The craft of piano playing : a new approach to piano technique

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Call Number
MT220 .F8 2011
Status
Available

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Names:

Summary

In The Craft of Piano Playing, master pianist Alan Fraser offers readers an original and comprehensive approach to piano technique, offering over 100 illustrations and a series of unique exercises to guide the reader. Drawing on his many years as a performer and teacher, his long-standing collaborations with pedagogue Phil Cohen and virtuoso Kemal Gekich, and his professional training in the Feldenkrais Method, Fraser introduces his truly innovative piano technique by

* Teaching how to move your hands with greater sensitivity, power, and accuracy, and honing the skeletal alignments to help you access your innate, structural potency;
* Linking your physical technique to musical expression, creating an "absolutely natural way of moving at the piano that is powerful, flexible, and musical" (Piano News, Germany); and
* Keeping your hands healthy while avoiding the threats of tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, focal dystonia, and RSI.

This revised second edition joins the DVD of the same name, his study guide, and his latest book, Honing the Pianistic Self-Image, in Alan Fraser's growing line of piano pedagogical materials. This edition includes new chapters, such as "Arm Rhythm" and "The Body's Support of Natural Finger Shape," updated material reflecting evolutions in Fraser's technical and pedagogical thinking, a "cleaner and leaner" literary style, and more extensive, better-organized tables of contents, with cross-references to corresponding chapters in the DVD.

For more information please visit www.maplegroveproductions.com, www.craftofpiano.com, or www.alanfraser.net

Contents

  • Contents in Detail p. vi
  • List of Applications by Number and Category p. xvi
  • List of Illustrations p. xxv
  • List of Musical Examples p. xxvii
  • First Edition Acknowledgements p. xxxii
  • Preface to the Second Edition p. xxxiv
  • Part I The Foreground Physical Craftsmanship at the Piano
  • Section I Getting Started
  • 1 Introduction p. 1
  • 2 How to Use This Book p. 7
  • 3 Background, Middleground and Foreground: A Plan for Work p. 13
  • 4 Where to Start? p. 22
  • Section II General Principles of Movement at the Piano
  • 5 A Meditation on Some Inner Workings of Movement p. 29
  • 6 Slowing the Key Down p. 32
  • 7 Form Follows Function p. 34
  • 8 Arm Weight p. 38
  • 9 Matthay, Moshe and Movement p. 45
  • Section III Hand Strength and Function A: Perfecting Legato
  • 10 Preparing Legato p. 51
  • 11 Physical Legato Is the Foundation of Piano Technique p. 58
  • 12 Overholding p. 62
  • Section IV Hand Strength and Function B: The Special Role of the Thumb and Its Relationship to the Forefinger
  • 13 The Thumb and Grasping p. 69
  • 14 Thumb Pushups: The Hand as Suspension Spring p. 76
  • 15 Clarification of the Thumb-Forefinger Relationship p. 82
  • 16 Reverse Opposition p. 89
  • 17 Quality of Movement in Thumb Pushups p. 91
  • 18 Forefinger Arc Swings for Thumb Function p. 94
  • Section V Hand Strength and Function C: Octaves to Synthesize Hand and Arm Function
  • 19 Thumb Across to Fifth Finger: Hand Structure and Function in Octave Playing p. 101
  • 20 Fortissimo Octaves p. 109
  • 21 Replacing Arm Swoop with Cobra Strike p. 115
  • 22 Big Sound from a Small Hand p. 118
  • 23 Tremolando Octaves p. 124
  • 24 Teutonic Beef p. 127
  • 25 The Octave Arm-Sweep p. 129
  • Section VI Hand Strength and Function D: Maximal Articulation of the Fingers
  • 26 On Fingertapping p. 135
  • 27 The Structure-Supported Slap p. 139
  • 28 The Sound of One Hand Clapping p. 142
  • 29 Legato vs. Finger Articulation: The Cooperation of Two Antithetical Activities p. 147
  • Section VII Above the Hand: The Role of the Wrist and Arm in Legato
  • 30 Active Hand, Passive Arm? p. 155
  • 31 Four Aspects of the Arm's Relationship to Hand Function p. 159
  • 32 Functionally Supported Movement: Whole Arm as Finger p. 163
  • 33 Arm Rhythm p. 172
  • 34 Body Rhythm p. 181
  • 35 Efficient Functionality: The Forearm as Lever p. 185
  • 36 The Underlying Musical Purpose of Arm Movement p. 189
  • 37 Further Musical Implications of Proper Arm-Hand Cooperation in Legato p. 196
  • Section VIII Rotation
  • 38 Forearm Rotation to Smooth Out Arpeggiated Stretches p. 203
  • 39 Forearm Rotation to Leap with Alacrity p. 215
  • Section IX Natural Finger Shape
  • 40 The Natural Hand in Passagework p. 221
  • 41 The Body's Support of Natural Finger Shape p. 232
  • 42 Using the Yin/Yang Finger Phenomenon in Orchestration p. 235
  • 43 Natural Finger Shape and Tonus in Chords p. 241
  • 44 Maintaining Natural Finger Shape in Scales p. 251
  • Section X Some Other Touch Strategies and Combinations
  • 45 Synthesis of Various Strands of Thought p. 263
  • 46 Pressing and Holding in Legato p. 266
  • 47 The Hidden Problem in Double Notes: Feux Follets p. 272
  • 48 Chopin's B Flat Minor Scherzo: Two fundamental Principles Reviewed p. 280
  • 49 Mutual Aid betwee Thumb and Forefinger p. 289
  • 50 Articulations p. 291
  • 51 The Feldenkrais-Horowitz Connection p. 300
  • 52 Flat Fingers p. 307
  • 53 Pedaling p. 313
  • 54 Together! p. 318
  • 55 Questionable Contradictions p. 320
  • Part II The Middleground Some Aspects of Musical Craft
  • Section XI Rhythm
  • 56 Hierarchy of Rhythmic Values Is a Practical Reality p. 327
  • 57 A Practical Exercise in Rhythm p. 332
  • 58 Creative Work with the Metronome: Pulse p. 338
  • Section XII Phrasing
  • 59 Creative Work with the Metronome: Melodic Inflection p. 343
  • 60 Plasticity in Phrasing: Expression without Bombast p. 351
  • 61 Gesture in Phrasing: A Detailed Examination p. 362
  • 62 Towards a New Mode of Awareness in Playing p. 367
  • Section XIII Orchestration
  • 63 Orchestration: The Heart of the Pianist's Art
  • Part III The Background Tell A Story: How Craft Becomes Art
  • Section XIV Emotional Content
  • 64 Emotional Content in Bach's Counterpoint? You Bet! p. 385
  • 65 You Must Be Willing and Able to Live Emotionally When You Play p. 390
  • 66 The Masterworks as Expressions of Objective Knowledge p. 395
  • 67 Real Piano Sound Can Generate Emotional Content p. 398
  • Section XV A Few Last Thoughts
  • 68 Talent and Craftsmanship p. 403
  • 69 Professional Deformations p. 404
  • 70 Recording p. 406
  • 71 Playing an Acoustic p. 408
  • 72 Feeling Emotion in Performance p. 410
  • Appendices
  • A Excerpts from Awareness Through Movement: A Theoretical Framework p. 417
  • B Feldenkrais and the Musician p. 426
  • C The Pianist's Progress: A Mini-Autobiography p. 428
  • D Student's Appearing in the Book p. 443
  • Bibliography p. 445
  • Index p. 447
  • About the Author p. 461

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