The Craft of Piano Playing by Alan Fraser
This work presents a comprehensive approach to piano technique with a series of exercises designed to help the reader put this approach into practice. Using numerous musical examples and sketches it shows how many common movement habits at the keyboard are counterproductive.
Alan Fraser has written a formidable and insightful volume on piano techniqueUsing the Feldenkreis Method as his foundation, he has presented 417 articulate and often eloquent pages...the teacher working with younger students might find his book of great interest...I am pleased to recommend Fraser's book... -- Louis Nagel American Music Teacher This study is the result of years of searching and thinking about piano performance and pedagogy; Fraser brings to it his astoundingly profound knowledge of body movement and structure, acquired through his training as a practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method, and his study of Eastern martial arts such as T'ai chi, in addition to extensive experience as a concert performer and pedagogue...Fraser challenges many common pedagogical beliefs and ideas of movement, with detailed discussions of such areas as arm weight and the role of the arm, legato playing and natural finger shape among others. Although this study is devoted primarily to the physical aspect of playing the piano...fascinating insights and ideas are also provided into the middleground and background, namely rhythm and phrasing, and the emotional content of music. -- Manus Carey Journal Of The Isstip There are many useful ideas here, not just in the technical exercises, but also in the shorter sections on communication and interpretation. Classical Music The most detailed and intensive study of the subject since Otto Ortmann's seminal work, The Physiological Mechanics of Pianoforte Technique (1929). -- Daniel Stearns Piano Magazine All serious piano students should acquire this book, which is well-devised, carefully structured, and always laced with humour on this very serious topic!... -- Nadia Lasserson Journal Of The European Piano Teachers' Association Uk Fraser fills his book with interesting observations, procedures, and thought-provoking personal concepts. Recommended. CHOICE ...there are topics in this text not really addressed elsewhere. It would make a good 'alternative' pedagogy text for courses about piano technique and a thought-provoking read for the advanced pianist. -- Michael I. Goode American Music Teacher ...a valuable addition to performance studies, communicating some of the passion (rarely found in this and other areas of study) that the author feels for the music under discussion. Music and Letters, February 2007
Canadian pianist Alan Fraser is Professor of Piano and Feldenkrais Method at the Art Academy of the University of Novi Sad, Serbia.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780810845916 |
| ISBN 10 | 0810845911 |
| Title | The Craft of Piano Playing |
| Author | Alan Fraser |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Scarecrow Press |
| Year published | 2003-03-19 |
| Number of pages | 448 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |