Compare/contrast - Fink, Seymour - Mastering Piano Technique

Hi After 8-9 years of mostly self taught piano playing (only 1 year of lessons - bad teacher) I reached a point of absolute fustration and depression with my playing...I didn't seem to have improved beyond my 2/3rd year of playing. Played Hanon for couple of years with very stiff, rigid hands -gave me big problems. On the brink of resigning myself to a musical failure, I decided to give it one more shot and commit myself to researching what 'technique' means (painfully aware that I sorely lacked this) Cut a long story short - I eventually found this Book/DVD by Seymour Fink "Mastering Piano Technique". I have spent the last 26 months, slowly and meticulously going through the exercises with awareness and patience. I have now completed the book. It has been nothing short of miraculous for me, I truly mean that, in fact I find it hard to express what this has done for my playing. OK - SORRY FOR LONG POST!!! I have some questions. 1. How does the technical approach of Mr Fraser's book compare with Mr Finks? Do they compliment each other? 2. What is Mr Fraser's opinion (if any) and the Fink book? P.S. I am buying the book and DVD, so I don't need convincing or the 'sell'. Saving my money at the moment (poor teacher living in thailand!). Just interested in knowing how these two 'methods' stand in relation to each other. Thanks in advance for any reply Stuart

There is a review of my book on Amazon by a guy in Hong Kong named Alvin Chan. He criticizes Seymour's book as providing movements but not providing the context in which they should be used, or rather, not dealing with the underlying functions that those movements aim to improve. He says that I do a better job of that. I myself admire Seymour's book and video a great deal. He recently sent them both to me and I too have been working through them, although I have nowhere near completed them because, as he advises, you should go slowly and do each one for quite awhile before going on to the next. I have learned a lot! I am very glad to hear that his approach helped you, and I am not at all surprised that it did. Each of us developed our "exercises" or our "approach" without knowing of the other's work, but now that we do know, we have basically formed a mutual admiration society... How do our books compare? I would say that in mine I tried to stay a little bit closer to actual piano playing, whereas his movements of the arm etc. away from the keyboard provide a comprehensive "physical workout" that does have a highly positive affect on one's physical feel at the keyboard. I would definitely say they are complimentary... So, onward and upward! Best regards, AFF

Thanks so much the reply. Can't wait to get your book and DVD and start working through it. All the best!

Just to add that I have been continuing to glean new nuggets of gold from Seymour Fink's materials, especially his film. When he gets into the movements we do at the keyboard, suddenly the information becomes more "usable," and at one point in particular he "repairs" a flaw in my own book and film. This is in section 12B where he shows how when the fifth finger plays, the arch in that part of the hand consolidates itself to support the action of the finger. In my book and film, I was so obsessed with the second metacarpal-phalangeal joint as the apex of two arches that I rather neglected this other crucial aspect to the whole picture, and when I do what Seymour shows here, my own playing gets better! W.r.t. the initial movement series away from the piano: these become more valuable when you play something and then review one of these movements that may relate to the passage in question in a special way. I might go so far as to recommend reversing the order Seymour recommends - not to start away from the piano with those movements as preparatory, but to go back to them as enlightening exercises related to material you are playing... I am in the midst of creating a concordance between these two valuable resources (his book-film and mine), but it is far from done. When it done I shall post it at . Onwards and upwards! AFF