Monday, April 22, 2013

Garniez Plays Haydn on YouTube - At Last

Check this out:  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXV0gVyrDpg

Let me know what you think.

Touching the Sounds We Hear In Our Heads

That's how Rubinstein described piano playing:  We do not touch keys, but rather the sounds we hear in our heads. 

Just how important that is cannot be overemphasized, and it is important from day one of instruction.  Once a child learns to hit the keys it is truly difficult to awaken a sense of touch.

Touch is the intimate connection between sound as imagined and sound as actually produced.  It makes the difference between tedium and discovery.  As a student put it this morning, it is what makes it possible to play on different pianos.

I teach children to read based on touch, not assuming it.  They become better readers and they do not have to learn certain refined instrumental techniques as "add-ons."