Alan Fraser
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.
Videos
Shostakovich second sonata
05:56
Counterpoint, harp arms and healthy espressivo
Alan uses hand arch and timed arm movement to bring out two voices, then asks for harp-like arms in the figuration. He ends by saying espressivo should come from a healthy hand structure, not a forced one
Shostakovich second sonata
09:10
Second movement run through
The student plays the slow second movement. Alan praises how deeply they captured its atmosphere
Shostakovich second sonata
02:07
A calm wrist for mystical music
As the slow second movement begins, Alan shows how a calm, floating wrist and more active fingers create a delicate sound where time seems to stop
Shostakovich second sonata
03:59
Close fingers and a fading coda
Alan asks for active fingers that stay close to the keys while the arm moves. He then shapes the coda so it keeps fading away and encourages using the whole arm, not just the fingers
Shostakovich second sonata
03:28
Your inner ear versus what actually sounds
Alan works on tight bird beats and warns that the phrase the student imagines does not always come out. He says the arm is the missing link that turns imagination into sound
Shostakovich second sonata
02:38
Hand structure organizes a wild passage
Alan has the student focus on firm hand structure for wide leaps. The jumble turns into clear bell-like sounds and an organized bacchanal
Shostakovich second sonata
03:23
Arm and hand structure as a toolbox
lan calls lateral arm movement a phrase machine and the hand arch a tone and virtuosity machine. He shows how hand structure makes a fanfare passage work
Shostakovich second sonata
04:46
Liga legato and the musical arm
Alan introduces greasy liga legato and shows that wrong accents disappear when the hand has enough arch and the arm keeps flowing. He describes the arms as little musical brains
Shostakovich second sonata
05:39
The curving line and the rising thumb
Alan explains that a curving line in the score asks for arm movement, not just fingers. He shows how lifting the thumb sends the phrase upward and adds a caesura to mark a special moment
Shostakovich second sonata
03:32
Lifting the knuckle and a foggy long pedal
Alan shows how a raised second knuckle lets the phrase move forward instead of braking it. He then suggests holding a long pedal through several bars for a foggy effect
Shostakovich second sonata
05:51
Marcato accents and orchestrating with the hand
Alan explains how to play the staccato accents and how the arm can carve a marcato phrase. He also shows how lifting the knuckles frees the shoulder and helps the hand orchestrate
Shostakovich second sonata
04:05
Phrasing octaves horizontally
Alan explains that grouping notes into phrases makes difficult octave passages easier to play. He says the effort to shape this bitonal music is essential
Shostakovich second sonata
03:10
Following the phrase and coloring key change
Alan shows how the arm should follow the phrase. He also asks for a new color at each key change and more character in the upper voice of the double sixths
Shostakovich second sonata
03:47
Playing without pedal and finding a focused sound
Alan tries the passage with no pedal to get clarity back. He explains how an arched hand focuses the piano's sound, much like a singer's voice
Shostakovich second sonata
04:52
The hand arch as a color tool
Alan Fraser goes over the student's questions on octaves and tempo. He then shows how the hand's arch and the arm's gestures can add color and character to this bitonal music
Shostakovich second sonata
08:10
Shostakovich Sonata No. 2 First Movement Performance
The student plays the first movement of Shostakovich's Piano Sonata No. 2
Liszt - Transcendental etudes
09:28
Alan's vision - darkness, delirium, and the fight for ascendancy
Alan breaks down how to make music feel disorienting, tense, and emotionally unsettling
Liszt - Transcendental etudes
11:04
Achieving virtuosity and tone color
Alan and Rafael critique the performance, focusing on physical techniques like thumb activation, correcting rhythmic errors, and prioritizing dark, expressive tone coloring over sheer volume
Liszt - Transcendental etudes
08:55
Liszt - Vision - Performance and why the thumb is runining your piano tone
Think softening your thumb makes impressionist passages sound more delicate? Think again. In this lesson, we dig into measures 32–33 and discover how a powerful, accented thumb launch is the secret to fluid, marble-like tone, not the enemy of it
Pianimals warmup excericises
01:29
Chapter 28 - Curling the finger
We finally addresse the age old question of finger curling, putting it into a more functional context of the hand's motor development.
Pianimals warmup excericises
01:53
Chapter 27 - Baby flamingo
39:05 Chapter 27 pronates and supinates the hand while holding a large interval, to increase the suppleness of an octave without reducing its strength and agility
Pianimals warmup excericises
00:13
Chapter 26 - Forte Flying Fox
Forte Flying Fox is explained and dispensed with in only a few seconds, integrating the movements of the previous chapter into an actual playing situation
Pianimals warmup excericises
01:38
Chapter 25 - Kangaroo Chords
We explore growing the hand arch suddenly, as if the fingers were a diver's legs springing off a diving board
Pianimals warmup excericises
01:12
Chapter 24 - Rotating Rattlesnake
We explore keeping the hand supple in an octave by pronating it and supinating it while holding onto a large interval