Neil Stannard

Mystified No More Neil Stannard

DVD OF iDEMOS NOW AVAILABLE SEPARATELY!Knowledge is a wonderful thing. Have you ever noticed, though, that the more you have, the more you seem to need? In an earlier volume, "Piano Technique Demystified: Insights into Problem Solving," we learned that it is more efficient to move than to stretch to an extreme and how to make decisions regarding fingering. We learned how to "get after" a passage and to play "honestly." We learned that mindless-rote is more likely to produce technical vagaries than reliable passage work. Perhaps most importantly, we learned that if a passage doesn't feel easy, then we haven't solved it. The essays in this book-along with the 141 musical examples and over an hour of YouTube iDemos-are like mini private lessons. You will find here brain teasers drawn from concert repertoire at intermediate to advanced levels that are designed to develop an instinct for building a practical technique. You will learn more about solving technical problems, the point of which is to make music with ease and efficiency. Knowing how it is that you do what you do is the objective. There is really nothing more satisfying than that.***Amazon Review: "Neil Stannard's book 'Mystified No More', like his earlier volume '"Piano Technique Demystified', is an essential reference book for all pianists and teachers of piano. Despite its technical content, the writing is both colourful and entertaining. The advice offered is succinct and clearly described, with accompanying examples from the piano repertoire simply presented on short YouTube video demonstrations," William.***Praise for the first volume, Piano Technique Demystified: Insights Into Problem Solving: "This book is a delightful collection of helpful insights. A terrific aspect is its inclusion of online video demonstrations. Many of the fingerings, note-grouping concepts, rotational ideas and so on make the passages in the examples easier to play than when approached with more traditional ideas." American Music Teacher, Feb./Mar., 2015.***Amazon Reviews: "This is an excellent book. Whether you are an advanced pianist or a novice, the concepts shared in this book will bring your technical skills at the piano to a new level," Ashley Rose, March, 2015.***"If there is 'A' right way to play, you will learn it here, because Stannard's tips are based on the body biomechanics principles," Flavio Chaperone, August, 2015.