eBooks


  Water Pianism - The Guide

Water Pianism is a state of mind.  It is not a method.  It cannot be described in one sentence and is very difficult to believe in during the initial stages of its discovery because the ego will be blocking out anything new, unusual or which goes against its firmly held belief systems.

 

The Water Pianist does not study, apply, seek or eventually teach any existing or particular method.  They have achieved the mindset of removing restrictive labels and recognised that exactly what is required to ‘be a pianist’ already exists within from the moment they first sat at a piano and pressed their first key to their first live performance of a Chopin Nocturne, Liszt étude, Beethoven Sonata or solo Jazz improvisation.

Not once does water use force yet still it exists in a constant state of motion.  Most interestingly of all, water is not conscious of a final destination.  Indeed, what would it do once it had arrived?

What freedom.  What pleasure.  What ease.

Such is the state of mind of the Water Pianist.

The chapter titles are as follows:

Author’s Note
Preface
Introduction
The Mind Triangle
The 3-Fold Path to Water Pianism
Study 1 – Water as Teacher
Study 2 – Mind as Observer
Study 3 - From Chaos to Balance
Study 4 – Mental Excellence
Study 5 – Typical Misconceptions
Study 6 – Identifying Weaknesses
Study 7 – Body as Vehicle
Study 8 – The Ego and Labels
Study 9 – Conscious Interference
Study 10 – On Knowledge & Creativity
Study 11 – Observing the Piano 1/2
Study 12 – Observing the Piano 2/2
Study 13 – Practormance 1/2
Study 14 – Practormance 2/2
Study 15 – The Hands Illusion
Study 16 – Understanding Limits
Study 17 – The Expertise Illusion
Study 18 –  Listening Eyes, Seeing Ears
Study 19 –  Daily Practice
Study 20 –  Extremities in Practice
Study 21 - The Destinationless Journey

257 Pages


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A Philosophical Approach to Playing the Piano

Read this book in the knowledge that my method comes from my own experiences, realisations, discoveries and philosophies as a pianist over the last two decades.  I wrote it only to share all of this with as many people as possible for their own benefit in addition to my freely available blog articles, YouTube videos and Podcasts.


 
Each chapter title, plus the three main focus points under each, has been targeted for your progressive benefit.  Simply by looking at the titles below, you will come to realise that I do not focus only on theory or the fingers but quite significantly on the mind.  The body follows the mind, so why not start in the correct place?

Playing the piano is: mind>body>piano, not piano>body>mind.
This is what makes studying with me quite unique; not only will you learn the same knowledge which is available online, you will primarily develop confidence, be encouraged and truly believe in You as a pianist without technical boundaries or physical limitations and, as a result, become an exceptional, Purposeful Pianist.

What I offer is a philosophical approach, a way to develop your mind and remove any doubt; a promise that, as long as you subscribe to the principle that the repetition of a positive ideal results only in its manifestation, you will succeed.  This is not a spiritual, hippy-like approach; far from it.  It is a fact understood and applied by the greatest minds, including great pianists, since the earliest possible times.

The chapter titles are as follows:

Chapter 1 - Becoming an Excellent Adult Learner
Chapter 2 – Getting Your Bearings
Chapter 3 – Ways of Playing Notes
Chapter 4 – Signatures and Circles
Chapter 5 – Chordially Yours
Chapter 6 – Putting It All Together
Chapter 7 – Memorising Songs Quickly
Chapter 8 – Playing the Blues
Chapter 9 – Lessons from Liszt
Chapter 10 – Going Further

253 Pages


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A Philosophical Approach to Jazz Piano

 
Are you a student wishing to enter the world of jazz piano without being overwhelmed?  Are you a classical piano teacher who is having to learn some jazz 'stuff' in order to keep ahead of your eager students?  This eBook will be your saviour; it's detailed enough to explain the theory without confusing you, with audio files to assist, and is casual enough to not be a sweating chore at the piano.  Rather, it is to be read away from the piano.  The philosophical approach is what makes this book different to any other book on jazz which always discuss the theory only, rather than educating you on how to play from the inside, out (in other words, from your emotional centre).

Over my years as a jazz pianist in various hotels and restaurants and as a tutor for various students of all levels and backgrounds, many things have come to my attention which I have not found in any book on jazz so, with all these things in mind, I decided to get them out and share them with the world; with any and all aspiring jazz pianists.

In a nutshell, the book is based on the principle of a 'Purposeful Pianist' meaning that, although you may well know lots of songs, scales and chords, that is not enough to actually play jazz well.  You may have good finger dexterity and be a strong sight-reader, but that is not enough to actually play jazz well.  The Purposeful Pianist knows what s/he is playing, why, when and how.  S/he knows how to capture the 'emotional centre' of the listener and himself; s/he knows how to recognise patterns and never get lost in an improvisation.

Please also note that there is no 'score' example available for the audio files.  The reason for this is that jazz is about listening and playing by feel, not by reading.  Also, I do not want you to sit at the piano when you read this, and having a score will encourage you to do so.

Internalise what is written, feel and imagine it on your internal piano (as discussed at length in the book) and be surprised with the results.  There are enough jazz books out there with scores in them but my book is completely different; that's why I wrote it.

The book contains 210 pages (depending on your reader) covering over 10 chapters and has nearly 100 audio samples to accompany the text and show what I am talking about when referring to the piano keys.  It urges you to become aware of your 'internal piano' and teaches how to learn jazz tunes and their chord progressions in seemingly impossible time.

The chapter titles are follows:

Chapter 1 – Playing For a Purpose
Chapter 2 – Getting a Feel for the Jazz Medium
Chapter 3 – Learning Pieces Quickly
Chapter 4 – Transitioning Towards a Jazz Frame of Mind
Chapter 5 – Listening to Jazz, Not Hearing Jazz
Chapter 6 – Jazz Chords and Their Tonal Qualities
Chapter 7 – Thought Processes Whilst Playing
Chapter 8 – Note Value Awareness
Chapter 9 – The Art of Improvising From Within
Chapter 10 – Analyses of Sample Improvisations
Chapter 11 – Final Thoughts

239 Pages

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