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Luxuriant Piano Playing
A Wellness Philosophy and Practice
In these excerpts from his presentation at NCKP 2021, William Westney shows that whether we are concert performers or beginners, we can all luxuriate in free-flowing, generous, comfortable, unfettered, and unforced movements that “feel great” at the piano.
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William Westney
William Westney is recognised internationally as both a master performer and award-winning teacher. After winning the top piano prize in the Geneva International Competition, he performed to acclaim on four continents. His uniquely insightful, refreshing and empowering contributions to piano pedagogy include the innovative performance workshop The Un-Master Class®, the trailblazing book The Perfect Wrong Note (40,000 copies sold worldwide) and his latest book, Eros at the Piano: The Life-Energy of Classical Music.
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Related content
Practising for Long-Term Results
In this video, William Westney demonstrates a remarkably easy technique for mind and body to truly “digest” (and remember) what we’ve practised.... Read >>
Warm-Ups Revisited
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Slow Practice
If you’re serious about playing the piano, there’s no getting away from slow practice. It is a cornerstone of our work from the beginner stages right through to the advanced level, and a practice tool also used by professional pianists and seasoned virtuosos all the time. In this section, ... Read >>
Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum - Part 4
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Mastering Polyrhythms
A polyrhythm (sometimes referred to as a cross rhythm) is the effect produced when two conflicting rhythms are played together and can prove very challenging indeed! This series of articles will help you tackle them in various ratios, starting with the simplest: two-against-three (2:3) or three-against-two (3:2).... Read >>
The Practice Tools
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Read Ahead - Level 4
Read Ahead is an exciting program that helps piano students to improve their sight-reading ability. This unique curriculum is based on an extensive collection of carefully ordered compositions with related exercises and quizzes that help students develop the mental and tactile skills necessary for fluent sight-reading. This section features Level 4... Read >>
Read Ahead - Level 2
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Read Ahead - Level 1
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Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum - Part 2
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Music at Sight
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The Practice Tools Lecture Series
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Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum - Part 1
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Skeleton Practice
This series of articles will describe how to deconstruct a score and use skeleton practice by way of a number of examples. New articles and examples will be added on an ongoing basis therefore please do watch this space!... Read >>
Read Ahead - Level 3
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An Overview of the Practice Tools
This series of articles serves as an introduction to Graham Fitch’s practice tools, including how to approach a new piece and the Three Ss.... Read >>
Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum - Part 3
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/184-advanced-sight-reading-curriculum-part-3?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Playing by Ear</a></h3>Although playing by ear might seem to be the opposite of sight-reading, we read with our ears as much as with our eyes. The inner ear helps us to navigate a new score, predict what is coming and improvise when the eyes haven’t had enough time to absorb everything. The... Read >>
Practice Strategies & Approaches
Introductory videos on how to approach and organise your practising for more productive and rewarding sessions.... Read >>
Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum
The Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum is derived from nearly twenty years of experience teaching the freshman sight-reading class for piano majors at the Peabody Conservatory. It consists of an extensive collection of annotated scores dealing with every aspect of sight-reading, together with detailed suggestions on how to practice. It covers everything... Read >>
Teaching & Developing Sight-Reading Skills
Sight-reading an interesting piece of music is like meeting an interesting person. We enjoy the pleasure of a new encounter, sense perhaps a mutual affinity, and look forward to a deeper acquaintance. This series of articles provides exercises and music aimed at developing confidence in playing at sight and enhancing... Read >>
Quarantine-Spots
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If you have spots in your pieces that regularly break down you’re going to need to identify them and isolate these sections so you can do some quality, systematic practice on them. This process I call quarantining, and each extract... Read >>
Making Friends With the Notes
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/240-making-friends-with-the-notes?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">A Two-Stage Practice Process</a></h3>William Westney presents a common-sense practising approach for achieving an underlying feeling of physical comfort and security at the piano. This powerful, proven strategy is easy to implement and frees us to play ANY piece of music freely, expressively and spontaneously. It can also lead to technical breakthroughs by thoroughly... Read >>
The Body - Wiser than the Mind?
When we make music we experience fascinating integration of body and mind. As essential as it is to master certain well-defined skills (just as athletes do) there can also be moments when we manage to "get out of our own way" – and everything seems to fall into place beautifully.... Read >>
Separate Practice
Learning a complex piece each hand alone before putting the hands together is a strategy favoured by the majority of piano teachers. While it is of course possible to practise a fugue hands separately, this misses the point. Rather than working hands separately, I advocate strands separately (playing each line... Read >>
Practising for Long-Term Results
In this video, William Westney demonstrates a remarkably easy technique for mind and body to truly “digest” (and remember) what we’ve practised.... Read >>
Warm-Ups Revisited
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/164-warm-ups-revisited?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">A Body / Mind Approach</a></h3>In this two-part video lecture, William Westney re-thinks warm-ups and demonstrates an effortless process that takes only a few minutes to ensure successful daily practice.... Read >>
Slow Practice
If you’re serious about playing the piano, there’s no getting away from slow practice. It is a cornerstone of our work from the beginner stages right through to the advanced level, and a practice tool also used by professional pianists and seasoned virtuosos all the time. In this section, ... Read >>
Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum - Part 4
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/174-advanced-sight-reading-curriculum-part-4?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Rhythm</a></h3>Rhythm is perhaps the most important element in sight-reading and is the subject of the fourth (next) part of our Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum. Using simple, effective practice methods and carefully-selected pieces with annotations and guidelines, we work on keeping a regular pulse while tackling challenges such as recognising underlying rhythmic... Read >>
Mastering Polyrhythms
A polyrhythm (sometimes referred to as a cross rhythm) is the effect produced when two conflicting rhythms are played together and can prove very challenging indeed! This series of articles will help you tackle them in various ratios, starting with the simplest: two-against-three (2:3) or three-against-two (3:2).... Read >>
The Practice Tools
Graham Fitch's tried and tested practice tools provide highly effective ways to transform your practice sessions into productive and enjoyable experiences.... Read >>
Read Ahead - Level 4
Read Ahead is an exciting program that helps piano students to improve their sight-reading ability. This unique curriculum is based on an extensive collection of carefully ordered compositions with related exercises and quizzes that help students develop the mental and tactile skills necessary for fluent sight-reading. This section features Level 4... Read >>
Read Ahead - Level 2
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/41-read-ahead-level-2?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Sightreading for the Modern Musician</a></h3>Read Ahead is an exciting new program that helps piano students to improve their sight-reading ability. This unique curriculum is based on an extensive collection of carefully ordered compositions with related exercises and quizzes that help students develop the mental and tactile skills necessary for fluent sight-reading. This section features Level... Read >>
Read Ahead - Level 1
Read Ahead is an exciting new program that helps piano students to improve their sight-reading ability. This unique curriculum is based on an extensive collection of carefully ordered compositions with related exercises and quizzes that help students develop the mental and tactile skills necessary for fluent sight-reading. This section features Level... Read >>
Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum - Part 2
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/144-advanced-sight-reading-curriculum-part-2?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Flexibility</a></h3>To give an interpretation of a piece we have never seen before requires flexibility and demands a willingness to accept wrong notes, technical stumbles, and botched details, in the greater interest of maintaining rhythmic cohesion, following the broad outlines of the score. The second part of our Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum... Read >>
Music at Sight
Sight reading is a skill you can develop, but you have to know how. This introductory course teaches the five skills you need to become an excellent sight-reader!... Read >>
The Practice Tools Lecture Series
Without an understanding how to approach practising the piano, day-to-day practice can often be unfocussed and unproductive. In this series of video lectures, I identify and explore various practice tools that will help pianists of any level get the most out of their time spent practising.... Read >>
Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum - Part 1
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/132-advanced-sight-reading-curriculum-part-1?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Eye Training</a></h3>Sight-reading begins with sight. Before the inner ear can begin to imagine the sound of a score, before the mind can start to decode the patterns it detects, and before the body can translate these sounds and patterns into physical gestures that transform written notes into music, the eyes must... Read >>
Skeleton Practice
This series of articles will describe how to deconstruct a score and use skeleton practice by way of a number of examples. New articles and examples will be added on an ongoing basis therefore please do watch this space!... Read >>
Read Ahead - Level 3
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/27-read-ahead-level-3?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Sightreading for the Modern Musician</a></h3>Read Ahead is an exciting new program that helps piano students to improve their sight-reading ability. This unique curriculum is based on an extensive collection of carefully ordered compositions with related exercises and quizzes that help students develop the mental and tactile skills necessary for fluent sight-reading. This section features Level... Read >>
An Overview of the Practice Tools
This series of articles serves as an introduction to Graham Fitch’s practice tools, including how to approach a new piece and the Three Ss.... Read >>
Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum - Part 3
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/184-advanced-sight-reading-curriculum-part-3?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Playing by Ear</a></h3>Although playing by ear might seem to be the opposite of sight-reading, we read with our ears as much as with our eyes. The inner ear helps us to navigate a new score, predict what is coming and improvise when the eyes haven’t had enough time to absorb everything. The... Read >>
Practice Strategies & Approaches
Introductory videos on how to approach and organise your practising for more productive and rewarding sessions.... Read >>
Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum
The Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum is derived from nearly twenty years of experience teaching the freshman sight-reading class for piano majors at the Peabody Conservatory. It consists of an extensive collection of annotated scores dealing with every aspect of sight-reading, together with detailed suggestions on how to practice. It covers everything... Read >>
Teaching & Developing Sight-Reading Skills
Sight-reading an interesting piece of music is like meeting an interesting person. We enjoy the pleasure of a new encounter, sense perhaps a mutual affinity, and look forward to a deeper acquaintance. This series of articles provides exercises and music aimed at developing confidence in playing at sight and enhancing... Read >>
Quarantine-Spots
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If you have spots in your pieces that regularly break down you’re going to need to identify them and isolate these sections so you can do some quality, systematic practice on them. This process I call quarantining, and each extract... Read >>
Making Friends With the Notes
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/240-making-friends-with-the-notes?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">A Two-Stage Practice Process</a></h3>William Westney presents a common-sense practising approach for achieving an underlying feeling of physical comfort and security at the piano. This powerful, proven strategy is easy to implement and frees us to play ANY piece of music freely, expressively and spontaneously. It can also lead to technical breakthroughs by thoroughly... Read >>
The Body - Wiser than the Mind?
When we make music we experience fascinating integration of body and mind. As essential as it is to master certain well-defined skills (just as athletes do) there can also be moments when we manage to "get out of our own way" – and everything seems to fall into place beautifully.... Read >>
Separate Practice
Learning a complex piece each hand alone before putting the hands together is a strategy favoured by the majority of piano teachers. While it is of course possible to practise a fugue hands separately, this misses the point. Rather than working hands separately, I advocate strands separately (playing each line... Read >>
Practising for Long-Term Results
In this video, William Westney demonstrates a remarkably easy technique for mind and body to truly “digest” (and remember) what we’ve practised.... Read >>
Warm-Ups Revisited
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/164-warm-ups-revisited?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">A Body / Mind Approach</a></h3>In this two-part video lecture, William Westney re-thinks warm-ups and demonstrates an effortless process that takes only a few minutes to ensure successful daily practice.... Read >>
Slow Practice
If you’re serious about playing the piano, there’s no getting away from slow practice. It is a cornerstone of our work from the beginner stages right through to the advanced level, and a practice tool also used by professional pianists and seasoned virtuosos all the time. In this section, ... Read >>