In this series we cover some basic concepts like how to learn a piece of music
Born in Montreal in 1955 Alan Fraser studied piano but also delved into composition, cello, classical singing and had several stints as a pop musician. Alan’s main pianistic influence was the pioneering research of Phil Cohen who studied alongside Ronald Turini, Andre Laplante and Janina Fialkowska with Yvonne Hubert, who had been Cortot‘s assistant in Paris. Alan spent several years with Cohen after an apprenticeship with two former Cohen students, Alan Belkin and Lauretta Milkman.
The fundamental principle of controlled practice. Learn why rushing through mistakes creates chaos in your motor cortex and how slowing down leads to beautiful, controlled playing
Understanding why we lose control when music starts flowing. Alan explains how tempo can take over and provides strategies for staying in the driver's seat.
A revolutionary approach to memorizing music using black and white key patterns. Discover how hand shapes and visual patterns work better than traditional note-name memorization
Alan demonstrates how recognizing musical patterns and shapes on the keyboard can simplify learning complex passages, reducing cognitive load by focusing on forms rather than individual note names
Hands-on demonstration of learning chord progressions through visual patterns. See how eliminating technical difficulties through separation makes complex passages manageable
Working through arpeggios and chord changes using pattern recognition. Learn how composers use chords as colors rather than traditional harmonic progressions.
Understanding musical intervals through visual staff patterns rather than theoretical names. Discover how fourths, fifths, and sixths have consistent visual appearances on the staff
Wrapping up with encouragement about trusting your natural musical instincts. Alan reinforces that pattern-based learning is valid and often more effective than pure theory
