African American Gospel Piano Style In The 21St Century: A Collective Case Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the African American gospel piano style in the 21st century, further examining the role of musical enculturation, transmission, and preservation through the lived experiences and perspectives as reported by five gospel pianists throughout the United States. A collective case study design (Stake, 1995) was used to explore how the gospel piano style is being learned, developed, transformed, transmitted, and preserved. Research questions focused on participants’ beliefs about the stylistic transformation of gospel piano in the 21st century and factors that influences those beliefs such as past and present stylistic developments. The data generation method included semi-structured interviews, artifacts, biographies, and recordings. Findings revealed that gospel piano is: (1) primarily learned informally through aural acquisition and listening to other gospel pianists and genres; (2) developed through experiential learning through church performance with assistance from mentors and supportive networks; (3) experienced transformation in the 21st century through evolution, commercialism, infusion of new genres, virtuosic musicianship; and (4) is being transmitted and preserved through teaching, technology, notation, and scholarship. These findings provide valuable insights into the African American gospel piano style for novice and practicing gospel pianists as they continue to develop and become efficient in the genre and for music educators interested in understanding this genre and style of performance practices

The Joyful Path of Lifelong Mastery of the Piano

Designed to function as a handbook for pianists, this research project is written in a friendly manner. Organized by theme, it contains a multiplicity of approaches that pianists at all levels can apply to their daily piano practice to help deepen the meaning and efficacy of their work. No matter what role the piano plays in your life, there is much in this document that will help you find joy as you discover new things about yourself through practicing the piano. From methods of practice to philosophies by established performers, this project has enough material to be kept within arm’s reach of the instrument

The Lister-Sink method: a holistic approach to injury-preventive piano technique

Despite an increasing awareness among pianists, the problem of playing-related injuries has remained common. In spite of the abundance of seminars and workshops on healthful piano technique, very few methods or systems of teaching injury-preventive technique are available today. The Lister-Sink Method is a highly effective system to learn injury-preventive piano technique, based on both biomechanical principles of the human body and the mechanism of the piano action. Its core principle lies in the efficiency of tone production, and its effectiveness is founded on a step by step neuroprogramming of each component at each level to insure the foundation of good coordination. Kinesthetic awareness, mind-body connection, and active listening establish an integrated coordination among the mind, the body, and the instrument. After a review of existing literature on injury-preventive technique, including an explanation of the many causes of pianists' injuries, this document identifies the Lister-Sink Method as one of the few methods to successfully teach well-coordinated technique. The fundamental pedagogical approach of the Method is explained, body use patterns and playing mechanisms as defined in the Method are presented, and the fundamental element of the Method, the "Basic Stroke," is described. Applications of the "Basic Stroke" in the training process and in the study of selected piano literature are covered with reference to numerous musical examples

Healthy Piano Technique and the Prevention of Professional Injuries: An Exploration of the Schmidt-Shklovskaya-Minsker Method and its Implementation in Piano Pedagogy

This research focuses on the teaching method developed by two piano pedagogues whose work with pianists' professional injuries is widely known and appreciated in Russia. Anna Schmidt-Shklovskaya based her system on the views and practice of Ivan Kryzhanovsky, a musician and medical doctor who studied piano-related injuries. Her student Galina Minsker brought a new perspective to the Schmidt-Shklovskaya method by studying the theory of multi-levelled motor control, as authored by Russian neuroscientist Nicholai Bernstein, and applying it to her practical work with piano students. A variety of ideas that were dominant in piano pedagogy throughout the 300-year history of the instrument are also examined with a particular emphasis on healthy piano technique in the context of the mind-body-instrument relationship. An application of "The Schmidt-Shklovskaya-Minsker Method" to general piano pedagogy is described, and the benefits of the method for students' musical and technical development are explored

Reconsidering memorisation in the context of non-tonal piano music

Performers, pedagogues and researchers have shared interest in the topic of musical memorisation for centuries. A large and diverse body of studies on this subject has contributed to the current understanding of musicians’ views of performing from memory, as well as the mechanisms governing encoding and retrieval of musical information. Nevertheless, with a few exceptions, existing research is still highly based on tonal music and lacks further examination in the musical world of non-tonality. The convention of performing from memory is a well-established practice for particular instruments and musical genres, but an exception is often made for recent styles of repertoire moving away from tonality. No study to date has systematically investigated the reasons for such exception and musicians’ views on this matter. Moreover, the existing principles of memorisation that are thought to apply to musicians in the highest levels of skill are strongly based on the use of conceptual knowledge of tonal musical vernacular. Such knowledge is often obscured or absent in non-tonal repertoire. This thesis aims to extend the findings of previous research into musical memorisation in the context of non-tonal piano repertoire by documenting pianists’ views and practices in committing this music to memory. An interview study with pianists expert in contemporary music (Chapter 3) establishes the background for the thesis. A variety of views on performing contemporary music from memory were reported, with several pianists advocating benefits from performing this repertoire by heart and others from using the score. Memorisation accounts revealed idiosyncrasy and variety, but emphasised the importance of specific strategies, such as the use of mental rehearsal, principles of chunking applicable to this repertoire and the importance of different types of memory and their combination. The second study (Chapter 4) explores the topic in further depth, by thoroughly examining the author’s entire process of learning and memorising a newly commissioned non-tonal piece for prepared piano. This study extends findings from performance cue (PC) theory. This widely recognised account of expert memory in music suggests that musicians develop retrieval schemes hierarchically organised around their understanding of musical structure, using different types of PCs. The use of retrieval schemes in this context is confirmed by this study. The author organised the scheme around her own understanding of musical structure, which was gradually developed while working through the piece, since the music had no aural model available or ready-made structural framework to hold on to early in the process. Extending previous research, new types of PCs were documented and, for the first time, negative serial position effects were found for basic PCs (e.g., fingering, notes, patterns) in long-term recall. Finally, the study provided behavioural evidence for the use of chunking in non-tonal piano music. The third study (Chapters 5 and 6) extends these findings to a serial piece memorised by six pianists. Following a multiple-case study approach, this study observed in great depth memorisation approaches carried out by two of those pianists, who performed the music very accurately from memory, and by one pianist who performed less accurately. The first two pianists developed retrieval schemes based on their understanding of musical structure and different types of PCs, mainly basic and structural. Comparisons between the pianists revealed very different views of musical structure in the piece. Even so, both musicians used such understanding to organise encoding and retrieval. The pianist with the least accurate performance adopted an unsystematic approach, mainly relying on incidental memorisation. The absence of a conceptual retrieval scheme resulted in an inability to fully recover from a major memory lapse in performance. The findings of this research provide novel insights into pianists’ views towards performing non-tonal music from memory and into the cognitive mechanisms governing the encoding and retrieval of this music, which have practical applications for musicians wishing to memorise non-tonal piano music

Continuing Abby Whiteside\u27s legacy--The research of pianist Sophia Rosoff\u27s pedagogical approach

Since 1956, Sophia Rosoff has dedicated herself to performing and teaching principles developed by piano pedagogue Abby Whiteside. Whiteside became internationally known between 1930 and 1956 for her pioneering work in the study of the use of the body in producing beautiful sound and freedom of technique. Her research was considered revolutionary and instrumental in raising physical awareness in pianists. Committed to ongoing research, Rosoff continues to teach in her apartment in the Upper East Side of New York City. The purpose of this document is to present Rosoff’s musical background, research, teaching philosophy, and the strategies she has developed for teaching Abby Whiteside’s pedagogical concepts to pianists of all ages and technical abilities. To understand the significance of Rosoff’s work, an understanding of Whiteside’s teaching principles must be surveyed. A chapter devoted to Whiteside, her musical background and training, and an overview of the process she used to develop her principles is presented first. Rosoff encourages students to use many practice strategies that she has developed. Each one uses a vocabulary unique to her teaching, and is presented at the beginning of each section. The most comprehensive of these is the use of outline-based learning. Rosoff teaches pianists to learn repertoire from the broadest structure of the piece possible. This involves learning the piece using a series of outlines. Instead of attempting to play all the notes present in a phrase, the pianist is encouraged to play skeletal outlines, beginning with only first beats. Notes are systematically included in subsequent outlines. Because different textures of music require different approaches to outlining, several examples are included that cover a broad spectrum of compositions and textures. The first outlines might include only the first beat of each measure. Rosoff believes that outlines are essential to finding the basic emotional rhythm which is discussed in depth in Whiteside’s book, The Indispensables of Piano Playing. Whiteside documents her study of the different art disciplines. This document extends that study by including statements made by well-respected artists, poets, directors, and athletes. An avid reader, Rosoff often refers to a wide range of quotes that offer the pianist an in-depth look at the importance an emotional rhythm is to a large cross-section of physical and artistic activities

The Alfred Cortot study edition of Chopin\u27s Etudes & how the Alexander Technique can facilitate progress towards performance through his suggested exercises

The purpose of this research paper is to study how the Alexander Technique can be applied to the process of pianistic practicing, and specific technique issues. The sets of exercises I choose to focus on are from the Alfred Cortot study edition of Chopin’s Etudes, op. 10 and op. 25. The Alexander Technique is a method of releasing unnecessary muscular tension when performing every action, including motions in piano playing. Therefore, the preparatory exercises suggested by Alfred Cortot in his study editions can be more effectively executed by applying the Alexander Technique principles. This research paper is divided into four chapters. The first chapter commences with background information about the teaching edition of Chopin’s Etudes by Alfred Cortot. As an exemplary pianist and teacher, Cortot’s contribution to the development of piano technique was and remains of landmark significance. It is valuable and important to examine how his systematic methods can lead pianists to conquer technical problems and refine their performance. Before focusing on the Alexander Technique in two sets of Chopin’s Etudes, the second chapter will provide readers with a brief biography of Frederick Matthias Alexander, founder of the Alexander Technique. The chapter will then go on to reveal how he established the Technique and shaped it into a complete curriculum whose goal is to re-educate the way in which physical aspects of human life are experienced. Finally, this chapter examines the main principles of the Alexander Technique and its applications for musicians and pianists. After examining Cortot’s study edition of the Chopin Etudes and establishing the value of the Alexander Technique for pianists, in the next two chapters I apply core ideas of the Technique to pianistic practicing of the individual Chopin Etudes through Alfred Cortot’s preparatory exercises. Chapter 3 focuses on Op. 10 Etudes. Chapter 4 focuses on Op. 25. It is hoped that the results of this research study will be beneficial for pianists, and facilitate progress in learning Chopin’s Etudes by applying principles of the Alexander Technique

Selected Principles of Practicing for Security in Performance

This research focuses on extending the imagination for the purposes of activating our brain to strengthen memorization of music for a stronger and more secure performance. This research explores the concept of self-awareness in the sense of having a conversation with ourselves in order to understand the primary reasons we pianists spend hours in the practice room. I introduce selected strategies for learning pieces through a meticulous process of memorization which impacts not only new pieces, but also the resurrecting of old repertoire. Along with including the concept of the Memory Palace, I explore different methods of memorizing music to relieve pianists’ unnecessary anxiety about performing from memory. Lastly, the final chapter examines the relationship between the performance and the influence of the teacher, based on my own personal experiences

The Mutability of the Score: An Examination of the Value of Score Alteration in Virtuosic Piano Repertoire

This dissertation is a defense of the value of score alteration in virtuosic piano repertoire. Score alteration is a performance practice, much heard during the so-called “Golden Age” of pianism, in which pianists would freely modify the score in order to suit their interpretation and make their performances more effective. In our present age of urtext editions and absolute fidelity to the score, I believe that a re-examination of score alteration is crucial to any modern performer. I have examined numerous recordings and performances (many of them rare and not commercially released), to explore how the practice of score modification has evolved over time. I also looked closely at the scores of Franz Liszt, a seminal figure in the art of score alteration; Liszt’s revisions of his own piano works, and his additions to the piano works of others, are a trove of evidence of Liszt’s own performance practice. In our own era, performers often feel compelled to respect the letter of the score, perhaps at the expense of the spirit. In this document, I would like to demonstrate that, for many of the great performers of the past, modification and improvisation were crucial tools for navigating virtuoso piano music. Those tools have lost none of their value, and they are still available to performers today