Piano Technique: Physical Ease

Lesson Goal: To understand that the solution to a technical problem is found in the direction of physical ease, not physical exertion and strain…

Table of Contents

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Prerequisites

Basic music reading… LOVE of music… and the discipline to study and practice.

back to… Table of Contents

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Did You Know?

1. That fluid piano technique is not developed by doing mechanical exercises in order to build finger strength, speed, and endurance?
2. That a technical problem will never be solved by playing the passage over and over and over again (very badly) until the difficulty magically disappears?
3. That when your playing hurts or feels tense, awkward, stiff, and uncoordinated… or sounds and feels unmusical… you are doing it the wrong way. NOT you might be doing it the wrong way. You are definitely doing it the wrong way. And if you keep doing it the wrong way, you will never discover a musical technique, no matter how long and hard you practice.

Unfortunately, mindless mechanical repetition is how most students are taught to practice. (It’s not the student’s fault; it’s the teacher fault).

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The Magic Compass

*** Top Secret ***
The solution to a technical problem is always found in the direction of physical ease.
*** Top Secret ***

This is so vital to successful and enjoyable music making that it’s worth repeating…

The solution to a technical problem is always found in the direction of physical ease!!! (and mental ease, too!)

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Takeaways

1. Development of your piano technique is a process of discovery, not brute force physical labor.
2. This process is all about mindful experimentation with various ways to move your body to see the effect it has on how the music sounds and feels.
3. The arrow of progress always points in the direction of physical ease.
4. When things sound and feel harder and less musical, you are going in the wrong direction.
5. When things sound and feel easier and more musical, you are going in the right direction.
6. By the iterative process of keeping what works and eliminating what doesn’t, you’ll soon discover a choreography that uses the natural capabilities you already possess to express your musical intentions.
7. The solution to a technical problem never fights against your natural capabilities.
8. Ease at the piano is not some far off destination at the end of an arduous journey of non-ease.
9. Physical ease is your immediate goal–your goal for today, not months and years from now.

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learn more… Piano Technique