Mastering Piano Technique: A Guide for Students, Teachers and Performers

By Seymour Fink

This holistic approach to the keyboard, based on a sound understanding of the relationship between physical function and musical purpose, is an invaluable resource for pianists and teachers. Professor Fink explains his ideas and demonstrates his innovative developmental exercises that set the pianist free to express the most profound musical ideas. HARDCOVER.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0931340462
• ISBN13: 9780931340468
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Amadeus
• Length: 190 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.7" x 11.2"

Customer Reviews

The Real Deal

This book has a separately available video which GREATLY adds to the overall value. This book is the product of 30 years of teaching and study of the subject. The teaching is super-concentrated. I somehow passed on this book in the bookstore a few years ago, maybe thinking it was too detailed or too complicated. But now that I see it (and the video), I see Professor Fink demonstrating and explaining EVERY type of piano movement I have ever seen, by every pianist! This teacher has studied and codified ALL piano playing movements, has invented a vocabulary to describe them, and he teaches you exercises to learn them. Wow. (Well, possibly there are a FEW Keith Jarrett movements he does not cover! And possibly some Thelonius Monk moves are not in here! But every other piano playing movement, he does demonstrate and explain!) Great, unique resource for students, teachers, and performers.

An excellent work, invaluable to all pianists.

I studied with Mr. Fink throughout my high-school/college preparatory years and so experienced his technical work first-hand. After studying piano at the university level, I finally got around to picking up a copy of his book. Reading through reminded me of the many exercises we went through. I think that Mr. Fink's suggestions on technique are of good resource for all serious pianists. As others have pointed out here, a literal interpretation of the illustrations is not the intended point. It is most useful to use the techniques illustrated as a guide and then adapt them to your own particular usage.

A MUST for the Pianist

This work of Mr. Fink is absolutely magnificant. For the aspiring concert pianist, for the serious student, or for piano lovers who would simply like to improve their fluidity and definition at the keyboard. Having owned the volume for about a week now, I'm at the point where I think Seymour FInk's book should be in every School of Music, USA as a textbook. THe ten physical exercises done away from the piano are so complimentary and helpful. Mr. FInk seems to be a physiologist and anatomist of the human body, as well as a piano master, and this combination makes his perspective superior. Mr. Fink takes the mystery out of fine piano technique and brings exact motoral and muscular distribution matters to light in plain view, solving scores of execution difficulties pianists incur. Highly detailed! Buy this and begin using it, but the reader will not exhaust this volume in a few weeks. It is a referance volume for a lifetime. God bless Seymour Fink! In reply to the negative reviews, I would say there could be some difficulty of appreciation to the novice pianist who is at early stages of familiarity with the piano keyboard. This volume is extremely helpful to those of us who take the piano seriously and are intent on mastery.

an extremely helpful and original work

As a pianist I've read MANY books regarding piano technique. Seymour Fink's Mastering Piano Technique is a well thought out and extremely helpful addition to the literature. It is similar in content to the classic technique book by Abbey Whiteside. Based on total understanding of the pianist's physiology, both authors are in favor of utilizing shoulder, arm, torso, legs, etc. in conjunction with fingers to produce sounds. Various parts of the body work as levers - each logically taking more or less responsibility based on the demands of the music. This reduces the chances of developing tension. Fink's ideas make for better music making by having the pianists movement absolutely linked to phrasing and articulation. As with the Whiteside book, it is not always easy reading....but it is worth the effort in the end. As I mentioned, Fink has categorized different movements which correspond with certain sounds and articulation. Ultimately these movements make playing imminently easier. Fink creates keyboard choreography which the pianist can keep coming back to as the demands of the music dictate. Fink's ideas such as "fingersnaps", "pronation" etc. satisfied a variety of musical and technical requirements. In my experience no one book on technique can totally satisfy all of the technical demands of piano playing. That would be the same as claiming there is only one right interpretation for each piece of music. Fink's myriad ideas and solutions pertaining to piano technique make this book absolutely worth having: everyone can absolutely take something useful away from this book.

Healthy approach to piano technique

As a trained dancer, pianist, and teacher I have thoroughly appreciated Professor Fink's complete physical approach to piano technique. I have found it congruent with physical movement principles and especially applaud his emphasis on movement originating from the torso and the use of large muscle groups in sound production. As a teacher I have found it an exceedingly helpful guide for developing within students a thoughtful awareness of how their body "dances" at the piano in the creation of a musically beautiful and expressive performance. This book and video promote a healthy, whole body approach that is essential to long-term physical fitness at the piano. It is thoroughly worth the time and effort to study and master the principles laid out in Mastering Piano Technique.