placeNovi Sad, Serbia
Born in Montreal in 1955 Alan Fraser studied piano but also delved into composition, cello, classical singing and had several stints as a pop musician. Alan’s main pianistic influence was the pioneering research of Phil Cohen who studied alongside Ronald Turini, Andre Laplante and Janina Fialkowska with Yvonne Hubert, who had been Cortot‘s assistant in Paris. Alan spent several years with Cohen after an apprenticeship with two former Cohen students, Alan Belkin and Lauretta Milkman.
Alan shows how a hand that is better organized in its physical structure and function will make the piano sing more beautifully
Alan shows us some of the underlying skill sets one needs to develop in order to play really fast passages
Alan explores the interesting overlap between the distinct walking patterns of Tai Chi and the hand producing improved sound at the keyboard
Thinking mind is too slow, ears on the other hand can make the refinement
We keep exploring the sound we want to make
Alan asks whether the hand really passes over the thumb in scales... or not?
Alan shows how the thumb needs to be more fully utilized if a scale is going to shine and run quickly.
Alan describes his second book, that takes the hand from a solid structurality to a new state of freedom: unstable equilibrium
Alan shows that even a simple piece like Fur Elise can be given new expressive life when the hand knows how to walk beautifully on key.
Alan explains that this seemingly simple little pattern actually contains a lot of hidden musical complexity.
Alan explains how floating and balancing the hand allows the fingers to work much better than when they are burdened with a weighted touch
Alan explains how to transform the Alberti Bass from a boring, repetitive pattern to a stimulating accompaniment figure.
Alan explains how this intriguing metaphor is such an empowering concept for pianists.
Alan describes his first landmark book, published in 2003
