Technique Week

For my students playing RCM piano examinations this June, this is the week that I spend nearly their entire lesson time doing a slow work-through of the entire technical requirements for their grade. In spite of the angry glances, groans of exasperation, and pleas for mercy, my students have been getting a clear understanding of where their strengths and weaknesses lie, as well as what work needs to be done by June in order for them to excel at their technical requirements.

Here are a few links for those inclined to spend some time perfecting their technical command of the instrument:

The 5 C's of Learning Piano Technique
5 Things to Remember About Fingerings
Build a Regular Practice Schedule Part 1
Build a Regular Practice Schedule Part 2

For those looking for a way to put it all together:

Find Your Muse, Find Your Process
Developing an Artistic Sensibility
Run the Program

The 5 C's of Learning Piano Technique

One of the most difficult things for any piano teacher to impart is the necessity of learning technique properly and incorporating it into a daily practice routine. I have found that talking about how to practice technique, why it is important, and what it can instill in an individual's playing are essential to a piano student's continued development.

Here are five C-words that can help with this task.


1. Command. Scales, triads, chords, and arpeggios are not stand-alone exercises--they are building blocks for creating music, as any composer will tell you. Knowing how to play these musical building blocks will simplify the process of learning and understanding music you encounter. In addition, technique contains the seeds of piano playing's physicality such as finger strength, good fingering habits, finger crossing, arm weight, hand and arm stability, and the integration of these over time into an efficient playing setup. That scale passage in a Beethoven Sonata will be much easier to incorporate into your performance if you know you've already learned and mastered the relevant scale and its fingering.

The Brown Scale Book For Piano. Scales, Chords and Arpeggios for Piano. Technique. Elementary-Advanced. Level: Grades 1-10. Book. 46 pages. Published by The Frederick Harris Music Company. (HS1) See more info...

2. Clarity. Have you heard a perfectly executed 4-octave arpeggio lately? They are becoming rarer and rarer these days, to the chagrin of many an RCM examiner. Spending time on these technical exercises can teach you to listen to the details of playing necessary for developing an acute sense of awareness that can allow you to be in the moment in all your playing.

3. Comfort. Technique isn't just about the accuracy game, but about incorporating a large number of physical concepts into a whole. Are you comfortable when you play? Where is the tension? Does anything hurt? Working with your teacher in solving these problems through technique can create a basis for a stable and workable playing setup when playing repertoire.

4. Creativity. A common myth about technique is that is is boring. Part of a teacher's job is to make the daily dose into a fun and rewarding part of a student's practice day. Why not bundle basic technical exercises with the learning of musical concepts? Here are just a few ideas:

• Vary dynamics, pp to ff, play with crescendo and diminuendo
• Vary articulations--try playing scales with different articulations and combinations of articulations.
• Vary the order--Arrange the order of exercises by type (ie. octave scales, triads, etc.), key, play them all and note the problems, work only on problem patterns. Warm up with technique or cool down with it. Creating a new experience all the time can eliminate the boredom.
  

5. Confidence. It's performance night and you've waiting backstage. Have you done your work? If you haven't, you may experience the genuine fear associated with performance anxiety and it ain't fun. How to deal with performance anxiety? Do your preparation, both with the specific piece you're performing and the relevant technical requirements, so you can feel the deep confidence of both being able to play both musical works and your instrument with command, clarity, comfort, creativity, and confidence.

Piano Adventures Technique & Artistry Book, Level 1 By Randall Faber, Nancy Faber. For Piano. Piano Adventures. Level: Grade 1. Book. Published by The FJH Music Company, Inc. (FF1097) See more info...