Brigitte Bouthinon-Dumas, a renowned pianist and teacher, shares her experience on how to improve one’s piano playing. In this book, she dares to tackle the problems encountered by many pianists: the discrepancy between the musical intention and the sound rendition. She analyses the origins of this problem and develops numerous avenues of work.
Her philosophy of the instrument, centered on the notion of the “imprint” of the fingers on the keyboard and the memory of the sensation, allows each musician to deepen his or her own relationship with the keyboard. This approach, rarely dealt with in books on the piano, implies a better body awareness, a greater relaxation in the service of the freedom to interpret.
Brigitte Bouthinon-Dumas approaches her subject from the angle of teaching, with a chapter focusing on the relationship between teacher and student. Indeed, this book will be of great help to piano teachers who will find answers to their pedagogical questions. Amateur pianists or those in training, wishing to overcome their difficulties and improve their playing, will find in this new approach something to think about, particularly on the difficult subject of stage fright.
The second edition of this synthetic and rich work, which has become a recommended classic in piano classes since 1993, gives access to this often requested text in a clear and readable presentation that has been completely revised.
This work was translated into Russian by Arcadi Volodos in 2009 for Four Quaters publishers in Minsk.
See also volume 2 : à l’écoute des deux mains
Table of contents
- Introduction||1
- 1 – Le son||5
- 2 – Stabilité du doigt||11
- 3 – Conscience tactile et cérébrale||21
- 4 – Axe intérieur et concentration||27
- 5 – Trac : non aux appréhensions physiques et psychiques||31
- 6 – Mémoire tactile||37
- 7 – La main : la « bonne main » quelle est-elle ?||39
- 8 – Linéarité : dénominateur commun entre legato, staccato, polyphonie et syncope||49
- 9 – Le geste juste||59
- 10 – Détente||67
- 11 – Pulsation et stabilité||73
- 12 – Silences||77
- 13 – Respirations||83
- 14 – La pédale||85
- 15 – Interprétation||89
- 16 – Savoir respecter et former un élève||97
- 17 – Propos dans l’air du temps||113
- Épilogue||117