The Secret Of Piano Mastery

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.

This rhythmic principle of energy channeling will produce sounds as soft as a pin drop to as loud as thunder. So loud and powerful that your audience will wear a black helmet to protect their hearing. You can recognize finger centered piano playing. It lacks the clarity of tone and expressive nature of piano playing produced by the whole body.

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.

There are many real pieces of serious music that are not difficult. The Clementi sonatinas are beautiful gems that can be played by the beginning student. Bach has many pieces that are suitable for beginners. Other composer with beautiful music for beginning piano students are Bartok and Kabalevsky.

Practicing arpeggios and scales and playing boring uninteresting exercise will make the piano student lose interests. On the other hand, by studying the actual repertoire will maintain the student's interest. The student can listen to the greatest pianist play these pieces so they hear how they should sound like. It will inspire the piano student.

Remember fine piano playing does not come from the fingers. It is produced by the whole body creating the driving rhythmic flow that our bodies respond to. You learn how to do this by playing actual piano music instead of exercises which will bore the student.

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