Fundamentals of Piano Practice

We can finally start putting the hands together (HT)! Some students encounter the most difficulties here, especially in the first few years of piano lessons. Although the methods presented here should immediately help you to acquire technique faster, it will take about two years to be able to really take advantage of everything that the [...]

Grand pianos: The soft pedal is used to change the mood of the sound from percussive to more serene and gentle when the soft pedal is depressed. It should not be used solely for producing a softer sound because it will also change the timbre. In order to play pianissimo, you will just have to [...]

Practice any new piece without the pedal HS, then HT, until you can play it comfortably HT at final speed. This is a critically important method of practice that all good teachers use with all their students. It may seem difficult, at first, to practice musically without the pedal where it is needed; however, this [...]

Bad habits are the worst time-wasters in piano practice. Most bad habits are caused by stress from practicing pieces HT, that are too difficult. Many of the bad habits from HT practice are difficult to diagnose, which makes them that much more dangerous. Clearly, the best defense against bad habits is HS practice. Non-musical play [...]

“Endurance” is a controversial term in piano practice. This controversy originates from the fact that piano playing requires control, not muscle power, and many students have the wrong impression that they will not acquire technique until they grow enough muscles. On the other hand, a certain amount of endurance is necessary … http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.21

Hello, this is Henrik from Berlin, Germany. I just want to tell you, that I’m going to have my summer-break until the end of August. I promise, I will read the complete “Part II - Basic Procedures for Piano Practice” in this year. I’m not sure - yet - if I’ll do more. I’d like to say here [...]

Students who do not practice HS will always have a stronger RH than LH. This happens because the RH passages are generally more difficult, technically … http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.20

Start all pieces by counting carefully, especially for beginners and youngsters. Children should be taught to count out loud because that is the only way to find out what their idea of counting is. It can be totally different from the intended one. You should understand the meter signature at the beginning of each composition [...]

You usually won’t go wrong by using the fingering marked on the music. Or, rather, if you don’t follow the indicated fingering, you will probably get into a lot of trouble … http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.18

Having pointed out the dangers of slow play, we now discuss why slow play is indispensable. Always end a practice session by playing slowly at least once. This is the most important rule for good PPI. http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.17

Repetitive slow play can be harmful when starting a new piece. We stated in section II.1 that playing slowly, and gradually ramping up the speed, is not an efficient way to practice piano. Let us examine this procedure to see why … http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.16

There is only a certain amount of improvement you can expect during practice at one sitting, because there are two ways in which you improve. The first one is the obvious improvement that comes from learning the notes and motions, resulting in immediate improvement. … The second one is called post practice improvement (PPI) that [...]

The most important thing to do as you get up to speed is to relax. Relaxing means that you use only those muscles that are needed to play … http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.14

Get up to speed as quickly as possible. Remember, we are still practicing HS … http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.13 Could anybody write a custumer review in his/her country’s iTunes Store? Thank you bramm900 for your’s in the German Store! This is really encouraging! So folks support me in YOUR country. Write a custumer review in your country’s iTunes Store.

There is no faster way of memorizing than to memorize when you are first learning a piece and, for a difficult piece, there is no faster way of learning than memorizing it … http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.12

Now that the LH CEG chord is satisfactory, try to switch suddenly from the chord to the quadruplet at several different bounce frequencies. You will now have to move the fingers but keep the finger motions to a minimum … http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.11

Learning to play accurate chords is the first step in applying the chord attack … http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.10

Suppose that you want to play the (LH) “do-so-mi-so” quadruplet (“Alberti accompaniment”) many times in succession, very fast (as in the 3rd movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata) … http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.9

When practicing one segment, always include the beginning of the following segment. This continuity rule ensures … http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.8

Essentially 100% of technique development is accomplished by practicing hands separately (HS). Do not try to develop finger/hand technique hands together (HT) … http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.7

A most important learning trick is to choose a short practice segment. This trick has perhaps the largest effect on reducing the practice time because of many reasons … http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.6

Returning to Fur Elise, there are two difficult sections with 16 and 23 bars. Start by practicing the most difficult sections first.These will take the longest time to learn, so they should be given the most practice time. Since the ending of most pieces is generally the most difficult, you will learn most pieces starting [...]

Starting a Piece: Listening and Analysis (Fur Elise) http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.4

The right height of the bench and its distance from the piano is also very much a matter of personal taste. A good starting point … http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.3

Everyone seems to have her/is own ideas about finger positions, so it is clear that there are no rigid rules. The only guidance is that the fingers should be in the most relaxed and powerful positions… http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.2

Many students use the following practice routine … EVERY STEP OF THIS PROCEDURE IS WRONG! Note that the above practice routine is an “intuitive” method. We describe the components of a proper practice routine in the following sections. They are presented in approximately the order in which a student might use them from start to finish of a [...]

Teachers play a critical role in showing students how to play and practice musically. …

Although it is not easy to define music precisely, we can discuss how to play musically, as done througout this book. … http://fopp.henrik-pantle.de/ http://www.pianofundamentals.com

We must understand what technique means because not understanding technique leads to incorrect practice methods. …

The objective of this book is to present the best known mehtods for practicing piano. …

There is an intimate relationship between music and mathemathics. … Acknowledgement This book is dedicated to my wife Merry, whose love, support, and boundless energy is what enabled me to devote so much time to this project. If you feel that you have benefited from this book and wish to express your appreciation, please send a contribution to: [...]

Most of this book deals with one important point — namely, that the best piano practice methods are surprisingly counter-intuitive …

Why are these practice methods so revolutionary? For detailed answers …

This is the first book ever written on how to practice at the piano! …