MTNA Conference; Monday, March 23, 2015: Piano Adventures at the Intermediate Level

In this showcase Randy Faber went through the 2nd editions of levels 3A and 3B. I was a little late getting to this session, but wanted to share a few quotes as I know many of you use Piano Adventures in your studio. Randy mentioned that in the 2nd edition the books are tied in tighter together.

On Technique:

“Use the rotation to get where you are going.”

“Be clear on gestures: Forearm rotation, wrist circles”

“First exaggerate the circles (etc) then trim down.”

“Taller knuckles and duck bill (closed hand) approach as students move into intermediate pieces.”

(Duck bill approach= put hands out, cup them with all fingers and thumb touching. Turn over hand.)

“Finger muscles are not efficient, finger coordination is better. Use 3 sources of power: Arm weight, core- rotation, back muscles. Use the sources of nature.”

On Sight-reading:

“Controlled environments with similarities.”

“Use the books not just simply sight-reading but applying the technique secrets.”

“Smart thinking of decoding is from chunking.”

At the end of the presentation he shared the Piano Adventures will be coming out with a new app soon called Piano Adventures Player app. This app will have the entire midi library built in.

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