Chapter 1: Piano Technique

I Introduction
  1. I.1 Objective
  2. I.2 What is Piano Technique?
  3. I.3 Technique, Music, and Mental Play
  4. I.4 Basic Approach, Interpretation, Musical Training, Perfect Pitch
II Basic Procedures for Piano Practice
  1. II.1 The Practice Routine
  2. II.2 Finger Positions
  3. II.3 Bench Height and Distance from Piano
  4. II.4 Starting a Piece: Listening and Analysis (Fur Elise)
  5. II.5 Practice the Most Difficult Sections First
  6. II.6 Shortening Difficult Passages: Segmental (Bar-by-Bar) Practice
  7. II.7 Hands Separate Practice: Acquiring Technique
  8. II.8 Continuity Rule
  9. II.9 Chord Attack
  10. II.10 Gravity Drop, Chord Practice, and Relaxation
  11. II.11 Parallel Sets
  12. II.12 Learning, Memorizing, Mental Play
  13. II.13 Velocity, Choice of Practice Speed
  14. II.14 How to Relax
  15. II.15 Post Practice Improvement (PPI)
  16. II.16 Dangers of Slow Play - Pitfalls of the Intuitive Method
  17. II.17 Importance of Slow Play
  18. II.18 Fingering
  19. II.19 Accurate Tempo and the Metronome
  20. II.20 Weak Left Hand; Using One Hand to Teach the Other
  21. II.21 Building Endurance, Breathing
  22. II.22 Bad Habits: A Pianist's Worst Enemy
  23. II.23 Damper Pedal
  24. II.24 Soft Pedal, Hammer Voicing and Physics of the Piano Sound
  25. II.25 Hands Together and Mental Play
    1. II.25.1 Beethoven's Moonlight, 1st Movement
    2. II.25.2 Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca from Sonata K300 (301)
    3. II.25.3 Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu
  26. II.26 Summary
III Selected Topics in Piano Practice
  1. III.1 Tone, Rhythm, Legato, Staccato
    1. III.1.1 What is Good Tone?
      1. III.1.1.1 The Basic Keystroke, Pianissimo, Fortissimo
      2. III.1.1.2 Tone: Single versus Multiple Notes
    2. III.1.2 What is Rhythm? (Beethoven's Tempest, Op.31, #2, Appassionata, Op. 57)
    3. III.1.3 Legato, Staccato
  2. III.2 Cycling (Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu)
  3. III.3 Trills & Tremolos
    1. III.3.1 Trills
    2. III.3.2 Tremolos (Beethoven's Pathetique, 1st Mvmnt)
  4. III.4 Hand, Finger, Body Motions for Technique
    1. III.4.1 Hand Motions: Pronation, Supination, Thrust, Pull, Claw, Throw, Flick, Wrist
    2. III.4.2 Playing with Flat Fingers
    3. III.4.3 Body Motions
  5. III.5 Playing Fast: Scales, Arpeggios and Chromatic Scales
    1. III.5.1 Scales: Thumb Under, Thumb Over
    2. III.5.2 The TO Motion, Explanation and Video
    3. III.5.3 Practicing TO, Speed
    4. III.5.4 Scales: Origin, Nomenclature, and Fingerings
    5. III.5.5 Arpeggios (Chopin's FI, Cartwheel Motion, Finger Splits)
    6. III.5.6 Thrust and Pull, Beethoven's Moonlight, 3rd Movement
    7. III.5.7 Thumb: the Most Versatile Finger; Examples of Scale/Arpeggio Practice Routines
    8. III.5.8 Fast Chromatic Scales
  6. III.6 Memorizing
    1. III.6.1 Why Memorize?
    2. III.6.2 Who can, What to, and When to, Memorize
    3. III.6.3 Memorizing and Maintenance
    4. III.6.4 Hand Memory
    5. III.6.5 Starting the Memorizing Process
    6. III.6.6 Reinforcing the Memory
    7. III.6.7 Practicing Cold
    8. III.6.8 Slow Play
    9. III.6.9 Mental Timing
    10. III.6.10 Establishing Permanent Memory -- Mental Play
      1. III.6.10.1 Music Memory
      2. III.6.10.2 Photographic Memory
      3. III.6.10.3 Keyboard Memory -- Mental Play
      4. III.6.10.4 Theoretical Memory
    11. III.6.11 Maintenance
    12. III.6.12 Sight Readers versus Memorizers: Learning Bach's Inventions
      1. III.6.12.1 Inventions #1, #8, #13
      2. III.6.12.2 Quiet Hands
      3. III.6.12.3 Sinfonia #15
    13. III.6.13 Human Memory Function; Music = Memory Algorithm
    14. III.6.14 How to Become a Good Memorizer
    15. III.6.15 Summary
  7. III.7 Exercises
    1. III.7.1 Introduction: Intrinsic, Limbering, and Conditioning Exercises
      1. III.7.1.1 Fast versus Slow Muscles
    2. III.7.2 Parallel Set Exercises for Intrinsic Technical Development
    3. III.7.3 How To Use The Parallel Set Exercises (Beethoven's Appassionata, 3rd Movement)
    4. III.7.4 Scales, Arpeggios, Finger Independence and Finger Lifting Exercises
    5. III.7.5 Playing (Wide) Chords, Finger/Palm Spreading Exercises
    6. III.7.6 Practicing Jumps
    7. III.7.7 Stretching and Other Exercises
    8. III.7.8 Problems with Hanon Exercises
    9. III.7.9 Practicing for Speed
      1. III.7.9.1 Speed Stroke, Relaxation
      2. III.7.9.2 Other Speed Methods
      3. III 7.9.3 Speed Walls
  8. III.8 Outlining (Beethoven's Sonata #1, Op.2, #1)
  9. III.9 Polishing a Piece - Eliminating Flubs
  10. III.10 Cold Hands, Slippery (Dry/Sweaty) Fingers, Illness, Hand Injury (Carpal Tunnel), Ear Damage (Tinnitus)
  11. III.11 Sight Reading
  12. III.12 Learning Relative Pitch and Perfect Pitch (Sight Singing)
  13. III.13 Videotaping and Recording Your Own Playing
  14. III.14 Preparing for Performances and Recitals
    1. III.14.1 Benefits and Pitfalls of Performances/Recitals
    2. III.14.2 Basics of Flawless Performances
    3. III.14.3 Practicing for Performances
    4. III.14.4 Practicing Musically
    5. III.14.5 Casual Performances
    6. III.14.6 Performance Preparation Routines
    7. III.14.7 During the Recital
    8. III.14.8 That Unfamiliar Piano
    9. III.14.9 After the Recital
  15. III.15 Origin and Control of Nervousness
  16. III.16 Teaching
    1. III.16.1 Types of Teachers
    2. III.16.2 Teaching Youngsters, Parental Involvement
    3. III.16.3 Memorizing, Reading, Theory, Mental Play, Absolute Pitch
    4. III.16.4 Some Elements of Piano Lessons – Performance Skills
    5. III.16.5 Why the Greatest Pianists Could Not Teach
  17. III.17 Uprights, Grands, & Electronics, Purchasing and Care
    1. III.17.1 Grands, Uprights, or Electronics?
    2. III.17.2 Electronic Pianos
    3. III.17.3 Uprights
    4. III.17.4 Grands
    5. III.17.5 Purchasing an Acoustic Piano
    6. III.17.6 Piano Care
  18. III.18 How to Start Learning Piano: Youngest Children to Old Adults
    1. III.18.1 Do You Need a Teacher?
    2. III.18.2 Starter Books and Keyboards
    3. III.18.3 Beginners: Age 0 to 65+
  19. III.19 The "Ideal" Practice Routine (Bach's Teachings and Invention #4)
    1. III.19.1 Learning the Rules
    2. III.19.2 Routine for Learning a New Piece (Bach Inv. #4)
    3. III.19.3 "Normal" Practice Routines and Bach's Teachings
  20. III.20 Bach: the Greatest Composer and Teacher (15 Inventions and their parallel sets)
  21. III.21 The Psychology of Piano
  22. III.22 Summary of Method
IV Music, Mathematics, and Research
  1. IV.1 Can We All be Mozarts?
  2. IV.2 Scientific Approach to Piano Practice
    1. IV.2.1 The Scientific Method
    2. IV.2.2 Principles of Learning
  3. IV.3 Why Is Intuition So Often Wrong?
  4. IV.4 Mozart's Formula, Beethoven and Group Theory
  5. IV.5 Learning Rate Calculation (1000 Times Faster!)
  6. IV.6 Future Research Topics
    1. IV.6.1 Momentum Theory of Piano Playing
    2. IV.6.2 The Physiology of Technique
    3. IV.6.3 Brain Research (HS vs HT Play, etc.)
    4. IV.6.4 The Future of Piano
    5. IV.6.5 The Future of Education
V Jazz, Fake Books, and Improvisation