Piano Pedagogy Publications






 

Fourth Finger on B-Flat:
Effective Strategies for Teaching Piano


Order Fourth Finger on B-Flat from Neil A. Kjos.


This practical book presents real-world solutions and teaching approaches that piano teachers can readily use in their studios. This user-friendly and personable text incorporates the basic of establishing a studio and then moves on to discussion of how students musically develop and learn, using ideas from educational psychology.

The book includes:

  • Specific ideas to use for your first interview/audition with a student
  • A comprehensive overview of musical development
  • Guidelines for teaching students with special needs, talented, ADHD
  • Unique musical ways of knowing
  • 10 Easy Steps to Musical Problem-Solving
  • Teaching strategies to mesh with different learning styles
  • Ideas to organize a systematic approach to scale and technical development
  • Practice techniques that include student self-assessment
  • Creative projects for the studio

A new chapter on "Palette of Touches" has been added. A detailed description of the Elementary and Intermediate Palette of Touches books appear below. The "Palette of Touches" workshop is described under Workshops.



Palette of Touches
Elementary and Intermediate


Order Palette of Touches - Elementary from Neil A. Kjos.
Order Palette of Touches - Intermediate from Neil A. Kjos.


Palette of Touches offers a way for developing pianists to gain an aural awareness of tonal colors available on the piano and the technical tools needed to produce them in performance. The books introduces a variety of legato, staccato, and chordal touches through the following:

  • Detailed descriptions, photographs, and online video clip demonstrations
  • Recommended touch symbols to apply to printed exercises and scores
  • Exercises specifically written to match each touch
  • Excerpts from traditional piano literature for quick application
  • Selected pieces of classical repertoire that feature each touch.

Teachers and students learn to define interpretive decisions in music being studied using a descriptive, clear-cut "touch vocabulary," assigning a level of weight into the key (key depth) to define dynamics, and through exercises and repertoire that allow students to physically fine-tune the sound and feel of these touches. The results can be remarkable. Student performances suddenly gain life and vitality!

Discuss and explore interactively an array of staccato, legato, and chordal touches that create a vocabulary of tonal color in your students' interpretations and performances. The workshop presents touch exercises and piano literature excerpts that directly apply these tonal colors to intermediate repertoire. (1-1/2 hours) Refer to the full description of the Palette Touches Workshop under Workshops.


Sample Videos from
Palette of Touches - Elementary

Sample Videos from
Palette of Touches - Intermediate

 

 


Kjos Brochure of Dr Haroutounian's Publications
Chapters, Articles, and Lectures