and gentle touch of the fingers, and once pressed the sound is produced instantly, there's no need to hit the keys hard.

Chopin had said that playing the piano is like an artist moving his hand with the brush from side to side, its like painting.

Now imagine an artist hitting the canvas hard with his brush, what would happen?

The canvas might break, the color might spill, and no painting will be created.

Also remember that the music is not found in the piano, but its in you. Just like the painting is not found on the canvas, its in you, an you must let it reveal itself through you. Some people play the piano and they are looking to find the music from the piano, like its there somewhere. Little they know, that the piano has no music, its just a physical lifeless soulless instrument that will not generate any sounds if you wouldn't touch it.

What is the piano then?

The piano is a means to reveal the music that you have inside of you to come outside to the world.
If you're at peace and at comfort with the music that you have inside you, then the music will flow out more easily. If your tense about the music and impatience and nervous, it will reflect on the playing.

Someone once asked Horowitz:

Where does he get such power  in his playing?

He answered that he imagines that his fingers sing, and when his fingers 'sing' naturally the power comes from that.

How many people play the piano as if their fingers are actually singing?

The first element of good singing is ease and relaxation, not to push it, and not to force it,  the singing must come from calmness. Now if we try to sing with our fingers and we use tension, force and restlessness, then why are we surprised that our 'singing fingers' are not 'singing' but screeching?

A problem with finger technique, is a problem with singing fingers. Learning how to sing with your fingers will improve your piano technique considerably.

Cheers,

Saul

Yeah all of this is what forms the basics, but I wanted to read something that goes into the details like writing a full novel about how to drop a finger correctly or a novel about how to focus. The statement of Horowitz is getting to the point but it is very immediate and simple answer, like saying that the way to play good is by practicing the instrument. I spent many years concentrated on singing fingers, I meditated 1 hour pr day on each finger very carefully before practicing, and I know how I want everything to sound. But I can´t phrase. Only God knows why not.

[Rabbity Baxter]

I always found Neuhaus (The art of piano playing) and Feinberg (Pianism as Art) rather good. I am curious to know who your teacher is, since a friend of mine is a teacher in a couple of Danish conservatories, but he's not a she.

[music4ever]

I can recommend to you Alan Fraser's Book and DVD "The craft of piano" It's very detailed and for me in many cases very helpful. I also visited a masterclass with Prof. Fraser which was even better!
You can find samples on http://craftofpiano.com/

[StephenC]

I already have the best piano teacher in Denmark! She is fantastic but I just need something else to supply, since there are a few questions that keep comming back, and I simply can´t understand her in those few cases, and she probably can´t understand me either. And those are the few questions, that I spent all my time on. I thought it could be a good idea to read another pianists diary about practicing and lessons on how to play on piano!

I find this true. There are just things that our piano teachers can't seem to answer for us. That's why when I have time and money, of course, I would go and look for a piano book that could really broaden my techniques and style in playing. And it is really a nice investment, well in my part that is.