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What is piano technique?

10/24/2019

Technique is:

The hands do what they are told. In the Jazz world this is known as "chops".
The hands do what we hear internally. In the Classical world this is known as our "musical imagination".
The big question for me is how do we enrich our musical imagination in order raise the level of our performances? The answer to that question will determine what we need to learn technically.

My best answer?

What we hear comes from our education and cultural experiences. So, more education more cultural experiences=more imagination. And, putting in the time on the piano bench over a lifetime.

Best regards,

David

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Mastery Mindset

10/10/2019

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Do it for yourself.
Trust the process of focused practice and a steady pace. It's a marathon not a sprint.
Read books on the science of improvement and learning.
Remember that Babe Ruth was also the strike out king of his time. That guy swung at everything.
Be present when warming up, practicing technique, working on theory, listening to music, attending lessons and concerts.
Think in decades, not years or months, or worse weeks. I'm a decade in on the drums, it changed my life. I'm enthusiastically embracing the next decade with the idea that if I stick to the plan, incremental improvements will continue. I'm forty five years in on the piano. My plan this decade? Return to lessons. So I have. What a revelation and transformation in my thoughts, perspective, and abilities.

Best,

David

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Self-Recording in Practice

10/5/2019

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“There is nothing more fatal for our musical sense, than to allow ourselves – by the hour – to hear musical sounds without really listening to them”
-Tobias Matthay
The Musician’s Way, p. 16

Please have a quick read of Gerald Klickstein's blog post on recording ourselves in practice. I have gigabytes on my hard-drive of practice. I agree completely with his point that, "Self-recording in practice provides us with the means to compensate for glitches in our self-perception and memory."

https://www.musiciansway.com/blog/2009/09/self-recording-in-practice/?fbclid=IwAR0eBPKJA-RzGi8BVVyl2_Wv6HuKh8nDtUySP5S3EIrI3uTL1PcEl8GbIv8

Enjoy,

David

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Pavarotti and devotion

10/4/2019

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“People think I’m disciplined. It is not discipline. It is devotion. There is a great difference. ”Luciano Pavarotti, opera singer, 1935-2007

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What is piano technique?

Mastery Mindset

Self-Recording in Practice

Pavarotti and devotion

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