This page is unfinished. I have high expectations for the reference material and unfortunately, I don’t have enough time at the moment to make something that will meet that standard. For now, I have collected the resources on which this section will eventually be based.
Technique
Seymour Fink, Mastering Piano Technique: A Guide for Students, Teachers and Performers
This book is the most complete and comprehensive look at piano technique that I have encountered so far. Fink breaks down piano technique into primary movements, which when combined encompass the entirety of the physical components of piano playing. It completely revolutionised my technique and the way that I approach teaching it.
The only issue with this book is that it can look quite intimidating and academic. I bought it when I was in high school and didn’t get past the first few pages until I finished university five years later. If you consider yourself to have an analytic mind, this book will be perfect for you.
Rae de Lisle, Fit 4 Piano
While I was trying to improve my classical playing after finishing jazz school, my teacher was the digital creator for this book, and introduced me to the work of Rae de Lisle. De Lisle is one of New Zealand’s best piano teachers and used to be the head of Piano at the University of Auckland School of Music. Her academic focus is around piano technique and injury prevention. This book is the amalgamation of all her research into a format that can be easily digested.
While Fink’s book is excruciatingly detailed, de Lisle’s is ready for use from the first page. I haven’t had the chance to give every exercise in here a go, but what I have seen has been well explained and immediately useful.
Music theory
Open Music Theory
https://openmusictheory.github.io/
Whenever I would give extra reading resources to my students about theory, this was usually it. The explanations are simple while still maintaining nuance. Jazz and classical theory can differ in some important ways and this book accommodates for both.
The structure is good, but following the given order of the sections is not necessary. I would use it as a reference more than as a textbook.
Mark Levine, The Jazz Theory Book
Mark Levine is a household name in jazz education, and for good reason. He has written one of the most comprehensive (and popular) jazz theory textbooks. The focus of the book is applying theory to jazz, for that reason a lot of the book is concerned with improvisation. The first part of the book introducing chords and scales should be generally applicable, even if you never play jazz.
