Abby Whiteside on Piano Playing : Indispensables of Piano Playing - Mastering the Chopin Etudes and Other Essays (Amadeus)

Annotation Abby Whiteside (1881-1956) developed a revolutionary approach to piano technique, the idea of a "basic rhythm" involving the entire body that allows students to express the essential emotional rhythm of the music, as well as to play without the risk of the injuries that frequently afflict pianists. Her ideas on piano pedagogy remain essential today Revolutionary piano pedagogue Abby Whiteside (1881-1956) influenced generations of pianists in America and elsewhere. Whiteside's pioneering approach to piano technique stood apart from the mainstream of piano teaching in her day, and her ideas remain essential to piano pedagogy even now. Fiercely committed to developing in her students what she called a "basic rhythm" - a sense of physical continuity and ease that emphasizes musical structures - Whiteside as a teacher encouraged students to express the basic emotional rhythm of the music, and her understanding of the mechanics of piano playing enabled them to avoid the strains and injuries often experienced by pianists. This reprint of the two long-out-of-print works has been eagerly awaited by teachers and students of piano music in many countries. At last Whiteside's ideas will be accessible to new as well as to longtime disciples of this devoted and brilliant teacher of piano. Contains the texts of two books by piano teacher Abby Whiteside, the first, "Indispensables of Piano Playing," in which she explains her rhythm-based method of learning to play, and the second, "Mastering the Chopin Etudes and Other Essays," in which she applies her principles to the performance of the Chopin Etudes Indispensables Of Piano Playing -- Mastering The Chopin Etudes And Other Essays / Edited By Joseph Prostakoff And Sophia Rosoff. Originally Published: New York : C. Scribner's Sons, 1955 And 1969 (with A New Dedication, Also Including A New Index To Mastering The Chopin Etudes And Other Essays). Includes Indexes. For the purposes of this introductory chapter, let me reduce the business of playing the piano to its simplest terms.