Book, dvd, a study guide, dvd demo, cd's
6 posts
Started 18 Jan 2017
A
A pianist
Original post
Hi,
I started learning piano 5 month ago, at the late age of 30 and I like it very much. I started as an absolute beginner and progress has been quite good I think. I am now working on grade 1 RCM pieces (Canada) and my teacher says we can move to grade 2 very soon.
After watching several videos of Alan, including the DVD demo, I am really impressed with the level of detail and clarity of his explanations. The only reason I haven't bought the DVD yet is that I am concerned that most if it is too advanced for a player with my experience. On the other hand, why should I spend years of acquiring bad habits before learning the proper hand structure and movements?
So, basically, my question is: are the DVD and book good for me?
Zack
A
Alanfraserpiano
The answer is a resounding YES!
I based a lot of the exercises on advanced repertoire because I did not want to turn off advanced pianists who can really use this approach. But the principles apply equally well to beginners and I am especially excited about the possibility of beginners "doing it right" from the beginning and avoiding having to 'fix' things later on.
And I am not just trying to sell you a DVD! I speak from experience both personal - in my teaching - and from numerous beginners who have written to say how much they benefitted from the book and DVD.
I wish you much enjoyment of The Craft of Piano Playing!
AFF
A
A pianist
Thanks!
That's the answer I was hoping for. Just bought the DVD... can't wait to get it.
A
Alanfraserpiano
So did things work out as you expected? How is it going?
AFF
A
A pianist
Hi Alan,
Thanks for asking.
Things are pretty much as I expected, except it is MUCH slower , but I do get better over time.
I practice mainly overholding and legato tai-chi walking at this stage.
I can already play faster and more evenly than I used to, although there is a lot of room for imporvement, especially in the finger independence of the left hand.
Even when I am not practicing specific excersices from the DVD I am much more concious of my phisycal movements.
I never really swivelled in my scales, but I used to slightly swivel in some passages, especially when the thumb plays a black key. It was almost unnoticeable, but it was enough to make me feel tension in the hand after just a few repetions. Now that I am aware of swivelling and rotation/translation, I can feel this "swivelling tension" before it even begins and I correct my movement to avoid swivelling.
I haven't had a chance to explore a lot of chords and octaves yet in my beginner repertoire, but I will get there soon. Time to start some pinky push ups now
Zack
A
Alanfraserpiano
This is a great post because it is HONEST. Yes, it's happening much slower than you expected - but it's happening! From your descriptions about what you're doing, it sounds to me like you're doing fine.
Onwards and upwards!
AFF
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