Isidor Phillip - Exercises for Independence of Fingers - Book 1: Piano Technique Review

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(More customer reviews)Place your hand, completely relaxed, palm down flat on your desk. Now gently curl your middle finger back under your hand so that your hand will be slightly raised yet supported by your tucked under middle finger. Your thumb, index finger, ring finger and pinky should be extended outward and spread evenly. Raise up only your thumb. NO PROBLEM. Next your pinky..., now your index finger. Finally your ring finger. BIG PROBLEM. As a piano player your ring finger is by far your weak link in developing technical dexterity. This book with it's exercises changes that! A must for anyone wishing to become a serious player. And don't forget book two of this series! Practice on!

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Piano Playing: With Piano Questions Answered (Classic Reprint) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book, originally published as two separate volumes in 1906 and 1907, is a collection of articles Hofmann wrote as a regular feature of the LADIES HOME JOURNAL. Although Josef Hofmann was himself a phenominal talent, he offers thoughtful answers to the simplest of piano questions, and guides the reader with a practical, common sense approach. Most of the advise in this little book is timeless, and the pictures of Hofmann himself demonstrating correct and incorrect positions of the hand and body make this a pedagogical gem that his admirers will cherish.

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THE PIANO AND ITS PLAYERHE first requisite for one who wishesto become a musicianly and artisticpianist is a precise knowledge of the possibilities and limitations of the piano as an instrument. Having properly recognised them both, having thus staked off a stretch of ground for his activity, he must explore it to discover all the resources for tonal expression that are hidden within its pale. With these resources, however, he must be contented. He must, above all, never strive to rival the orchestra. For there is no necessity to attempt anything so foolish and so futile, since the gamut of expressions inherent to the piano is quite extensive enough to vouchsafe artistic results of the very highest order, provided, of course, that this gamut is used in an artistic manner.3Table of Contents CONTENTS; PAGE; A Foreword VU; The Piano and Its Plates 3; General Rules 19; Correct Touch and Technic 34; The Use of the Pedal 41; Playing "In Style" 49; How Rubinstein Taught Me to Play 57; Indispensables in Pianistic Success 70About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the difficult to read text. Read books online for free at http://www.forgottenbooks.org

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Mastering Piano Technique: A Guide for Students, Teachers and Performers Review

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(More customer reviews)As a pianist I've read MANY books regarding piano technique. Seymour Fink's Mastering Piano Technique is a well thought out and extremely helpful addition to the literature. It is similar in content to the classic technique book by Abbey Whiteside. Based on total understanding of the pianist's physiology, both authors are in favor of utilizing shoulder, arm, torso, legs, etc. in conjunction with fingers to produce sounds. Various parts of the body work as levers - each logically taking more or less responsibility based on the demands of the music. This reduces the chances of developing tension. Fink's ideas make for better music making by having the pianists movement absolutely linked to phrasing and articulation. As with the Whiteside book, it is not always easy reading....but it is worth the effort in the end.
As I mentioned, Fink has categorized different movements which correspond with certain sounds and articulation. Ultimately these movements make playing imminently easier. Fink creates keyboard choreography which the pianist can keep coming back to as the demands of the music dictate. Fink's ideas such as "fingersnaps", "pronation" etc. satisfied a variety of musical and technical requirements.
In my experience no one book on technique can totally satisfy all of the technical demands of piano playing. That would be the same as claiming there is only one right interpretation for each piece of music. Fink's myriad ideas and solutions pertaining to piano technique make this book absolutely worth having: everyone can absolutely take something useful away from this book.

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This holistic approach to the keyboard, based on a sound understanding of the relationship between physical function and musical purpose, is an invaluable resource for pianists and teachers. Professor Fink explains his ideas and demonstrates his innovative developmental exercises that set the pianist free to express the most profound musical ideas. HARDCOVER.

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