Technique and methods

Hi!   I believe ”finger staccato” is quite widely used method for making passages clean or activating and strengthening fingers. I am just wondering here that how well does it fit to Alan’s method? Obviously you can do...

What a shock to watch Alan's update this morning, recounting his struggle with injury. He is so honest about this, and it is hard to watch because he is obviously in real distress. I hope Alan knows that he is joining a...

I've been gradually retraining myself after years (like 40) of wrong approaches starting with being taught to "strike" the keys at an early age.  One thing that I notice is that I have much better elasticity and range of...

Hi!  I am still quite unfamiliar with this technique, but I think I am gettin the idea little by little... Few questions about Thumb Corkscrew: Does it often start with curved thumb and then straighten when it hits th...

Hello,   So I've been exploring Op.10 No.1, not really intending to perform it but interested in the technique. One of the hardest arpeggios I found was the A major, particularly ascending and the major 3rd of A-C# bet...

Hi,   One thing I've been thinking lately (and it's related to my "Bone Ropes" -thread and latest "How To Practise Scales Slowly" -video) is about hyperextended fingers. Alan teaches here and there that we should be pr...

Hi, Another concept which have appeared couple of times recently is "Bone Ropes". This is also a technique which I believe I allready have some idea, but it still needs clarification. To me this is mostly an elastic fee...

Hi all! Alan has shown us "thumb push up exercise" which I use quite a lot in my own practising and teaching. Recently I’ve been thinking that how about developing similar exercises for other fingers too, especially 5t...

Hello everyone, Just to let you know that I have finally booked my flights home for the summer and so I have a schedule to offer of where I will be and when, for anyone interested in having some lessons. Please v...

I came across this in Feldy Forum and thought I would pass it on, especially to Andrew - might this shed some light on the ongoing conundrum of arm weight? This is from Hans Holter Solhjell, a Feldenkrais Practitione...

Recently I received the following letter, which was so pertinent that I thought I should post both it and my reply here on the forum. Any further insights about this? "Dear Sir! I should, firstly, think a little abou...

I thought it might be good to post this clarification, prompted by a recent email from an American doctor who has my book and film. He asks, "By the way, I have a question with which I hope you can help me: I never reall...

I would like to know your thoughts about the following: what is missing for you in the book and the DVD? What needs to be addressed more fully, or in a different way? What hasn't been addressed at all that needs to be? I...

My last couple of entries touch on the problem of how most freely and effectively to manipulate the piano keys for beautiful and variegated sound. Another way of describing unstable equilibrium (see previous post) is “em...

YouTube has an amazing wealth of piano videos. It occurred to me to create a thread where I post some of them and we start talking about how these wizards are doing what they are doing. To get the ball rolling, check...

Communication is a 2-step process. First the information is presented, second, it is understood by the receiver. I have always seen it as my responsibility as a teacher to ensure that the student gets it and can use the...

I was just browsing through my old mail folder and found a message about the lobster claw and the seeming contradiction between relaxation and activation. A GREAT question that deserves a new answer, as I see my thinking...

I've been browsing through a long exchange between cziffra and arhidesign about this and that, and amongst other things, arm weight. I have always enjoyed cziffra's real dedication and highly perceptive understanding of...

British Pianist Rayond Banning and myself have been engaged in a stimulating debate on the Arm Weight School vs. my Hand Structure & Function school of thought. It is all too long to put on the forum here, but I have cre...

I recently received this email and thought it would be a good thing to answer these points here on our forum. Read on... "Dear Mr. Fraser: I downloaded your video preview. A few thoughts: 1) Monkeys do have oppos...

Here is something from a very early book of Moshe Feldenkrais, ABC of Judo (Paris, 1938). Feldenkrais was a student of Jigaro Kano, founder of Judo, and Kano said that Feldenkrais’s books on judo were the best in any lan...

That’s right… As you sit and read this, move one knee slightly forward. You may notice that it is impossible to do it without a slight movement of the pelvis as well. Lately as I have returned to some thorny passages tha...

Hi, I'm an amateur pianist from the United States. I've owned The Craft of Piano Playing for about six months, and the concepts in the book have been very helpful in my technical development. I'm especially satisfied wit...

Famous pianists I have met… Arthur Rubinstein was my first real hero. I heard him play Tchaikowsky Concerto in the Montreal Forum (ice hockey’s cathedral, home of the legendary Canadiens) of all places. I was just a k...

Dear Mr.Fraser, Please forgive me to write to you so unexpectedly.I have aquestion for yo. I have been your admirer for many years, I studied your wonderful book, which helped me and my friends a lot..I traveled to see...