The photo above is of a Zen garden.  They have three primary elements to them:  rocks or large stones, gravel or sand and raked lines which are usually renewed daily.  They are also known as dry rock gardens for reasons which should be quite obvious. Individually, each element can be studied but its true value…

‘Internal Piano’ is a term I coined a few years ago and which I have been pushing vigorously via my books, articles, videos and private correspondence. Awareness of its existence, followed by its recognition within the mind are the first two important steps.  Third, one must acknowledge absolutely its value because playing the piano is…

Having already written about piano components, I couldn’t stop thinking about expanding upon the idea, especially in combination with comments on my videos and private correspondence.  The result is this article. First, however, I would like to bring your attention to a very important teaching known as Shuhari.  Whilst this is rooted in Japanese martial…

Well, I may as well disappoint you right now to save you wasting your time reading this whole article, no matter how beneficial it is to the willing reader: There is no way to learn a song ‘quickly’. What does quickly even mean, anyway?  Half an hour?  Two months?  How long is the piece?  How…

No matter one’s performance environment, playing style, genre of repertoire, technical ability, theoretical understanding or experience, playing fluently is one of the most important components of pianism. Whether a perfect metronomic steadiness is required or if the piece permits metronomic flexibility and personal interpretation, fluency of execution remains paramount in both practice and performance. Fluency,…

In a nutshell, the internal metronome is that feeling inside which keeps you playing in time.  Further, it applies to any tempo and any time signature; that’s its charm.  However, it is somewhat paradoxically detached from the conscious mind, lives alone and must be utterly unperturbed by conscious interference to operate at maximum capacity and…