When asked about school chairs, FM Alexander is quoted as saying “We need to educate our children, not our furniture.” The same can be said about the piano stool – it is far more profound and fundamental to learn to change one’s coordination than to learn where to put one’s stool. The former also informs the latter. We can look to Alexander Technique not for a prescribed position of piano stool, but for principles which can guide our decision making.

2 hours? 4 hours? 8 hours? 12 hours? How much is enough? Is there such a thing as practising too much? Is there an optimal number of hours that one should practice? Some of the great artists of the 20th century have shared their thoughts on these questions. I seem to recall reading an interview with Rubinstein years ago, in which he stated that nobody should have to practice more than four hours a day, explaining that if you needed to practice more than four hours a day, you probably weren’t doing it right.

Piano instruction books often depict ‘the right posture for playing piano.’ They may illustrate a pianist with a straight back, feet on the floor, and forearms parallel to the floor. There are advantages and disadvantages to presenting images like this. If a student were to hold this position, the holding may become very limiting for piano technique, not to mention tiring! Through an investigation into positive poise, we can explore some principles of coordination for playing.

Forty plus years and the metronome still ticks beats to the minute, be it a mechanical pendulum, electronic or my Steinway app!

Celebrating Forty Years of Membership. Every year, the VMTA acknowledges members who have reached their membership milestone of forty years. Here are some reflections from two of our members, Maxine Shell and Patricia West.