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The Complete Pianist: From healthy technique to natural artistry
The Complete Pianist features:
- More than 500 pages of text and music examples, guiding pianists through technical challenges and interpretative choices;
- 250 newly-devised exercises, covering basic and more advanced techniques;
- More than 300 free online video demonstrations.
- More than 500 pages of text and music examples, guiding pianists through technical challenges and interpretative choices;
- 250 newly-devised exercises, covering basic and more advanced techniques;
- More than 300 free online video demonstrations.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
558 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2020
18 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 11, 2023
I bought this book based on the many positive reviews I’d read, and unfortunately I didn’t find it as helpful as I had hoped.
QR codes in a textbook don’t work for me, as a concept. I realized the last thing I want to do, is whip out my phone and scan them to watch video tutorials.
The book appears bloated with “filler” sentences, which increase the bulk, but bring nothing of substance:
"Muscles do not act of their own accord. They are directed by the mind(…)”
“The bones in our fingers, hand and arm cannot move by themselves.”
“The piano is a wonderfully versatile instrument, and its unique qualities are very obvious.”
The author appears to struggle with teaching artistry – which is understandable – I believe artistry can be learned, but not necessarily taught. It is not a quality easily translatable into a set of plain instructions. Roskell often resorts to advice which sounds vague: "The term pianissimo is not just an indication of dynamic level – it is usually a hint that a very special magic effect is required" or unrealistic, e.g. when she instructs her readers to project their music to every single person in the audience.
I found very straightforward concepts overblown into pages of repetitive and, frankly, unnecessary explanation. Apart from a few practical remarks, this book is defiantly not what I was looking for.
QR codes in a textbook don’t work for me, as a concept. I realized the last thing I want to do, is whip out my phone and scan them to watch video tutorials.
The book appears bloated with “filler” sentences, which increase the bulk, but bring nothing of substance:
"Muscles do not act of their own accord. They are directed by the mind(…)”
“The bones in our fingers, hand and arm cannot move by themselves.”
“The piano is a wonderfully versatile instrument, and its unique qualities are very obvious.”
The author appears to struggle with teaching artistry – which is understandable – I believe artistry can be learned, but not necessarily taught. It is not a quality easily translatable into a set of plain instructions. Roskell often resorts to advice which sounds vague: "The term pianissimo is not just an indication of dynamic level – it is usually a hint that a very special magic effect is required" or unrealistic, e.g. when she instructs her readers to project their music to every single person in the audience.
I found very straightforward concepts overblown into pages of repetitive and, frankly, unnecessary explanation. Apart from a few practical remarks, this book is defiantly not what I was looking for.
June 12, 2025
Yo no sé qué haría sin este libro. ❤️🩹🎹
January 12, 2026
Rather dry and over analytical for my liking. Probably better used a reference book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews