Discovering "relax" playing, what is your advice..

Hi! With "levelling down" I don't mean playing easier pieces (as if there are such!) it's to get more out of less. Or rather a much more differentiated sound. A forte is more efficient if you do it by diminishing the rest.If you see what I mean. All good players I have heard really play soft but the sound is overwhelming by differentiation. Recordings might be very deceptive in this respect. I've heard it from technicians (without beleiving it 100%) and it is in Alan's book: playing strongly will kill the overtones (that is the timbre) the first tone in the overtoneserie is getting to dominant. I found out that what Alan calls "fingers as levers" does the trick with chords you get a ff or fff without killing the overtones. Which doesn't mean that you shouldn't kill the overtones when required. If you look at good performers it looks like they are "squeezing out" the sound-and that is probably just what they are doing. One of my favorites lately is Art Tatum I'm not in Jazz but his technique is just amazing. It's to soft to play Rach"3( which wouldn't cause him any problems if he wanted) but still the ease and sound is something to imitate. These clips were made in his later years and he was since long on at least a bottle a day. It was when I got myself (recently) a marvellous grand I found out that with this instrument you just have to "downsize", the instrument than opens up a whole wonderful sound-world. You just don't get away with anything else. With lesser instrument you also gain with downsizing but the effect is less notable. I lived for many years in Wallonie and I agree with you Jack the level in conservatories is not the best in the world but the cultural life is great and lots of wellknown artists (like classical worldfamous pianists) live there. But still I think promotors (communale and private) are reluctant to take a risk with anybody that isn't wellknown (due to pretty harsh competition and pretty demanding audience).There are smaller series like lunchconserts in libraries and so on and I think it is a good country if you are willing to sponsor yourself with a rental of a hall piano and do the advertising yourself.People will come-so just do it Sharon! I noticed that the "music minus one" is still around a wonderful way to practise pianoconserts-by the way. Eric

Hi Eric, Salante Eric I know what you mean now about toning down. If you try to force the sound with digging in too deep into the key bed it sounds "bashed" not sonorous? I agree with you about the grand piano although it depends how good the action is as to what degree. You must have a great piano? Unfortunately I don't have room for a grand and that is what I love. I've been wondering - perhaps you both can give your experience/opinion - do you think the heavier the action the lighter touch you need to be, and if the piano has a light action you need to be firmer in order to get 'hooks' on the keys? I'm finding that I need to be lighter on a good firm action. Eric about the renting a hall. I know the Purcell rooms in London can be rented. I would need a programme first which I may do in the future. I have a contact who once allowed me to perform a recital in a lunchtime concert in a town library not too far from my city about 3 years ago. At the moment though I have this competition and its quite alot to revise all the techniques with the craft of piano. I want the piano to be easier when I eventually start a new IT contract so I can learn pieces with the less time I will have. Have either of you any plans to perform in the near future? Do you record or upload anything to YouTube? I love the music minus one series! I have a few of them myself but never actually got around to learning the concertos. I've only ever performed one concerto in a real concert but I'd love to do all the major concertos both music minus one and in reality. In fact concerto playing was/is my dream ever since I started the piano. Eric which concertos do you play? Salante if you haven't come across this series there is a website to order I'm thinking it would be good to do house concerts if you have big rooms. Cheers!

Hello everyone, I have been in Montreal where I played a recital at McGill University, my alma mater, hence my long silence... Reading all these posts I just want to say thank you for your comments on my books, both the positive ones for Honing and the negative ones for the Study Guide. Personally, I keep expecting someone to demand their money back for the because there is nothing new in it. But surprisingly, many do find it helpful in organizing their thoughts. I think I personally would be more in your camp, Sharon... But thanks especially for your comments on the book communicates with someone else who may not have at all the same mindset as I do... All the best, AFF

Hi Alan! I got the "Honing..." some time ago and I just want to tell you it was over expectations and they were pretty high as I followed the process somewhat on the forum. It might not render you a phd but I feel it is written with the sole aim of really helping pianists to get better results here and now. I like the structure those Remedial Pianism ATM:s are priceless I regard it as a reference manual to keep near you wherever you are.(With my old out of fashion Philipp) It has changed my practise quit a lot. Now I'm thinking more what kind of tool is appropriate here and what are the tradeoffs between different approaches. I find it particulary interesting to mix things eg a totally different fingeraction might work very well on just one finger in a passage in fact it can free up the whole thing. Thats what is intriguing just barely perceivable alignments can solve huge problems. For me personally the Kemal-technique (Remedial Pianism ATM #40) was intriguing. I've thought of it myself but rejected it as crazy. What a sound you get and at the same time the nice feeling of this is ducksoap. My third is long strong and fat and has a slight problem to reach between the blacks and I hate playing in front of the blacks some of the ATM's helps a lot (like the hook and #40) but do you have any special remedies for this? It's not as bad as that of Serkin but still. Un grand merci et bien à vous maestro Eric

Hi there All, Welcome back Alan! I was just about to read chapter 27 about the different techniques and contradictions of how tos in your honing book last night. I was very excited as I felt this is what I want to know more of .. then I fell asleep .. not because of your book however!! So forgive me if I now make suggestions that I haven't come across yet in the book. Firstly Honing reads almost like a little gem book of discoveries that I feel I've been let in on reading perhaps from your research "lab" book or something - I like the style very much! There are some chapters like a summary of all the techniques you describe but you mention depending on the situation. I don't expect a complete list as that would be impossible. But sometimes I think (as I have listened to on this particular set of posts) that we find how to do something on our own for a particular situation but we have dismissed it. Possibly because we still refer back to previous "expert" advice or the general way people play. I wondered if there could be guidelines to help us decide if we were on the right track for some technique we have found. Maybe a type of "masterclass" style book of a few contrasting pieces analysing a few ways things would work. However, it's a separate issue from Honing as I like Honing as it is. I am sensing a sequel to Honing book as some of the later chapters seem like a taster of what may come; to describe a deeper level of technique, orchestration and musicianship. I think we are all interested in achieving the sounds we hear in our heads and want them to come out in our playing but maybe not sure how to achieve this in contrasting works. I have in past been guilty of finding a really good way of achieving a technique then trying to make 'blanket' use of the same technique in other works and it doesn't work. For example a Mozart sound or a Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt sound to Prokofiev etc are all different and the way we approach our organisation to different styles is different? I'm not sure if I'm making any sense but I certainly don't suggest any spoon feeding as I personally like to experiment myself with the books at my side. Your thoughts? About the study guide... perhaps a guide of what things to study first in terms of passages from works that help achieve a structured learning in rectifying the problems people have. Craft of piano is very much like that but in no particular order I thought. I was expecting the guide to be more streamline points on which bits of Craft to tackle once you find your weaknesses. But if it has helped some then it's obviously proven some use. Cheers S

Hi Sharon&Salante I don't think keybedding in itself creates harsh sound. The hammer has done its job long before the key hits bottom anyway. It is rather when you "keybed" you tend maybe to push down the key to fast it's all about acceleration. I do exactly as you say heavy pianos a very relaxed and light attitude (well I try and often fail) and lighter more firm. It's like golf in the wind you naturally want to give it an extra effort to compensate for the wind and you won't see that ball ever.But it is not as simple as heavy and light. You should read the posts of "Sunslight" (Bob) on this sight he is a highly accomplished technician and he has been kind enough to explain in some detail the really complicated physiscs related to the action of a grand and the importance of voicing. If you don't yet know a lot about the action voicing etc I would recommend you "strongly" to learn all you can it's really beneficial. The frame pressure in a grand is 20 tons!! thats pretty impressive and then you have a tremendous lever in the action. I once heard a clavicord consert in a for the purpose to big hall I thought this was just impossible. But I heard every tone every sound of that little instrument.Why? Because the audience felt the urge to become totally silent. The more pp you play the more the audience is forced into a receptive and immovable state of mind. And then you hav'em. In some conservatories they have to play some clavicord in the soloclass. I haven't practised pianoconserts since I restarted but I did play Liszt A,Grieg Am Beeth3 and some Mozart.I'm thinking of relearning my favorite Mozart K459.Music minus one is really great for Mozart. I'm trying to acheive much of what I write about and I'm far from ready to perform in more official circumstances (where critics shows up) and frankly it's more the work itself that intrigues me. Hope I could be to some help. Eric

That's an interesting idea. For instance, in my "Engage in the Conversation" page there's a list of issues related to piano technique. I ask readers to send in their wish list - what they'd like most to improve. A new Study Guide could direct readers to the chapters that deal most directly with each issue. I'll put it on my list of things to do... As for all your thoughts on Honing, it is really nice for me to find out that the experiment seems to be working... Thanks! AFF

Hi Alan, Sharon and Eric, thanks for all your comments. Alan, I hope you had a nice concert. Were you satisfied with your performance ? Eric, Sharon, I have jsut ordered the two books (the guide and Honng...). I'll let you know after some reading what is my advice. But should probably be in several weeks/months. Kind regards/ Jack

I had the good fortune to attend the Amateur Competition in Paris in April. That was really something. Some playing was just ok but there were several pianists there playing way better than most pros. Their love for what they did was palpable, and their musicianship superb, exciting. There was a doctor from Germany whose 3rd Scherzo was just amazing, full of energy AND vivacity... Yes the 'profession' has spawned countless boring pianists and performances, but I too like to be an optimist and think that the tide is finally turning the other way... AFF