Fundamentals of Piano Practice - Berkeley County Schools

To my wife Merry
who worked tirelessly so I could write this book
and our daughters Eileen and Sue-Lynn
who were my witnesses to Combe's teachings
The material of Chapter One originated from my notes on how the late Mlle.
Yvonne Combe taught our daughters. Combe was Debussy's disciple and helped
transcribe his new compositions as he played them out on the piano. She
performed that incredible Second Piano Concerto by Saint-Saëns with the
composer conducting. She dedicated her life to teaching piano and all who
attended recitals by her students were mesmerized. This book had to be written:
without it, her passing would have deprived us of a world heritage.
Chapter One: PIANO PRACTICE METHODS
Chapter Two: PIANO TOPICS
Chapter Three: PIANO PURCHASE, TUNING
(Chromatic Scale, Circle of 5ths, Temperaments)
References
Piano Book Reviews
Testimonials
January, 2016
Copyright © 2016, copy permitted
if authorship, Chuan C. Chang, is included.
This entire book can be downloaded free at:
http://www.pianopractice.org/
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CONTENTS
Front Cover
Inside Cover0
Chapter Page1
Contents2
Abbreviations5
Foreword6
Chapter One Basic Practice Methods10
(1) Practice Routines, the Intuitive Method10
(2) Bench Height, Distance from Piano, Posture11
(3) Starting a Piece12
(4) Curled and Flat Finger Positions, Curl Paralysis13
(5) Reading, Fingering16
(6) Hands Separate (HS) Practice17
(7) Difficult Sections First, Segmental Practice, Continuity Rule19
(8) Relaxation20
(9) Parallel Sets (PSs), Conjunctions, Cycling21
(10) Parallel Sets Catalogue24
(11) Basic Key Stroke; Legato, Staccato26
(12) Speed Walls30
(13) Metronome31
(14) Memorizing, Close Your Eyes and Play31
(15) Mental Play (MP)38
(16) Human Memory Function41
(17) Absolute Pitch, Relative Pitch44
(18) Play by Ear (PBE), Composing48
(19) Breathing, Swallowing48
(20) Endurance, Brain Stamina49
(21) Forearm Rotation51
(22) Slow Play52
(23) Post Practice Improvement, Sleep, Fast/Slow Muscles53
(24) Quiet Hands & Fingers56
(25) Staccato Practice, Soft Practice58
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(26) Speed, Rhythm, Dynamics60
(27) Fast Play Degradation, Eliminating Bad Habits64
(28) Jumps, PP, FF, Feeling the Keys67
(29) Scales: Nomenclature and Fingerings69
(30) Thumb Under, Thumb Over, Glissando Motion, Pivoting71
(31) Thumb, Most Versatile Finger, Power Thumb78
(32) Arpeggio, Cartwheel Motion, Finger Splits79
(33) Fast Chromatic Scales80
(34) Fast Octaves, Small/Big Hands81
(35) Trills and Tremolos83
(36) Hand Motions85
(37) Hands Together87
(38) Outlining, Beethoven's Sonata #1, Op. 2-188
(39) Damper (Sustain) Pedal, Physics of the piano sound89
(40) Soft Pedal: Hammer Voicing92
(41) Playing Cold, Warming Up, Conditioning94
(42) Musicality, Touch, Tone, Color96
(43) Problems with Hanon Exercises99
EXAMPLES OF APPLICATIONS103
(44) Für Elise103
(45) Practice Routines: Bach Inventions, Sinfonia103
(46) Bach Used Parallel Sets to Compose His Inventions108
(47) Mozart's Rondo, in Sonata No. 11 in A major, K331 (300i)111
(48) Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu, Op. 66, Polyrhythms114
(49) Beethoven's Moonlight: First, Third, Movements119
(50) Beethoven's Pathetique, Op. 13, First Movement125
(51) Beethoven's Appassionata, Op. 57, First Movement130
(52) Fake Books, Jazz, Improvisation133
(53) Sight Reading, Sight Singing, Composing134
(54) Stretching and Other Exercises136
(55) Performance Preparation, Videotaping139
(56) Origin and Control of Nervousness145
(57) During, After the Performance148
(58) Summary of Method (One Page)151
Chapter Two Piano Topics152
(59) Project Management152