These exercises contained in this book were developed in the early 1980s while I was a student at Stony Brook University. They were a byproduct of a supervised independent research project that I did on the anatomy of the hand as it pertained to playing the piano. My motivation for doing it came from my own frustration with the existing methodologies. At the time, I loved the piano so much that I was willing to do anything it took to get better. I would practice 8 to 12 hours per day and dedicated a major portion of this time to practicing piano exercises. It seemed like no-matter how hard or long I practiced, my technique was only improving marginally. I then began questioning if there was a better way. At first I started reading through the existing technique books but could not find what I was looking for. I realized that the pianist that wrote these books were most likely prodigies so they never really struggled with technique the way I did. They say you teach best what you need to learn. I will never forget my reaction to the philosophy outlined in Walter Gieseking`s book, `Shortest Way to Pianistic Perfection` that it was the ear that controlled the 4th and 5th finger. Even though this man was a great pianist, this statement did not ring true. Common inconsistencies like this in the existing literature made me turn to science to separate fact from fiction. I believed that if I knew my own hand, I would have more control of my musical destiny. So I turned to anatomy. Knowing the anatomy of the hand does separate fact from fiction. The hand is an amazing creation. Its complexity perplexes even the greatest hand surgeons. It is little wonder that it should perplex us pianists as well. The hand is nature`s toolbox for working at the piano. It contains many tools. We should have knowledge of these tools so we can pick the right tool for the right job. Some times we just use the tools that move the fingers up and down. Other times we use the tools that bend the fingers in and out and from side to side. It would be nice to know what we are using and when. Doing these exercises will give you a working knowledge of this. This knowledge will help you to diagnose your problems and figure out how to solve them. I also hope these exercises will give you a new love and appreciation for piano technique. A window into this world will open a whole new realm of pianistic possibilities to you. I know as a composer that it opened new areas of musical creativity to me. The exercises came first before composing my piano work `The City Of God`, which exemplifies innovative pianistic technique. It was never my intention to evangelize these exercises but since I have received so many requests for them, I have decided to publish them on the Internet. For those of you who have wanted to get to the bottom line on piano technique, the answers are right here. |
