A Quick Look at Wellness: What Pianists Should Know
Discovery homeSign up for email updatessubmit a question Special thanks to the NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference Wellness Committee for their contributions to this post. Why is wellness an important topic for pianists today? It is known that few pianists go through life without encountering...
No Thumb or Fifth Finger on Black Keys, Except…
Autumn 2022; Vol. 14. No. 3
One of the earliest fingering rules that students learn is to avoid putting thumbs or fifth fingers on black keys. As is the case for most rules, solid reasoning underlies the principle. The black keys are positioned farther back on the keyboard, closer to the...
Let Them Eat Cake! Teaching Piano Using Stacked Engagement Layers
Spring 2020; Vol. 12, No. 1
Piano playing requires the involvement and simultaneous coordination of many different parts of the brain and the mind.1 The aural center forms an image of the way a piece should sound—a goal for performance. Motor processing directs the arm, hand, and fingers in controlling the piano...
Finding Fingerings that Fit
Autumn 2019; Vol. 11, No. 4
The impact of hand size is attracting much attention in the piano world. Several studies have demonstrated that the conventional piano keyboard is sized for a relatively large hand, presenting challenges for small-handed pianists as well as raising the risk of injury.1 Areas of particular concern for small-handed pianists include navigating...
Burning Brightly Without Burning Out
Autumn 2021; Vol. 13, No. 3
Burnout, a long-lasting state of emotional exhaustion in which we become cynical about the value of our occupation and feel doubtful that we will be able to continue to perform our job, has been identified as the biggest occupational hazard of the twenty-first century.1 Burnout is...
Tips for Healthy Remote Teaching
Summer 2021; Vol. 13, No. 2
While preparing for the 2021 National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, members of the Committee on Wellness for the Pianist collaborated to establish wellness tips specifically for teachers. At the beginning of the pandemic, most students and instructors were obliged to cope with the challenge of...