Eating organic, buying local, going 'green'--these are just some of the ways that this idea has impacted our choices especially as consumers.
But what about in the realm of our artistic lives-not to mention our spiritual well-being?
These are areas in our life that also demand a reevaluation--Perhaps we also need to strip away the things that just obstruct the contact we have with the deepest part of our soul, in order to arrive at greater truth...
This is the main driver of my book called Ultimate Piano Playing: The Wave Method for Beautiful Tone and Effortless Technique. In this book I aim to bring readers to experience the piano in a higher realm--to hear and have the power to produce a beautiful tone. This magical key will unlock a treasure of hidden benefits: greater virtuosity, ease of executing even the most demanding pianistic passages, being free of any physical tension, and releasing a magnificent array of artistic expression.
It took me 20 years of research, study and personal experiences to arrive at this book. The journey has not been an easy one--but it certainly required me to 'get real'. While in my early 20's as all my peers from conservatory were embarking onto concert stages, I had to undo the bad training of my youth which nearly rendered me unable to play the piano. Starting at square one again with simple one finger exercises, I had to rebuild my arsenal. This was a mixed blessing. On the one hand, I figured I had 'missed the boat'--that I would never be able to play on concert stages because of this huge detour--on the other hand, I started to understand the fundamental principles of what accounts for efficiency and beauty in piano playing. I had no time to lose and so each stage of my relearning was as focussed on the essentials as could be.
What were these basic essentials? The realization that great form (the physical choreography we administer on each note we play) begets our results. Great form= great tone and physical ease. Bad form=tension and metallic 'tone'.
Now here comes the final distillation: the idea of a 'wave' is at the essence of all great piano playing.
Waves affect every important aspect of our musical endeavors. There are 3 essential components:
1- Physical:
The wave is the most efficient vehicle for energy transfer. To play the piano, we need energy. For the needed energy to depress the keys on our piano we make the obvious choice of recruiting the muscles of our forearms, hands and fingers. The problem is that these are small muscles groups and not able to withstand the strain over time. This is why there is such an abundance of problems with carpal tunnel, repetitive stress disorder and tendonitis with pianists today.
By studying the physics of a wave, one can use these principles at the piano. This will lead to incredible power and ease--not to mention beauty. Sounds odd? Well, it is the secret to that the greatest athletes incorporate: soaring golfers' swings, seering karate chops, stellar baseball bat swings--these all rely on the principles of the wave.
2- Mechanics:
How many pianists are familiar with the intrinsic parts of their instrument? Do the words, 'jack', 'knuckle', 'keybed' or 'escapement point' make you want to do just that--escape from this conversation? Have no fear, because here lies the formula to the magic. By knowing the critical parts of our piano mechanism (or 'action') and understanding that it also behaves as a wave, a predictable sequence of events, we instantly acquire some powerful pianistic currency to be unleashed at our command.
3- Tone:
The DNA, or calling card of pianists since the 19th century has always been their tone--the particular aura of sound that makes an indelible impression on the listener. Tone is at it's essence made of sound waves. The sound waves we produce and their quality is a product of the first two criterial listed above.
Simple! I dare say, revolutionary: It boils down to this:
The secret of the wave is energy transfer from an area of larger mass to small mass, lightness and speed.
Welcome to the Wave Method!! I write about all these concepts in my book Ultimate Piano Playing and give step-by-step instructions on how to unleash this powerful secret in your piano playing.
To summarize, who would have thought that my disappointments and the detour I had to take 20 years ago would lead to the realization of a new approach to piano playing--one coincidentally steeped in the practices of 19th century pianism.
But to quote the great Robert Frost: "...the road not taken---has made all the difference"....
And now I want to share with you the things I learned on this journey.
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