The Role of the Teacher if an Injury Should Occur - Gail Berenson
Risk factors that may precipitate an injury, and questions to best determine the cause and stage of an injury are addressed. Also included are practical suggestions to help students continue playing while progressing through an injury.
Keeping It Simple: Fundamental of a Healthful Piano Technique - Barbara Lister-Sink
Encompassing many of the concepts included in this symposium, this chapter uses the perspectives of pedagogues, students, and philosophers as motivation for pursuing healthful technique. Several step-by-step paradigms for training (or retraining) in a healthful manner are presented, but perhaps more importantly, a concise and accessible definition of healthful technique is introduced.
Healthy Practicing - Gail Berenson
A myriad of important issues are outlined here, all with a focus on preserving physical and mental well-being while on the path of music growth. Particularly beneficial are the explorations of common topics, including positioning at the instrument, warm-up and cool-down exercises, repertoire selections, and work strategies from the perspective of wellness.
Orienting to the Keyboard: Middle D - Seymour Fink
Several philosophies to counteract the struggle many pianists have in becoming comfortable, both mentally and physically, at the piano, are introduced; most notably the idea of orienting the body to middle D, which establishes a mirror image keyboard design and reinforces the hand-vocabulary thinking presented in "Fingering: The Key to Arming."
Video Camera Applications for Enhancing Piano Practice and Performance - Dylan Savage
A pioneer in this area provides detailed descriptions of the various ways a video camera may be utilized in teaching.
An Introduction to Learning Styles - Phyllis Alpert Lehrer
An overview of the prominent personality types and related learning theories, including Jung and Golay, is presented, along with ways in which this knowledge can be applied to improve one's teaching.
The Importance of Lesson Environment - Gail Berenson
This chapter serves as a reminder that there is more to a lesson than simply teaching accurate playing, and that accuracy is a small part of what students can gain from lessons.
A Child's First Lesson - Jacqueline Csurgai-Schmidt
A sequenced presentation of many of the ideas and concepts included in this symposium, this chapter is an appropriate conclusion for such a broad-based work. Not only does it highlight many of the basic philosophies set forth, it is structured so as to be passed along to the next generation of pianists.
