Mastering Piano Technique: A Guide for Students, Teachers and Performers Review

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(More customer reviews)As a pianist I've read MANY books regarding piano technique. Seymour Fink's Mastering Piano Technique is a well thought out and extremely helpful addition to the literature. It is similar in content to the classic technique book by Abbey Whiteside. Based on total understanding of the pianist's physiology, both authors are in favor of utilizing shoulder, arm, torso, legs, etc. in conjunction with fingers to produce sounds. Various parts of the body work as levers - each logically taking more or less responsibility based on the demands of the music. This reduces the chances of developing tension. Fink's ideas make for better music making by having the pianists movement absolutely linked to phrasing and articulation. As with the Whiteside book, it is not always easy reading....but it is worth the effort in the end.
As I mentioned, Fink has categorized different movements which correspond with certain sounds and articulation. Ultimately these movements make playing imminently easier. Fink creates keyboard choreography which the pianist can keep coming back to as the demands of the music dictate. Fink's ideas such as "fingersnaps", "pronation" etc. satisfied a variety of musical and technical requirements.
In my experience no one book on technique can totally satisfy all of the technical demands of piano playing. That would be the same as claiming there is only one right interpretation for each piece of music. Fink's myriad ideas and solutions pertaining to piano technique make this book absolutely worth having: everyone can absolutely take something useful away from this book.

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This holistic approach to the keyboard, based on a sound understanding of the relationship between physical function and musical purpose, is an invaluable resource for pianists and teachers. Professor Fink explains his ideas and demonstrates his innovative developmental exercises that set the pianist free to express the most profound musical ideas. HARDCOVER.

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