Trills and tension

Hi Alan, thanks for the advice, I tried it but still have the same problem; trills are not getting more relaxed or faster. I think however that I need some more time to change this behavior, after all, I have this problem already since around 1985 (I started to play around 1979). I am going to order the DVD at the end of this month, Maybe the book another time. I'm more a visual learner, reading examples from a book will maybe not work for me. Looking forward to watch it! best wishes, Andreas

I strongly advice you to purchase the book.The way it is written is both proffesional and still easy to read even for someone which is a completely begginer.Proffesor Fraser managed to make something that many who write piano books have failed.I think that the dvd video is an excellent companion to the book.It will really change your life (pianistic or not!).So the best gift for yourself is to purchase that book! Best regards

I strongly advice you to purchase the book.The way it is written is both proffesional and still easy to read even for someone which is a completely begginer.Proffesor Fraser managed to make something that many who write piano books have failed.I think that the dvd video is an excellent companion to the book.It will really change your life (pianistic or not!).So the best gift for yourself is to purchase that book! Best regards Hi, and thanks for the advice, but I feel for now that the dvd is the best for me. Like I said, I learn easier by imitating than by reading. The book is however something I will buy without a doubt. I'm sure there is very practical information in it that I can use for myself as well for my teachings. Thanks, André

And thank you, Nicholas, for the "free publicity!" Actually if you really want to get into these questions in depth, I recommend using my materials in conjunction with some others. Thomas Mark's book, , also offers a goldmine of practical information (review to be posted eventually). Anyway, Andreas, it has been some months since you bought the film - how goes it? AFF

Hello Allan, I saw the whole dvd and tried out the things that could help me with playing my own compositions. My goal is to master them as good as possible, I would love to perform them in public myself. I'm still stuck though on getting a good speed on for example the last movement of my second sonata. Maybe this is also a mater of training, I have not the luxury anymore to train piano 6 hours a day as I did in the past because of my day job. Is is needed for getting speed to train many hours (meaning building muscles)? Or does his depend on something else as well? The movement in the sonata that I'm talking about has lots of passage work, making my hand's bridge collapsing a lot. A good thing of the DVD is that I am aware of this now and correct it every time it happens. I feel that this helps a lot. Whenever I feel problems in my playing, I try to find out where it could come from (like getting a very fast muscle pain in my arms or risks) and than try to find help on the DVD. This works for me as a good guiding tool. In that way, I find this DVD very helpful. I'm aware that it's impossible to learn and master all the info on it within short time but that's not what I'm going for. My goal is to be able to play my music, and when I run into problems I use the DVD for help. (And of course, if that doesn't help, I will put a message up here!) Btw. the sonata I'm talking about can be viewed here, maybe you have some helping suggestions for playing on it (I wrote it, but it doesn't automatically mean that I can play it...) The score: Movement 4 is on page 22: The audio file of movement 4: best wishes, André

André, as much as I would like to help, at this point I am snowed under with other work, so with regret I am going to have to put this answer on the shelf for awhile. Sorry! I would however, reply to your question about building up stamina without the luxury of six hours a day practice. A very good question and a very difficult problem. Although in my work I try to get away from the idea of piano playing as some sort of calisthenics, the fact of the matter is, piano playing is indeed a physical, athletic act. Once you have developed an ability, you need to train to keep in in shape, and training indeed is an important part of ability development - it is not solely about better sensing yourself and doing Feldenkrais-style exercises to activate new neuromotor processes. Don't neglect Integration! In my own work I often don't have 6 hours either. I find that if I do practice with real attention, I am invoking so many of the new functions and feelings I have been cultivating, that my hand and body is working in a new way and this offers my whole mechanism a sort of neuro-sensory bath of sensations. If I do this well, I am tired and need a break long before 6 hours is up - but I have done good, effective work. I now already need to rest, in order for my motor cortex to digest the new stimulus my practice has offered. When I am in full flight preparation for a concert performance, I will sleep a couple of hours in the afternoon, and I basically create two days out of one: I can fit two of these super-effective practice sessions into one 24-hour time slot. If your day job prevents you from doing this, you might try it on the weekend! Best wishes, AFF