Mastering Piano Technique: A Guide for Students, Teachers and Performers [Hardcover]

Seymour Fink (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2003

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.

Editorial Reviews

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En Excerpt From

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

By Seymour Fink

Piano technique is more than the physical ability to render the printed page of music accurately; it is the vehicle for interpretation, the key to musical expression. Movement and meaning are so closely related to each other that the specific character of the gesture is itself part of the message conveyed. For example, musical continuity demands physical continuity, it being virtually impossible to express a quiet, flowing line with either constricted or overly energetic movement. Likewise, rhythmic vitality can be articulated only through vigorous action. Technical decisions are thus never made in an artistic vacuum. But having said this, I must also add that there is no single correct way to play. Good technical training encourages exploration of a variety of approaches for, by encouraging flexibility, efficiency, and surety -- whatever the artistic purpose, performers become freer to follow their imaginations. In short, when pianists are confident in their ability to create!
something extraordinarily beautiful at the keyboard, they dare to try. And only by trying can they succeed.

Technique is like grammar; once it is a part of you, you speak without conscious attention to it. In the same way, technical matters function below the conscious level in mature pianists. Experimenting first one way then another, pianists mine their deepest, most intuitive feelings about the music, seeking out a particular mood, tone color, or expressive nuance. Ultimately their inner musical thinking triggers the requisite movement so they experience no separation between muscular exertions and musical goals.

The circumstances of the novice differ radically from those of the seasoned player; consistent technical training must be made an integral part of the learning experience. When first coming to grips with the relatively awkward conditions surrounding purposeful movement at the keyboard, students should be instructed in a healthy and efficient use of their bodies. Poor technical training slows their rate of progress and inevitably limits pianistic growth. Clearly, pianists and piano teachers can profit from a graphic, practical, and comprehensive treatment of the biomechanics and pedagogy of piano technique, its means and ends, presented in a cogent, organized manner.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 190 pages
• Publisher: Amadeus Press (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0931340462
• ISBN-13: 978-0931340468
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an extremely helpful and original work, June 12, 2002

By 

R. Peltzman (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mastering Piano Technique: A Guide for Students, Teachers and Performers (Hardcover)

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.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST for the Pianist, August 30, 2004

By 

Mark Werling "Pianist, Musician" (Columbus OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mastering Piano Technique: A Guide for Students, Teachers and Performers (Hardcover)

This work of Mr. Fink is absolutely magnificant. For the aspiring concert pianist, for the serious student, or for piano lovers who would simply like to improve their fluidity and definition at the keyboard. Having owned the volume for about a week now, I'm at the point where I think Seymour FInk's book should be in every School of Music, USA as a textbook. THe ten physical exercises done away from the piano are so complimentary and helpful. Mr. FInk seems to be a physiologist and anatomist of the human body, as well as a piano master, and this combination makes his perspective superior. Mr. Fink takes the mystery out of fine piano technique and brings exact motoral and muscular distribution matters to light in plain view, solving scores of execution difficulties pianists incur. Highly detailed! Buy this and begin using it, but the reader will not exhaust this volume in a few weeks. It is a referance volume for a lifetime. God bless Seymour Fink! In reply to the negative reviews, I would say there could be some difficulty of appreciation to the novice pianist who is at early stages of familiarity with the piano keyboard. This volume is extremely helpful to those of us who take the piano seriously and are intent on mastery.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent work, invaluable to all pianists., June 7, 2005

By 

Stanley D. Wolfersberger (Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mastering Piano Technique: A Guide for Students, Teachers and Performers (Hardcover)

I studied with Mr. Fink throughout my high-school/college preparatory years and so experienced his technical work first-hand. After studying piano at the university level, I finally got around to picking up a copy of his book. Reading through reminded me of the many exercises we went through. I think that Mr. Fink's suggestions on technique are of good resource for all serious pianists. As others have pointed out here, a literal interpretation of the illustrations is not the intended point. It is most useful to use the techniques illustrated as a guide and then adapt them to your own particular usage.