Technique and teaching

My approach to piano technique is based on some widely agreed principles: I believe that playing the piano should feel good, and that when it feels good it sounds good as well! Practise is often about making challenging passages and pieces feel comfortable, and involves developing a posture which enables effective and fluent transfer of weight, making sure of good alignment, starting from the back, through the shoulders, which should be relaxed, stable points, and making use of the full flexibility of the arms and wrists while keeping hands and fingers carefully aligned. The physical movements involved in playing also need to be appropriate to the character of the music at that particular point: when they are they just feel ‘right’!

I have developed a technique which is designed to build physical relaxation and alignment into the playing of pieces, in the process of practising them. This is based on the principles of Alexander Technique and consists in stopping and analyzing small or large movements and making sure these are executed so as to get quickly and efficiently to where you want to go without building up excessive tension, while at the same time practising creating the tone colour you want when you get there.

At early stages the groundwork for this can be put in place, especially good posture and hand position, and alignment of the wrist and hand. On the other hand, in young pupils I tend not to be too prescriptive about any of this, since usually children move in quite a natural way and therefore in a way which involves good, natural transfer of weight. It’s usually only when we start worrying about playing that we introduce unnatural ways of moving that introduce tensions and can create problems later on. I know this myself only too well! The eye is usually a good guide in these matters, and it’s often only when I see a gesture that jars on the eye that I think physical movement needs to be addressed in a ‘corrective’ way. It is, however, often necessary to encourage a full range of flexibility in the arms and wrists, and for this certain exercises can be particularly useful, as well as for evenness, flexibility and strength in the fingers.

Thinking of the broader picture of what piano teaching involves beyond ‘technique’, I like what Paul Harris describes as ‘simultaneous learning’: In focussing on one particular passage or aspect of a piece one can combine technical elements, aural training, an appreciation for the style, sound and structure of the music, elements of rhythmic training, and even develop compositional or improvisation exercises. This is a highly efficient and effective way to develop all of these aspects of music. As I continue to develop my teaching I aim to integrate more and more in the way of improvisation and elements of composition: features all too often sadly neglected in instrumental music teaching. Incorporating such elements also helps to open up potential bridges to other musical traditions and styles, such as jazz, pop and other non-Western folk and classical traditions.