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Title: Abby Whiteside on Piano Playing : Indispensables of Piano Playing - Mastering the Chopin Etudes and Other Essays by Abby Mastering the Chopin Etudes and Other Essays Whiteside ISBN: 1-57467-026-3 Publisher: Hal Leonard Pub. Date: May, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.22 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Amazing, albeit possibly deceptive
Comment: I am getting a master's degree in piano performance right now and this book was one of the first of many that I read when I started to analyze my own technique after realizing that I was doing nearly everything in a stiff, inefficient manner. Since working with a teacher that was able to turn my technique around, I've gone back to this book several times and each time I find something new. Especially important was the realization that the "fundemental" or "basic" rhythm of which Abby Whiteside speaks really is the ONLY way to achieving an effortless technique, and that gestures with the torso and the arms, once perfected, give one the feeling that all of the small muscular contractions needed for finger and hand articulation are virtually involuntary reflexes. It is not so simple, however, since fingertips give us the tactile sensation which we base these very arm/torso gestures on (when I point to something, the finger points and the arm follows, I don't "point with my arm"). Thus, a reader who doesn't know about the interosseous muscles of the hand (which provide support the same way as the arch of the foot provides support) might find himself flopping about the keyboard trying to do everything with the larger muscles instead of working to integrate all of the muscles. This book should be read in conjunction with other books and should be re-read as one's technique improves. All of the "classic" books on technique really describe the same sensation, the only difference being which particular points are most important in the experience of the author. Still, though, the book is incredible and every pianist who lusts after speed AND ease should read it...I also recommend "The Pianists Talent" by Harold Taylor, which provides insight into posture and "touch," which are two things that this book does not really address.
Rating: 5
Summary: Unique, genius, Abby Whiteside
Comment: I'm a concert pianist. I've played all over the world. I had already won several important competitions when I came in contact with Indispensibles. It revolutionized my approach to practice, learning, teaching and the effects were evident in my playing immediately. (A month after reading it and applying it, I went to London and won my most important competition. I'd never had such confidence that my music making was right and natural).
As other reviewers have mentioned, she's verbose (too excited about her subject) and her ideas are radical. Like all evangelists for a new cause, she had to overstate her case in many respects. (There certainly is a place for slow practice, deciding fingering is not always evil, etc.)But, her most important, basic contribution (ongoing rhythm, how that is felt in the body first, smaller levels become extensions of the rhythmic impulse, and how this can be tied in to practice and learning music)is truly genius. The movement of the music through time is the basis. Always practice that movement and internalize it. What good is playing all the notes of that vision and movement is killed in the process of learning? Whiteside helps you keep your eye on the goal and strengthen your concept of that goal in each practice session.
(One word of caution; students I've heard who only use doctrinaire Whiteside approach generally have wonderful sweep in their playing, but often lack definition technically. With that in mind, don't bar yourself from the huge benefits of Whiteside's thinking!)
Rating: 5
Summary: This book changed my life
Comment: I would like to urge all pianists with a serious interest in piano technique to read this book CAREFULLY and SLOWLY. It is not "light reading" but it will, with patience, reveal amazing things about playing the piano. Try following Ms. Whiteside's recipes as literally as possible and you will find that they work. I agree with some of the other reviews that her style is less felicitous than it might be, but give the lady a break! She is attempting to describe in words some very complex physical sensations. I first read this book in the summer of 1998 and have returned to it again and again for the details and the inspiration it consistantly provides.
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Title: Piano Technique by Walter Gieseking, Karl Leimer ISBN: 0486228673 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 June, 1972 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: On Piano Playing: Motion, Sound, and Expression by Gyorgy Sandor ISBN: 0028722809 Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing Pub. Date: 01 September, 1995 List Price(USD): $55.95 |
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Title: Twenty Lessons In Keyboard Choreography by Seymour Bernstein ISBN: 0793503728 Publisher: Hal Leonard Pub. Date: 01 April, 1991 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Leschetizky Method : A Guide to Fine and Correct Piano Playing by Malwine Bree ISBN: 0486295966 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 May, 1997 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: Mastering Piano Technique: A Guide for Students, Teachers, and Performers by Seymour Fink, Donald G. Bell ISBN: 0931340462 Publisher: Amadeus Pr Pub. Date: June, 1992 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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