Better Concerts and Music

There is no easy way to master the piano. Many people look for shortcuts or for a magical solution. Like learning golf, it can be a frustrating experience. You might have the best golf instruction book in the world but that is no guarantee that you will be a good golfer. You may have the best piano method books but that does not mean you will be able to play the piano well.

Playing the piano well requires fine, complex motions of the body with precise eye hand coordination. The sound is not produced by the fingers. Energy directed from the torso and through the arms which is channeled through the fingers produce the sound. This technique is more easily felt and seen than described by words.

Once you have understood the physical technique of rhythmic body energy, you will produce a sound so large that the listeners will want to wear a black helmet to protect their ears. You do not develop this technique by practicing scales and arpeggios. Playing dry and boring exercises will not give you the tools you need to really play the piano. The best practice of all is actually playing the music of the piano repertoire.

The method of many teachers of making students learn pieces at very slow tempo is unproductive. Not that you should play so fast that you need a digital sport watch to time it but pieces should be practice at real tempos. The same is true of practicing the right and left hand parts alone. You should always both hands together. The coordination of the two hands is what must be learned. Practicing one hand alone is a waste of time. It is the same with practicing at slow tempos. The physical coordination at the proper tempo is different than a slow tempo. Practicing at a slow tempo is a waste of time.

The old fashioned teaching methods of practicing at slow tempo and playing left and right hands apart must be abandoned. These teaching methods are counter productive. The eye hand coordination and motions required to play at the proper tempo are completely different and lacking when played at an artificially slow tempo. It is a complete waste of your practice time. The same is true with practicing hands apart. It is the coordination of the two hands that must be practiced and mastered.

Instead of practicing scales, exercises and arpeggios, you should play actual music from the classical piano repertoire. Many great composers have written beautiful music that can be played by the beginning student. Actual piano music contains all the scale and arpeggios you would ever need to practice. Playing actual music will hold the students interest and motivate them.

The secrets of beautiful piano playing is in producing the sound from the whole body. Do not focus on the fingers or individual notes. Learn to channel the rhythmic energy from your whole body.