Table Of ContentFundamentals of
Piano Practice
Third Edition
Mlle. Yvonne Combe
by Chuan C. Chang
First Edition: 1995, Colts Neck, NJ, USA; free download from 1999
http://members.aol.com/chang8828 (discontinued in 2008)
Second Edition: 2009, Tampa, FL, USA, free download
Booksurge (Amazon Publishing), http://www.pianopractice.org/
ISBN 1-4196-7859-0, ISBN 13: 978-1419678592
Third Edition: July 28, 2016, Tampa, FL, USA, free download
CreateSpace (Amazon Publishing), http://www.pianopractice.org/
ISBN13-978-1523287222, ISBN10-1523287225
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To my wife Merry
who worked tirelessly for decades so I could write this book,
Eileen and Sue-Lynn who were my witnesses to Combe's teachings,
their husbands Frank Sauer and David Hinson
who helped with the latest authoring technologies,
thank you, from my heart and the world.
The material of Chapter One originated from my notes on how the late Mlle.
Yvonne Combe taught our daughters. Combe was Debussy's disciple and helped
transcribe his new compositions as he played them out on the piano. She performed
that incredible Second Piano Concerto by Saint-Saëns with the composer conducting.
She dedicated her life to teaching piano and all who attended recitals by her students
were mesmerized. This book had to be written: without it, her passing would have
deprived us of a priceless art.
Chapter One
Basic Practice Methods
Chapter Two
Piano Topics
Chapter Three
Tuning Your Piano
Chromatic Scale, Circle of Fifths, Temperaments, Tuning
References
Book Reviews
Testimonials (in web page below)
Copyright © 2016, copy permitted
if authorship, Chuan C. Chang, is included.
This entire book can be downloaded free at:
http://www.pianopractice.org/
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Contents
Inside Cover 1
Chapter Page 2
Contents 3
Abbreviations 6
Preface 7
Chapter One Basic Practice Methods 11
(1) Practice Routines, the Intuitive Method 11
(2) Bench Height, Distance from Piano, Posture 12
(3) Starting a Piece 13
(4) Curled and Flat Finger Positions, Curl Paralysis 14
(5) Reading, Fingering 17
(6) Hands Separate (HS) Practice 18
(7) Difficult Sections First, Segmental Practice, Continuity Rule 19
(8) Relaxation, Gravity 20
(9) Parallel Sets (PSs), Conjunctions, Cycling 21
(10) Parallel Sets Catalogue 24
(11) Basic Key Stroke; Legato, Staccato 26
(12) Speed Walls 29
(13) Metronome 30
(14) Memorizing, Close Your Eyes and Play 30
(15) Mental Play (MP) 37
(16) Human Memory Function 39
(17) Absolute & Relative Pitch 42
(18) Play by Ear (PBE), Composing 46
(19) Breathing, Swallowing 47
(20) Endurance, Brain Stamina 48
(21) Forearm Rotation 49
(22) Slow Play 50
(23) Post Practice Improvement (PPI), Sleep 51
(24) Quiet Hands, Fingers, Body 56
(25) Staccato Practice, Soft Practice 58
(26) Speed, Rhythm, Dynamics 60
(27) Fast Play Degradation, Eliminating Bad Habits 64
(28) Jumps, PP, FF, Feeling the Keys 66
(29) Scales: Nomenclature and Fingerings 68
Tables 1.1-2 71
(30) Thumb Under, Thumb Over, Glissando Motion, Pivoting 72
(31) Thumb, Most Versatile Finger, Power Thumb 77
(32) Arpeggio, Cartwheel Motion, Finger Splits 78
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(33) Fast Chromatic Scales 80
(34) Fast Octaves, Small/Big Hands 81
(35) Trills and Tremolos 83
(36) Hand Motions 84
(37) Hands Together 86
(38) Outlining, Beethoven's Sonata #1, Op. 2-1 87
(39) Damper (Sustain) Pedal, Physics of the piano sound 88
(40) Soft Pedal: Hammer Voicing 90
(41) Playing Cold, Warming Up, Conditioning 93
(42) Musicality, Touch, Tone, Color 94
(43) Problems with Hanon Exercises 97
(44) Fake Books, Jazz, Improvisation 100
(45) Sight Reading, Sight Singing, Composing 101
(46) Stretching and Other Exercises 103
(47) Performance Preparation, Videotaping 106
(48) Origin and Control of Nervousness 112
(49) During, After the Performance 116
(50) Summary of Method 119
EXAMPLES OF APPLICATIONS 120
(51) Für Elise 120
(52) Practice Routines: Bach Inventions, Sinfonia 120
(53) Bach Used Parallel Sets to Compose His Inventions 125
(54) Mozart's Rondo in Sonata No. 11, A major, K331(300i) 127
(55) Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu, Op. 66, Polyrhythms 130
(56) Beethoven's Moonlight: First, Third, Movements 134
(57) Beethoven's Pathetique, Op. 13, First Movement 140
(58) Beethoven's Appassionata, Op. 57, First Movement 144
Chapter Two Piano Topics 148
(59) Project Management 148
(60) Injury, Health 149
(61) Hearing Loss 152
(62) Teaching 155
(63) The Myth of Franz Listz's Teaching Methods 165
(64) Why the Greatest Pianists Could Not Teach 166
(65) Creating Geniuses 167
(66) Scientific Approach to Piano Practice 170
(67) Mozart's Formula, Beethoven and Group Theory 173
(68) Theory, Solfege 180
(69) Disadvantages of Learning Piano 183
(70) Grand, Electronic, Upright Pianos 184
(71) Purchasing & Piano Care 191
(72) Using the Subconscious Brain 195
(73) New Discoveries of this Book 196
(74) Topics for Future Research 198
Chapter Three Tuning Your Piano 201
(75) Introduction to Tuning 201
(76) Chromatic Scale 202
Tables 3.1-2 206
(77) Circle of Fifths, Temperaments 207
(78) Polishing Capstans, Hammer Voicing 210
(79) Tuning Tools and Skills 213
(80) Grand Piano Action Diagram 225
(81) Kirnberger II, Equal Temperaments 226
(82) References 230
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(83) Book Reviews: General Comments 233
(84) Beyer #47, 48, 49, 58, 59 258
Beyer 47-49 259
Beyer 58-59 261
(85) About the Author 262
Back Cover
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ABBREVIATIONS
AP = Absolute Pitch, Absolute Pitch, Relative Pitch
ET = Equal Temperament, (77) Circle of Fifths, Temperaments
FFP = Flat Finger Position, (4) Curled and Flat Finger Positions, Curl Paralysis
FI = Fantaisie Impromptu by Chopin, Op. 66, (55) Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu, Op.
66, Polyrhythms
FOPP = Fundamentals of Piano Practice (this book)
FPD = Fast Play Degradation, (27) Fast Play Degradation, Eliminating Bad Habits
FR = Forearm Rotation, (21) Forearm Rotation
HS = Hands Separate, (6) Hands Separate (HS) Practice
HT = Hands Together, (37) Hands Together
K-II = Kirnberger II Temperament, (81) Kirnberger II, Equal Temperaments
LH = Left Hand
MP = Mental Play, (15) Mental Play (MP)
NG = Nucleation Growth, (48) Origin and Control of Nervousness
PBE = Play by Ear, (18) Play by Ear (PBE), Composing
PPI = Post Practice Improvement, Post Practice Improvement, Sleep, Fast/Slow
Muscles
PS = Parallel Sets, (9) Parallel Sets (PSs), Conjunctions, Cycling
RH = Right Hand
RP = Relative Pitch, Absolute Pitch, Relative Pitch
SW = Speed Wall, (12) Speed Walls
TO = Thumb Over, (30) Thumb Under, Thumb Over, Glissando Motion, Pivoting
TU = Thumb Under, (30) Thumb Under, Thumb Over, Glissando Motion, Pivoting
WT = Well Temperament, (77) Circle of Fifths, Temperaments
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Preface
This book is a condensed but detailed textbook on what you must know to learn piano as
quickly as possible. You do not start with exercises and lesson pieces because that wastes too
much time; you start by learning what you want to play because most aspiring pianists already
know what they want to play. In case you don't, there is a section on suggested pieces for
beginners [(3) Starting a Piece].
I took piano lessons for over seven years from age ten, practicing up to eight hours on
weekends. My successes in life and lifelong dedication to the piano [see (85) About the
Author] gave me every reason to believe that I should be successful in piano. Although I
became a choir accompanist and church organist, I was struggling with the Beethoven sonatas
— difficult passages remained insurmountable no matter how long I practiced. This made no
sense because there have been thousands of proficient pianists in the world — how did they
all learn? I was told that musical talents and perseverance were the only ways, but I
suspected that there are teachers who know how to teach. They must have written books. So I
read books and they all taught the same things: practice scales, arpeggios, exercises, start with
easy lesson pieces, etc., which I was already doing. Even published interviews with famous
pianists gave no clue as to how they learned, except to endlessly tout their exceptional talents,
an obviously self-serving device with no pedagogical value. Was lifelong, daily, total
dedication to piano, at the exclusion of everything else, the only way?
This book originated in 1978 when I took our daughter to her piano lesson with Mlle.
Yvonne Combe (see back cover). After a few years of lessons, our two daughters were
progressing at unbelievable speed, which we attributed to their "exceptional musical talents".
During this lesson, the teacher took out a book with lesson pieces arranged according to
difficulty, for choosing a new piece to study. Combe said "Choose whatever you want!!!" and
my daughter looked all over the book, as Combe played excerpts from various pieces. I
couldn't help interfering to ask "Shouldn't she stay within her level of difficulty?" Combe
smiled knowingly with our daughter and answered "Difficulty isn't our problem, is it?" I
was so flabbergasted by the implications of what she said that I decided to investigate her
teaching method. It took 15 more years of research and experimentation at the piano for me to
realize that efficient practice methods were the key to success, not talent!!, and additional
10+ years to gather all this material.
I read over fifty of the most popular piano books and have reviewed them here and they
demonstrate that practically every piano learning method consists of showing students what to
practice, and what kinds of techniques (runs, arpeggios, legato, staccato, trills, etc.) are
needed. There are few instructions on how to practice in order to be able to play them,
which is mostly left to the student and endless repetitions. These books represent how
teachers taught, because they were written by respected teachers.
Most of the known methods of how to practice for technique acquisition have been
assembled in here, see [(50) Summary of Method]. New pieces are quickly learned using
these methods because there are solutions to every technical problem, and previously
"impossible" pieces come within reach. The difference in learning rate between approaches
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based on efficient practice methods and others can be the difference between a rewarding
musical experience within months and a lifetime of exercises, lesson pieces, little progress and
nothing to perform. I also researched hundreds of internet sources and over fifty [(82)
References], and included any insights on practice methods from all these sources into
this book. Books with significant useful information have been labeled "must read" in the
reviews [(83) Book Reviews: General Comments].
As a scientist, I knew that organizing this material into a logical, scientifically sound
structure was the only way to write a useful textbook that did not contain fatal flaws such as
false assumptions, a common flaw in most piano literature. My career as a research scientist
was critical to the creation of this book and, together with the most complete treatment of
practice methods, distinguishes it from every other book on piano; see (64) Why the Greatest
Pianists Could Not Teach, (66) Scientific Approach to Piano Practice and (83) Book Reviews:
General Comments. Eliminating some widely accepted practice methods based on incorrect
assumptions frees up enough time to not only learn piano, but also pursue the education
needed to navigate in today's world, or even have a separate career. The higher education is
necessary for understanding and teaching piano! I became convinced of this book's
potential to help students and teachers and, since 1999, have made it downloadable free on the
internet — you can't put a price on a child's ability to make music.
I did not originate most of the basic ideas in the practice methods. They were re-invented
umpteen times in the 200 years since Bach, by every successful pianist; otherwise, they would
not have had such success. I started writing this book using the teachings of Combe, the
teacher of our two daughters who became accomplished pianists; they have won many first
prizes in piano competitions and averaged about 10 recitals a year each for ten years; both
have absolute pitch, enjoy composing music, and have careers in the computer field.
Too many students spend 100% of their time learning new compositions and, because this
process takes so long under the old teaching systems, there was no time left to practice the art
of making music and to get a needed general education outside of music. The objective here is
to make the learning process so fast that we can allocate 10% of practice time to technical
work and 90% to making music, an objective first enunciated to me by Combe.
The Age of Exercises (1900-2000), epitomized by Hanon's exercises and Cortot's book
(Cortot, Alfred,), is finally ending because we know much better methods for technical
development. The age of "you can't play this for ten years because it is too difficult" is also
over; we can all start making music from day one of piano lessons and aspire to acquire
significant repertoires of memorized, performable music within a fixed schedule of time.
I did not realize how effective these methods were until after I finished my First Edition
book in 1995. These methods were better than what I had been using previously and, for
years, I had been applying them with good results. I experienced my first awakening after
finishing that book, when I read my own book and followed the methods systematically -- and
experienced their incredible efficiency! So, what is the difference between knowing parts of
the method and reading a book? In writing it, I had to take the various parts and arrange them
into an organized structure that served a specific purpose and that had no missing essential
components or fatal errors. It was as if I had most of the parts of a car but, without a mechanic
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to assemble it, find any missing parts, and tune it up, those parts weren't much good for
transportation. That is a major advantage of books: everything can be carefully thought out
and organized; nothing is forgotten. A teacher teaching a student in real time doesn't have that
luxury; I always remembered important things that I should have taught (in science, piano,
etc.) after the lessons were over. Without a good textbook, it is impossible to convey the
information in a good book in lessons lasting just several hours a week.
Teachers are better than books because they can adapt their teachings to fit each student,
but good books can provide more information than any one super teacher can hope to know,
are always available to anyone, and cost less. Everyone agrees that the best system is a good
teacher with good books, as practiced at all schools and universities. Can you imagine your
school or university teaching without textbooks? Piano teaching got away without genuine
textbooks for so long because it was based on talent instead of knowledge. Where would our
civilization be today, if all institutions of learning were based on student talent instead of
knowledge, where each student had to rediscover algebra, science, history, etc., on his own,
without books and with only the teacher's memory as the source of information?
This book is not a dogmatic set of practice rules; it is a collection of tools for solving
technical problems. It empowers students to create their own practice routines because each
individual is different. It is about growth into independent, self-sufficient, mature individuals
and musicians who control their own futures, instead of career students waiting for
instructions.
Music, the ability to memorize a large repertoire, and IQ are linked. This book discusses
this linkage, see (65) Creating Geniuses. Learning piano can lower the IQ (with mindless
repetitions of exercises and cultivating a lazy brain) or raise the IQ by learning how to
memorize, conversing with the greatest geniuses that ever lived through their music,
increasing brain stamina and speed, and learning the four "genius skills": efficient practice
methods (this book), mental play [(15) Mental Play (MP)], absolute pitch [Absolute Pitch,
Relative Pitch], and play by ear [(18) Play by Ear (PBE), Composing], that we can all learn.
It is astonishing that a majority of teachers never taught these genius skills -- little wonder that
genius was such a rarity.
In order to understand music theory and to learn piano, it is helpful to understand the (76)
Chromatic Scale and piano tuning [Chapter Three Tuning Your Piano]. Pianists need these
types of knowledge to communicate intelligently with the piano tuner. Every tuner is familiar
with these subjects, but they run into impossible problems when the pianists are not informed,
so that the tuners decide what is best for the pianist. Bach and Beethoven used specific
temperaments and some temperaments are problematic with Chopin's music. Today, you can
change temperaments with the flick of a digital piano switch and experience the unbelievable
sonority of Beethoven's Waldstein or hear key color with Bach's Well Tempered Clavier, that
are impossible with even the most expensive concert grand tuned to today's standard (Equal)
Temperament.
This book is only a beginning; future research will reveal better learning methods with
limitless possibilities. Today, babies are tested for hearing as soon as they are born; tomorrow,
parents who want musical children will teach them Absolute Pitch before they learn the
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