Technique and methods

Well, this is the first piece I have played by Rachmaninov and it is giving me some trouble. First off, I was wondering if Mr. Fraser had any tips for practicing leaps (and in this piece, they are many), to help maintain...

Hi Alan, A couple of months ago you were kind enough to advise me about my difficulty passing the 4th finger over the thumb in descending scales and arpeggios in the right hand. You advised LOTS of very slow and exag...

hi there. i have some problems with scales involving black keys, Bb minor harmonic for instance. my question is about hand positioning. is it more efficient to move the hand "forward"(towards the point where the keys and...

Dear Alan First of all may I congratulate you on a fine DVD. I am a teacher over in the UK but still do a lot of playing, however, it has become impossible recently due to pain/irritation in my right shoulder and up...

My right hand 2nd finger has always been troubling me, for as long as I've played piano. It's an irony, and people don't usually believe me when I tell them that my 2nd finger is weaker than my 5th! The origin of the...

Hi Alan! Lately I read a short but very wellwritten book about pianoplaying by Knut Wiggen a norveigian/swedish (electronic) composer. It's a modern approach with regards to factual anatomy and scientific thinking....

Hi Alan, In the film you show how your tricpes flex when you press a note, while the rest of the arm remains loose. Is that an intentional movement or is caused by the graping action with fingers? I never see any mo...

Dear Alan, will you be able to briefly describe your main point of views in relation to Taichi and Piano? Let me put this to the other way, what are the good points you can see from Taichi + piano? I believe, th...

I started chapter 1 from DVD and I am doing the exercises. I don't know why is this, but I am studying an arrangement for Shubert - Serenade, and I don't feel discomfort, but feel weak, kind of like using too much eff...

Hi Prof. Fraser I've been trying to work on octaves using the suggestion you made in your DVD (hyperrelaxation and practicing moving fingers). But I still have a lot of prob with octave scale passages esp when it inv...

How do you play fast trills with 4th and 5th fingers especially when it's accompanied by a chord or a second voice with the thumb at the same time? Also, how do you play tremolos of alternating chord and 5th finger (exa...

Hi Alan In the coda section of chopin scherzo no2, there is a transition part where the left must play a leap from a black key Aflat with 5th finger and jump to E natural with 3rd finger. This section in the left han...

hello! ive never done this so lets see if it works! the problem: tingles in rh fingers and some on the lh 5th finger down to the wrist. this only happens when i play F or FF chords, large chords or large streches with...

Hi Alan Thank you for your reply earlier. I've been working on Chopin Etude Op10 No1. I've been playing the piece a lot slower than its original tempo. Is there a way to speed up and not lose the arch? I've inc...

For the bass clef, first measure, do I really play the Bb with my pinky, F with my index, the Db with my thumb, the Bb with my index and then the F with my thumb? It's quite the stretch and I can do it but it feel...

I play piano but also work in administration requiring long periods of time seated at a computer workstation. I am writing this post as a pianist to inform people about a condition I was diagnosed with last year after c...

Further to my post about TOSS, I'd be interested in hearing people's advice about practicing scales as someone 'retraining'. A little about me, I'm 40 and consider myself an amateur in that I don't make my living from i...

if i am using the sustain pedal should i really even bother producing legato at the fingers? is there really a point in tieing a note thats going to sustain into the next tnote anyway? i ask this because the piece...

Hello, I'm a self taught piano player and I'm wondering the correct technique for playing an accented note with one finger while playing another note softer at the same time, on the same hand. I hope that makes sen...

I only found your work the other day and have not seen the DVD o book yet. But from you have revealed about the arch and the grasping action have made significant improvements in speed as well as other little things. I j...

Hi Alan I know this looks like a long one but I hope it doesnt put you off reading it with your busy schudule I've only just discovered your craft of piano techniqe recently and have been reading as many articles...

Just want to say "hi" to all. I'm back again, again, again. I keep trying. It seems every time I come on the forum something goes wrong somewhere to keep me off. this last time, I lost 3 computer hard drives...

Hi Alan! Been listening to your latest clips for a while (where you play on the Horowitz-grand) I enjoy them very much le touché is amazing and the sound just breathtaking. I especially like the Mozart but the fresh i...

There is a relation from height compared to keyboard and fingers length ? I think that where fingers are lenght, position must be lower then keyboard and to the contrary for short fingers. What is your opinion ab...

Hi Alan, I have a problem of shaking fingers, mainly in my left hand. I think I am on the right track of solving it, but I wanted to get your feedback to make sure of it and maybe get some additional suggestions. My...