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Yoga for Musicians
In this collection of videos, Penelope Roskell demonstrates clearly and concisely how yoga principles can be applied directly to instrumental playing, and how playing can be more fluid, powerful and emotionally expressive. Suitable for musicians of any age; from beginner to professional; Classical, jazz, folk and pop, the exercises demonstrated will be particularly beneficial to musicians suffering from injuries, tension or stress. No previous experience of yoga is required.
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Penelope Roskell
Penelope Roskell is equally renowned as a performer of international calibre and as an inspirational teacher and professor of piano at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. She is the author of The Complete Pianist: From Healthy Technique to Natural Artistry and is the leading UK specialist in healthy piano playing. She holds a clinic at the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine for pianists with injuries and her guide to preventing and recovering from injury is available here.
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A thorough knowledge of scales and arpeggios is an absolute necessity for all serious students of the piano. Western music is built on the major/minor tonal system, and to attempt to study the instrument without scales (or basic theory) would be as nonsensical as learning language without the alphabet or... Read >>
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<h3> <a href="/content/pages/173-etudes-studies-czerny-part-1?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Practical Method for Beginners (Op. 599)</a></h3>In this lecture series, Ilga Pitkevica gives a tour of Czerny’s Practical Method for Beginners (Op. 599), explaining how and why these etudes should be used for developing and teaching both musical and technical skills. Ilga provides detailed suggestions for each of her favourite etudes from the collection practising, avoiding... Read >>
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The Art of Piano Fingering
A thorough understanding of the principles of good fingering is a vital basis for good piano playing. Without comfortable, musically appropriate fingerings, we can waste hours of practice time trying to remedy a problem which could have been averted much earlier. In this series of articles, author Penelope Roskell... Read >>
Developing the Left Hand
Do you feel that your left hand is weaker than your right hand, and is holding you back in your piano playing? In these videos, Graham Fitch shows how a selection of studies and exercises from Berens's The Training of the Left Hand (Op. 89) can be used to develop... Read >>
Piano Technique Lecture Series
In this series of video lectures, I explore aspects of technique one by one. My approach is based on using the body in the most natural ways possible, with emphasis on healthy technique and correct alignment. While I recognise that exercises, such as Hanon, are out of favour with some... Read >>
Intermediate Scales & Arpeggios
Pianists at the intermediate level should know all major and minor scales (one form of minor), and all major and minor arpeggios in root position. There are several scale manuals available, but this manual is different in that it offers exercises and suggestions for practice, together with short, easy-to-use video... Read >>
The Exercises of Peter Feuchtwanger
Peter Feuchtwanger was an important teacher who created a series of exercises designed to encourage healthy, natural and relaxed movements at the piano. In this module, Graham Fitch and Daniel Grimwood give their takes on Peter's exercises and share anecdotes from their experience in working with him.... Read >>
Technical Exercises and Regimes
This section provides an introduction to what will ultimately be an extensive library of technical exercises and provides an overview of exercise regimens for aspects of playing such as warm-ups, finger exercises, chord playing, octaves, double notes, repeated notes and trills.... Read >>
Jailbreaking Hanon
Should the exercises of Charles-Louis Hanon be consigned to the dustbins of history or can they be useful if done mindfully, with choreography based on modern thinking about piano technique? In this lecture series, Graham Fitch shows many applications for Hanon's exercises, including how they can be used as a... Read >>
Elementary Technique - Introduction & Basics
Based on motions that are natural to the body, this introductory module explores the basics of piano technique, through a series of videos demonstrating how to move in ways that are natural the body to achieve physical freedom for playing that feels and sounds good. It serves as a starting... Read >>
Elementary Technique - Fundamentals of Scales & Arpeggios
This module follows on from the introductory module to explore the fundamentals of scale and arpeggio playing, featuring close-up video demonstrations of the movements involved. It provides suggestions and exercises for mastering technical challenges such as thumb passage and gaining speed, with further tips on how to structure scale and... Read >>
Scales & Arpeggios - Basic Introduction
A thorough knowledge of scales and arpeggios is an absolute necessity for all serious students of the piano. Western music is built on the major/minor tonal system, and to attempt to study the instrument without scales (or basic theory) would be as nonsensical as learning language without the alphabet or... Read >>
Approaching Ornaments
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/187-approaching-ornaments?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Grace Notes, Mordents & Turns</a></h3>In this excerpt from her online course, Teaching Healthy Expressive Piano Technique, Penelope Roskell shows how to approach practising and playing grace notes, mordents and turns.... Read >>
Finding Effortless Speed
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/207-finding-effortless-speed?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">…by deconstructing the scale!</a></h3>William Westney demonstrates his unique approach to scales for pianists of all levels which uses a simple exercise that can be applied to any fast passage in the repertoire.... Read >>