Cover for Alan Fraser's DVD, The Craft of Piano Playing: A New Approach to Piano Technique

THE CRAFT OF PIANO PLAYING DVD

Based on his book of the same name, Canadian pianist Alan Fraser’s film uses recent advances in biomechanics to replace both tension and over-relaxation with effective hand activation based on optimal skeletal alignment.

The peak of the hand's arch - from Alan Fraser's film The Craft of Piano Playing: A New Approach to Piano Technique

"a fascinating DVD, a 'must have' for any pianist wishing to master their technique."

- La Lettre du Musicien, France

The film promises pianists from beginners to professionals an astonishing enhancement of the colours and sonority one can draw from the instrument, and offers teachers new, effective solutions for their students’ most common technical problems.

‘a guaranteed huge improvement to your piano sound‘

- PianoNews, Germany

Fraser links musical expression to the hand’s innate structure and function to create an “absolutely natural way of moving at the piano, both powerful and flexible” (PianoNews, Germany).

"Fraser is an engaging and informative host"

- International Piano, Great Britian

The Craft of Piano Playing DVD version, in English with subtitles in German, French and Serbian, features classic exercises from the original book plus several new ones. The detailed menus with links to all chapters and sub-chapters allow exceptionally easy navigation to any point in the film, making it a highly effective pedagogical tool.

Which to buy, the book or the film?

Whereas the book analyses the problems at hand in greater detail, the DVD gives the viewer an immediate, tangible experience of Alan Fraser's teaching - one picture is worth a thousand words. They are designed to be used together, but if a choice must be made it is recommended to get the DVD first: this will bring you most quickly into the potent world of Alan Fraser's approach to piano technique. Later on, the book will help deepen and expand your initial learning - the changes to your technique take place over time and involve changes in your neuromotor system.

The Craft of Piano Playing: a valuable addition to any music library

The insights into the hand's innate capacities of movement and organization found on The Craft of Piano Playing offer a breakthrough in the technique of pianists of literally any level of ability. And teachers can use these ideas to develop a whole new dimension in their relationship to the piano and piano teaching.

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The Craft of Piano Playing: Detailed Menu

INTRODUCTION

1 – THE ARCHES OF THE HAND

Skeletality
The Hand’s Arches
Fingerstands (10.2)
The Moving Arch
The Dead Bird
The Floating Dome
The Geodesic Eggshell
A Student’s Arch
The Bell Hand
The Grasping Function
Grasping & the Piano

2 – LEGATO

Walking at the Piano
T’ai Chi Walking (10.1)
Legato (10.3)
Overholding (11.1)
A Practical Example (12.1)

3 - THE THUMB

Pianistic Co-Dependence
Three Point Intervention
Thumb Rolling (16.1)
Second Finger Windshield Wipers (16.1)
Thumb Pushups (13.1)
Isometric Windshield Wipers (13.1)
Thumbstands (10.2)
Reverse Opposition (Thumb Windshield Wipers) (14.2)
The Thumb & Forefinger (14.1; 27.1; 42.2)

4 – OCTAVES & CHORDS

Fifth Finger Pull-Ups (17.2)
Small Hands
Deconstructing Octaves (20.1)
The Mini Hand Flip (III.1)
The Octave Cobra Strike (19.1)
Shake the Piano (18.1)
The Hook
Tremolando Octaves (21.1)
Freedom & Brilliance in Interlocking Octaves

5 – THE ARM

Counterproductive Uses of the Arm (29)
Stabilization (29.1)
Phrase Shape & Orientation (32; 32.1)
Pulse Generation
Arm Weight (8)
The Bird Beak (31.2)
The Arm Swing (30.2)
The Arm as a Whole Finger (30)

6 - ROTATION

Rotation & Swiveling (35)
Rotation & Translation (35)
Rotation Examples:
         La Campanella, m.42 (35.2)
         La Campanella, m. 7 (35.2)
         Jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este (35.1)
         Chopin, Op 10 #1
         Chopin Op 10#9
         Waltz Accompaniments
         Mephisto Waltz

7 – RHYTHM, PHRASE & ORCHESTRATION

Entasis (3)
Rhythmic Entasis (52)
The Waltz (54.1)
Micro-Pauses (51)
Melodic Entasis (54.1)
Dynamic Entasis (58)
Listening

8 – MAXIMUM FINGER ACTION IN SCALES

Fingertapping (24)
The Sound of One Hand Clapping (26.3)
The Structure Supported Slap (25.1)
Eliminate Swiveling in Scales (39.4)
Differentiate Fingers And Hand (26.1)
Out the Back Door (26.1)
Lift the Fingers
Conclusion

‘astoundingly profound knowledge of body movement and structure...”

- EPTA Piano Journal, Great Britain

Alan Fraser in The Craft of Piano Playing