The High Finger Piano Technique in China: Past, Present, and Future

University of Iowa
Iowa Research Online

Theses and Dissertations
Spring 2018
The high finger piano technique in China: past,

present, and future
Mo Xu
University of Iowa
Copyright © 2018 Mo Xu
This dissertation is available at Iowa Research Online: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/6342
Recommended Citation
Xu, Mo. "The high finger piano technique in China: past, present, and future." DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) thesis, University of
Iowa, 2018.
https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.958y0uxp
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd
Part of the Music Commons

THE HIGH FINGER PIANO TECHNIQUE IN CHINA:
PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
by
Mo Xu
An essay submitted in partial

fulfillment of the requirements for
the Doctor of Musical Arts degree
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
May 2018
Essay Supervisor: Professor Alan Huckleberry

Copyright by
MO XU
2018
All Rights Reserved

Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
____________________________
D.M.A. ESSAY
_________________
This is to certify that the D.M.A. Essay of
Mo Xu
has been approved by the Examining Committee for

the essay requirement for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree
at the May 2018 graduation.
Essay Committee: ____________________________________________

Alan Huckleberry, Essay Supervisor
____________________________________________
Uriel Tsachor
____________________________________________
Réne Lecuona
____________________________________________
Anthony Arnone
____________________________________________
Nathan Platte
To Dr. Alan Huckleberry
ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This is the first time I have written a paper of this length. I could not have finished
it without the help of Dr. Huckleberry. I am extremely grateful for his willingness to work
on my essay with me and for his support throughout the process. I would especially like to
thank Dr. Tsachor, who helped me become a better pianist and taught me the importance
of the right technical approach. Special thanks to Dr. Lecuona, Prof. Arnone and Dr. Platte
for providing me with many helpful comments and for taking the time out of their busy
schedules to be on my committee. I would also like to thank my editor, Mrs. Barbara
Huckleberry, who made my English less awkward and transformed my essay to another
level.
Thanks to my parents, my parents-in-law and my husband for their great support
during this difficult time in my life!
iii

PUBLIC ABSTRACT
The high finger piano technique is an approach to playing the piano which
focuses on training the fingers to have extreme independence. The fingers are required to
function in the extreme ranges of motion, lifting high before each strike of the key. This
is an outdated technique from nineteenth century Europe, where the Lebert-Stark high
finger school successfully promoted this technique in European conservatories. It was
introduced to China at the beginning of the twentieth century, shortly after pianos began
to be imported. From that point forward, this technique became the standard for Chinese
pianists. Meanwhile, the high finger technique was abandoned by most pianists in the
West in the twentieth century. Instead, the modern piano technique, which focuses on
anatomical and scientific analysis, became the mainstream.
In order to establish China’s place in the history of piano playing and technique, I
will provide a brief overview of the history and how China developed from it. I will
demonstrate evidence for why the high finger school became popular and why it persisted
throughout the twentieth century. Finally, I will discuss current trends in Chinese piano
pedagogy and provide a guide for how the future development of a healthy, informed
technique might look.
iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………vi
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS………………………............1
CHAPTER 2 AN OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF PIANO TECHNIQUE……10
The Beginning of Keyboard Technique……………………………….10

The Invention of Pianofortes…………………………………………13
Piano Technique in the Classical Period………………………………14
Liszt, Lebert-Stark and Leschetizky…………………………….…….20
The Weight School…………………………………………………….27
The Modern Technique………………………………………………..29
CHAPTER 3 HISTORY OF PIANO TECHNIQUE IN CHINA…………………….32
The Piano Arrives in China…………………………………………....32

The Earliest Piano Teachers…………………………………………...32
The National Conservatory in Shanghai and Two Influential Pianists..33
The Second Sino-Japanese War……………………………………..42
The Civil War………………………………………………………….44
Help from the Soviet Union…………………………………………...45
Chinese Students in Western Countries……………………………….47
The Cultural Revolution……………………………………………….48
The New Start…………………………………………………………49
Successful Young Chinese Pianists and Their Teachers………………55
The Current Status of Chinese Piano Pedagogy………………………59
CHAPTER 4 FUTURE OUTLOOK AND CONCLUSION.........................................60
Excessive Force………………………………………………………...63
The Importance of a Flexible Wrist………………………………...….64
The Importance of Forearm Rotation…………………………………..66
High Finger Technique and Timing……………………………………68
Exercises and Drills…………………………………………………….71
Famous Young Chinese Pianists……………………………………….72
BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………..73
v

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1 Muscles of the Forearm………………………………………………………..6-7
2 Hand and Wrist, X-Ray…………………………………………………………..8
3 Chopin Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48 No. 1, measures 1-10……….……..64
4 Chopin Etude in C Major, Op. 10 No. 1, measures 1-5…………………….......65
5 Chopin Etude in F Minor, Op. 10 No. 9, measures 1-8………………………...66
6 Liszt “Vallée d’Obermann,” measures 119-122……………………………….67
7 Prokofiev Etude in D Minor, Op. 2 No. 1, measures 19-26…………………….68
8 Chopin Nocturne in D-Flat Major, Op. 27 No. 2, measures 1-6………………..70
9 Mozart Sonata in C Major, K.545, 1st movement, measures 1-13…………….. 71
vi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS
Today the piano is the most popular instrument in China. The success of Chinese
pianists, such as Lang Lang, Yundi Li and Yuja Wang, has motivated numerous Chinese
parents to have their children engage in Western classical music education. Many
professional Chinese pianists have studied abroad and brought back valuable new
information from the Western world. The average level of Chinese pianists today is much
higher than thirty years ago. However, despite the fast development of Western classical
music in China, the field of piano pedagogy is still very conservative in China. The high-
finger technique remains the mainstream of Chinese piano pedagogy. Most Chinese piano
teachers require their students to maintain an overly rounded hand shape and to practice
with high fingers. This essay discusses how the high finger technique was introduced and
developed in China and how the Chinese piano school relates to the history of the
Western piano world. Reginald Gerig’s book Famous Pianists & Their Technique is one
of the most comprehensive books about the history of piano technique.1 However, it does
not include the history of piano technique in China or Asia. This essay addresses that gap.
To help in understanding this essay, a short explanation about the finger school,
the high finger school and the weight school is provided here. In order to fully understand
the pros and cons of a given technical school or thought, it is important to have an
understanding of the anatomy of the playing apparatus. However, as an in-depth
discussion of this topic would extremely expand the scope of this essay, I will refer to

1
Reginald R. Gerig, Famous Pianists & Their Technique (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana
University Press, 2007).
1

other publications for the reader to consult if wanting more information.2 Finger school
technique focuses on training the fingers’ strength, independence and rapidity. Although
arm relaxation and easy movement are always mentioned, most attention is given to the
finger action. Teachers often require students to maintain an overly rounded hand shape.
Finger school also has strict rules about posture, elbow position and wrist position. Slow
practice and finger exercises are often used in teaching. The high finger school is a
branch of the finger school. It also focuses on developing finger independence. It also
uses an overly rounded hand shape. However, the high finger school requires that every
finger should be raised to an unnecessary height and should then strike the key rapidly.
This technique is often practiced very slowly, with great emphasis on the extreme
movements, both upwards and downwards. The weight school focuses on releasing arm
weight and relaxation. Finger movement always has a passive role in playing and arm
movement is often exaggerated, which is the opposite of the high finger school.
Before the nineteenth century, the finger school technique was the trend in
Europe. Although pianists addressed finger strength and finger independence, most of
them used a low finger action----fingers move up and down in a small range. Most of the
time, fingertips are close to the keyboard. The high finger technique is a descendent of
the finger school technique. It was first brought to a systematic level by Sigmund Lebert
and Ludwig Stark in Germany in the middle of the nineteenth century and was soon

2
Otto Ortmann, The Physiological Mechanics of Piano Technique (New York: E. P. Dutton &
Co., Inc., 1929).
Thomas Mark, What Every Pianist Needs to Know About the Body (Chicago: GIA Publications,
Inc., 2003).
Ian Winspur and Christopher B Wynn Parry, ed., The Musician’s Hand: A Clinical Guide
(London: Martin Dunitz Ltd, 1998).
2

promoted successfully throughout Europe.3 While the high finger technique was widely
used, the weight school appeared in the second half of the nineteenth century. The most
influential figure from the weight school was Rudolf Breithaupt.4 Both the high finger
school and the weight school were very influential. In the twentieth century, Western
pianists started to analyze piano technique from a scientific and anatomical point of view.
Otto Ortmann conducted and observed many experiments regarding pianists’ movements
in his lab.5 He also defined the difference between relaxation and coordination. A
coordinated movement requires just the right amount of relaxation. Too much or too little
relaxation cause uncoordinated movement.6 This scientific approach led to a unified
technique, where pianists use weight, rotation, and finger action to produce efficient and
healthy performances. This has since become the foundation for most pianists in Europe
and North America.
Serious Chinese piano education did not start until the twentieth century. The two
most influential early piano teachers were Boris Zakharoff and Mario Paci. Zakharoff
was a student of Leschetizky’s student, Anna Yesipova. Paci was a student of Liszt’s
student, Giovanni Sgambati. My research has found it was highly likely that both taught
the high finger technique, which has been in the mainstream of Chinese piano pedagogy
ever since. Although the Russian teachers introduced a healthier technique approach for
Chinese pianists in the 1950s, this progress was halted by the Cultural Revolution. After

3
Sigismund Lebert and Louis Stark, Theoretical and Practical Piano-School: for Systematic
Instruction in All Branches of Piano-Playing (New York: G. Schirmer, Inc., 187-?).
4
Rudolf Maria Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic Vol. 2: School of Weight Touch, A Practical
Preliminary School of Technic Teaching the Natural Manner of Playing by Utilizing the Weight
of the Arm (Leipzig: C. F. Kahnt Nachfolger).
5
Co., Inc., 1929).
6
Ibid., 100.
3

the Cultural Revolution, Chinese piano teachers returned to the traditional high finger
technique. During the last twenty years, many Chinese piano teachers have criticized the
high finger technique and have adopted a more modern approach. However, the high
finger technique continues to be the most popular technique in China.
In order to help enact change, it is important to first understand what is currently
being taught. This helps define the problem and thus the potential dangers of the current
pedagogy. In China, piano teachers from the high finger school require the students to lift
the fingers extremely high before depressing the keys. They are expected to extend the
fingers into the extreme range of motion. Students are asked to practice everything very
slowly. Every note is treated as a separate action, which has three steps: lifting the finger
high, striking the key very fast and relaxing after the attack. It is believed that this method
can make fingers equally strong. While different teachers have different standards about
how high the fingers should be lifted, most Chinese piano teachers require the students to
lift the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th fingers at least as high as the metacarpal joints. The 4th finger is
lifted as high as possible. The thumb is not as well defined. Students are also required to
keep an overly curled hand shape while lifting the fingers. This technique as described
here is very similar to the Lebert and Stark method.
Research and a more detailed knowledge of anatomy have shown that the high
finger technique can be dangerous and inefficient.
1. Movements of curling the fingers and lifting the fingers require two opposite sets of
muscles (Figure 1).7 Curling the fingers requires the flexor muscles to contract, which are

7
Thomas Mark, What Every Pianist Needs to Know About the Body (Chicago: GIA Publications,
Inc., 2003), 105-107.
4

on the lower side of the forearm, while lifting the fingers requires the extensor muscles,
which are on the top of the forearm, to contract.8 When one set of muscles contracts, the
opposite set needs to release to ease the movement. If the opposite set contracts at the
same time, co-contraction will happen, which causes tension and injury.9
2. Secondly, exerting force upon the key after it has been depressed can be equally
injurious, but more importantly it is unnecessary as it does not change the sound.
3. Each time a pianist lifts a finger higher than necessary, time is wasted, excess stress is
put on the tendons and joints, and it makes the exact moment of impact on the key more
difficult to line up.
4. The high finger school focuses mainly on strengthening fingers. Many Chinese piano
teachers also talk about training “fingertip muscles.” However, there are no muscles on
the fingertips and only some small muscles in our hands. Most muscles that move the
fingers are in the forearms. 10
5. The high-finger technique is also associated with a low wrist position, which is also
dangerous. The wrist consists of eight small bones, four in each row (Figure 2). It also
has three joints instead of one. The low wrist position compresses those bones, which
makes the movement more difficult and puts stress on the tendons.11

8
Ibid., 107.
9
Ibid., 141.
10
Ibid., 105-107.
11
Ibid., 88-91, 141.
5

A B
Figure 1 A, B The Deep Muscles of the Forearm: A, front; B, back.12

12
Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body (Philadelphia and New York: Lea and Febiger, 1918)
6

C D
Figure 1 C, D The Superficial Muscles of the Forearm: C, front; D, back.13

13
Ibid.
7

Figure 2 Hand and Wrist, X-Ray14

14
James Martin, Practical Electro-Therapeutics and X-Ray Therapy (St. Louis: C.V. Mosby,
1912).
8

The weight school is also a flawed technique approach. Complete relaxation
means no muscle should be working. However, in order to move the body, certain
muscles need to “work”. A coordinated movement requires a certain set of muscles to
contract and the opposite set to release. The weight school also ignores the necessity of
finger movement. Although the high finger technique is harmful, certain finger
movement is necessary and should have as an important role as the arm movements.
Modern piano technique does not focus on either finger training or arm weight.
The goal of modern piano technique is to develop coordinated movements, and this is
supported by scientific observations and analysis. All the body parts are considered, and
finger movements and arm movements are both important. Pianists learn how to use
muscles properly and efficiently. Modern piano technique is a much healthier technique
approach than both the finger school and the weight school.
9

CHAPTER 2: AN OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF PIANO TECHNIQUE
The Beginning of Keyboard Technique
The finger school technique can be traced back to the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries. Harpsichord, clavichord and organ were the most common keyboard
instruments before the pianoforte was invented. Those early keyboard instruments had
much lighter keys as compared to the modern piano. Therefore, the keyboardists could
press the keys very easily without feeling much resistance.
The earliest important keyboard method was described in Il Transilvano, written
by Girolamo Diruta (1554-1610) in Venice around 1600.15 He gave some detailed
instructions on technique and pointed out the importance of relaxation and easy
movements;16 he also addressed the proposition that “the arm leads the hand.”17 In
addition to those quite advanced ideas, he also said the hand must be held strictly on the
same level as the arm, neither higher nor lower.18 Diruta also set up the rules about
holding the chest and head and not having any body movements.19
Diruta also believed that certain fingers and notes are “good”, and others are
“bad”.20 The English system and the Italian system had different opinions about which

15
Reginald R. Gerig, Famous Pianists & Their Technique (Bloomington and Indianapolis:
Indiana University Press, 2007), 11.
16
Edward John Soehnlein, “Diruta on the Art of Keyboard-Playing: An Annotated Translation
and Transcription of Il Transilvano” (PhD dissertation, University of Michigan, 1975), 127, 128.
17
Ibid., 127.
18
Ibid., 123.
19
Ibid., 123.
20
Ibid., 135-137.
10

fingers are good and which fingers are bad. However, they shared the view that fingers
are different from each other and certain fingers create certain sounds.21
Michel de Saint Lambert’s (1610-1696) Les Principes du Clavecin (The
Principles of the Harpsichord) and Francois Couperin’s (1668-1733) L’ Art de Toucher le
Clavecin (The Art of Playing the Harpsichord) were the most important early method
books in France in the early eighteenth century.22 Although they are different in detail,
they both emphasize the importance of posture and hand position. They agreed that the
hand, wrist and elbow should always be on the same level, which was very similar to
Diruta’s viewpoint.23
Jean Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) was probably the one who started to set
stricter rules for hands and fingers. Rameau was one of the earliest keyboardists who
started using high finger actions. However, he only used high fingers for the purpose of
training and stated clearly that it should not be the ultimate goal. In his Méthode sur la
Mécanique des doigts sur le Clavessin (Method on Harpsichord Fingerings), he worte:
When you practice trills, lift the fingers alternately as high as possible, but
the more you advance in training, the less you need this lifting and finally it is
transformed into an easy and rapid action.24
Johann Sebastian Bach’s (1685-1750) technique was not that much different from
his contemporaries. The author Johann Nicolaus Forkel mentioned that Bach used many

21
Gerig, 13.
22
Ibid., 13-14
23
Monsieur de Saint Lambert, Principles of the Harpsichord, edited and translated by Rebecca
Harris-Warrick (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1984), 74.
Francois Couperin, The Art of Playing the Harpsichord, edited and translated by Margery Halford
(USA: Alfred Publishing Co.), 29-30.
24
Gerig, 17-18.
11

finger exercises when teaching beginners.25 He also emphasized the need for “clearness
and distinctness.”26 Bach was also into the idea of fixed finger positions and curled
fingers. Forkel wrote:
According to Sebastian Bach’s manner of placing the hand on the keys,
the five fingers are bent so that their points come into a straight line, and so fit
the keys, which lie in a plane surface under them, that no single finger has to be
drawn nearer when it is wanted, but each one is ready over the key which it may
have to press down.27
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) and George Frederick Handel (1685-1759) were
also important keyboardists during J.S Bach’s period. Scarlatti was especially famous for
his virtuosic playing. The most important figure who came after them was Carl Philipp
Emanuel Bach (1714-1788). His technique method is not much different from his father,
J. S. Bach. He also advocated for a rounded hand position and the relaxation of the arms.
In his treatise Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen (Essay on the True Art
of Playing Keyboard Instruments), he wrote:
In playing, the fingers should be arched and the muscles relaxed. The less
these two conditions are satisfied, the more attention must be given to them.
Stiffness hampers all movement, above all the constantly required rapid
extension and contraction of the hands. All stretches, the omission of certain
fingers, even the indispensable crossing of the fingers and turning of the thumb

25
Johann Nikolaus Forkel, editied by Charles Sanford Terry, Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life,
Art, And Work (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Howe, 1920), 93-94.
26
Ibid., 94.
27
Gerig, 20.

12

demand this elastic ability. Those who play with flat, extended fingers suffer
from one principal disadvantage in addition to awkwardness; the fingers,
because of their length, are too far removed from the thumb, which should
always remain as close as possible to the hand.28
From the discussion above, we can conclude that early keyboardists promoted
finger school technique. Most early keyboardists focused on the finger action much more
than on the movements of the arms and other body parts. They also had strict rules about
hand and wrist positions. Almost all of them addressed the importance of relaxation and
the ease of movements, which should not be neglected. Although the high finger action
was used by Rameau for training, most of the early keyboardists used low finger actions.
The Invention of Pianofortes
The first pianoforte was built around 1700 by Bartolommeo Cristofori from Italy
and was called a Gravicembalo col piano e forte.29 The shape of the first pianoforte was
similar to a large harpsichord. From the two Cristofori pianofortes we still have today, we
can see that the escapement action and the check of the hammer’s return to its original
place already existed.30
The first German pianoforte builder was Gottfried Silbermann. He did not use the
Cristofori hammer check.31 In 1736, Silbermann sent one of his pianofortes to J.S. Bach

28
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Translated and edited by William J. Mitchell, Essay on the True
Art of Playing keyboard Instruments (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1949), 42-43.
29
Jeremy Montagu, “Pianoforte,” The Oxford Companion to Music, accessed September 24, 2017,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com
30
Gerig, 37.
31
Ibid., 37-38
13

for his opinion. Bach adored the tone of the instrument, but he complained that the high
register was too weak and the keys were too heavy, which made it difficult to play.
Although this statement deeply offended Silbermann, he seriously began to think about
how to improve the instrument. He later sent his pianoforte back to J.S Bach and this time
Bach was very pleased.32
The next two famous pianoforte builders were Johann Andreas Stein and his son-
in-law, Johann Andreas Streicher. Stein started using the escapement action from 1770
and Streicher later added the hammer check.33 Their instrument was very popular and
successful and was praised by musicians at that time, including Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart (1756-1791).34
Piano Technique in the Classical Period
Because the pianoforte was an instrument modeled after the harpsichord and
clavichord, most of the early piano players applied the harpsichord/clavichord technique
to this new keyboard instrument. Finger school technique was still the mainstream idea.
The most influential figures from this period were Mozart, Muzio Clementi (1752-1832),
Johann Baptist Cramer (1771-1858), Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837), Ludwig
van Beethoven (1770-1827) and Carl Czerny (1791-1857).
Mozart’s piano technique was representative of the Viennese piano technique.35
He had a “physical approach that ruled out all affectation and unnecessary movement----

32
Ibid., 37-38.
33
Ibid., 38.
34
Ibid., 38.
35
Ibid., 52.
14

still largely the finger and hand technique of the harpsichord.”36 Mozart first learned
keyboard skills on the harpsichord and clavichord when he was a child. In 1777 he met
Stein, and the pianoforte became his favorite. The Stein pianos had very light action37
which led Mozart’s piano technique to be not much different from the harpsichord and
clavichord technique. One piece of evidence is that Mozart preferred playing passages in
a non-legato style, which came from the harpsichord aesthetics.38 When it came to
teaching, Mozart emphasized practicing scales and drills. He wrote about his teaching
plan:
Lock up all her music, cover the keys with a hand-kerchief and make her
practice, first with the right hand and then with the left, nothing but scales, trills,
mordants and so forth, very slowly at first, until each hand should be properly
trained.39
The beginning of a true pianoforte technique was implemented by Clementi.40 He
wrote two important piano documents: Introduction to the Art of Playing the Pianoforte
and Gradus ad Parnassum. In the first book, Clementi gave detailed technique
instructions. He mentioned the idea of the equality and strength of the fingers,41 which
was later brought to another level by the Lebert-Stark piano school and the Hannon
exercises. Clementi pointed out the importance of practicing legato.42 He also used the

36
Ibid., 52.
37
Michael Latcham, “Stein, Johann Andreas,” Grove Music Online, accessed September 24, 2017,
38
Gerig, 52-53
39
Ibid., 54.
40
Ibid., 59.
41
Muzio Clementi, Introduction to the Art of Playing the Pianoforte, Op. 42 (London: Clementi,
Banger, Hyde, Collard & Davis, 1803), 15.
42
Ibid., 8-9.
15

word “strike” instead of “press”, which is quite different from the light touch of the
harpsichord and clavichord technique. Clementi also set up rules for arm position and
hand shape:
The hand and arm should be held in a horizontal direction; neither
depressing nor raising the wrist; the seat should therefore be adjusted
accordingly. The fingers and thumb should be placed over the keys, always
ready to strike, bending the fingers in, more or less in proportion to their length.
All unnecessary motion should be avoided. Let the pupil now begin to practice,
slowly at first the following passage; observing to keep down the first key till
the next has been struck, and so on.43
Johann Nepomuk Hummel was probably more successful and better known as a
teacher than as a performer. He was a direct pianistic descendent of Mozart and Clementi
and represents the culmination of the Viennese era.44 His method book, A Complete
Theoretical and Practical Course of Instruction on the Art of Playing the Piano Forte
commencing with the Simplest Elementary Principles, and including every information
requisite to the Most Finished Style of Performance, was published in Weimar in 1828.45
This book was one of the most important works on piano technique and playing in the
nineteenth century. However, the length of this treatise has caused it to be somewhat
overlooked in more recent times.
In addition to fundamental concepts, five-finger exercises and other illustrations,
Hummel gave very detailed instructions on piano technique. He insisted on a rounded

43
Ibid., 14-15.
44
Gerig, 65.
45
Gerig, 69-70.
16

hand shape and generally continued Mozart’s and Clementi’s technique style.46 Although
he addressed the importance of the right touch,47 his piano technique was entirely finger-
based and was not that much more advanced than Clementi’s.
Beethoven was an independent thinker, and his playing was ahead of his time. He
saw music as a way to express human nature and was free from the mechanical side of
piano playing.48 Beethoven did not write a method book, but many of his technical ideas
were very advanced. Gerig remarked:
Beethoven was working for fullness of tone and was concerned that the
power of the arm should back up the fingers…….Beethoven desired above all
else to set nineteenth century piano technique upon a course of complete
naturalness and freedom, totally serving the spiritual depths of the worthiest of
the keyboard literature. 49
Czerny, more of a successful piano teacher than a performer or a composer,
contributed to the piano history in a unique way. Czerny became a piano teacher very
early in his life. At the age of fifteen, he already had many students and asked for a
decent lesson fee. After that he devoted his whole life to this occupation.50 Czerny was
greatly influenced by Beethoven’s playing style and studied with Beethoven between

46
Johann Nepomuk Hummel, A Complete Theoretical and Practical Course of Instruction on the
Art of Playing the Piano Forte commencing with the Simplest Elementary Principles, and
including every information requisite to the Most Finished Style of Performance (London: T.
Boosey, 1828), 2-4.
47
Ibid., 4.
48
Gerig, 81.
49
Ibid., 91, 100-101.
50
Stephan D. Lindeman, “Czerny, Carl,” Grove Music Online, accessed September 24, 2017,
17

1799 and 1802. Beethoven addressed legato playing throughout his teaching.51 He also
had the chance to observe Clementi’s teaching and was grateful for the experience.52
Even though Beethoven realized the limitation of the finger school technique and
considered technique as a tool to express music, Czerny was very passionate about
writing exercises and etudes. Czerny believed that practice was the key to solving almost
any technical problem.53 Thomas Fielden, the author of The History of the Evolution of
Pianoforte Technique, wrote about Czerny’s method:
One must suppose that they went on till their hands ached and hoped for
the best, and that the fittest survived. Possibly massage was used, as advocated
by Couperin.54
In general, Czerny’s technique still represented the old finger school. It is
however difficult to imagine that he would have used this technique exclusively when he
performed Beethoven’s works. Czerny’s vast output of etudes has certainly been abused
for the high finger school. Czerny did not do himself any favors by insisting on a
motionless playing manner with curled fingers.55 However it should be mentioned that
Czerny was also opposed to lifting fingers high during playing. He wrote in opus 500:
Before anything else, it must be observed that the crescendo should never
be produced by a visible exertion of the hands, or by lifting up the fingers higher
than usual, when we are playing legato; but only by an increased internal action

51
Ibid.
52
Ibid.
53
Gerig, 108.
54
Ibid., 109.
55
Carl Czerny, Complete Theoretical and Practical Piano Forte School, Op. 500, Vol. 1 (London:
R. Cocks & Co., 1839), 1-2.
18

of the nerves, and by a greater degree of weight, which the hand receives
therefrom, without however fettering the flexibility of the fingers.56
Since Czerny was greatly influenced by Beethoven, it is unlikely that he was a
descendent of only the finger school technique.57 He represented the finger school, but
his technique was more than that. Czerny forbade any unnecessary movement and
admitted that some movements of the arms and body were also contributing to piano
playing. In Letters to a Young Lady on the Art of Playing the Pianoforte, he wrote:
Do not suppose, however, that you are to sit at the piano as stiff and cold
as a wooden doll. Some graceful movements are necessary while playing; it is
only the excess that must be avoided.58
In general, the main stream of piano technique in the classical period was still the
finger school technique, which was greatly influenced by the early keyboard technique.
Most pianists from this period tried to overcome technical difficulties by simply making
the fingers work harder. Therefore, numerous exercises and etudes were composed. It
should be mentioned that the pianos in the classical period were much lighter than the
modern pianos. It is more understandable that most pianists from this period were still
focusing on the finger action. Even though the word “strike” was commonly used in
method books, the high finger technique had not entered the mainstream yet.

56
Carl Czerny, Complete Theoretical and Practical Piano Forte School, Op. 500, Vol. 3 (London:
R. Cocks & Co., 1839), 15.
57
Gerig, 109.
58
Carl Czerny, Letters to a Young Lady on the Art of Playing the Pianoforte (London: R. Cocks
& Co., 18??), 32.

19

Liszt, Lebert-Stark and Leschetizky
In the Romantic period, public concerts became more popular, and orchestras
grew in size. As a result, more concert halls were built.59 Pianos became much bigger and
heavier.60 The heavier action was a challenge to many pianists who were used to playing
the light classical pianoforte. Early in the nineteenth century, Frederic Chopin (1810-
1849) explored the use of a natural hand shape, flexible wrist and forearm rotation.61 He
planned on writing a method book at the end of his life. Unfortunately, he never finished
the project and the manuscript was very hard to read.62 In the second half of the
nineteenth century, piano technique was divided into two schools---the high finger school
and the new weight school. To overcome the heavier action, the high finger school
believed that by lifting the fingers high and striking the keys very fast, the fingers would
become stronger and more independent. The weight school believed that the fingers
should have a passive role in piano playing and pianists should use the natural arm
weight and relaxation all the time. It is an interesting period in piano history, as the two
schools had dramatically different ideas about piano technique and both had strong
supporters.
Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was a great natural performer, whose technique went far
beyond his time.63 While he is purported to have discouraged forearm rotation, Liszt’s

59
Michael Hurd and John Borwick, “Concert Halls,” The Oxford Companion to Music, accessed
September 25, 2017, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com
60
Cynthia Adams Hoover and Edwin M. Good, “Piano,” Grove Music Online, accessed
September 24, 2017, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com
61
Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger, ed., Chopin: Pianist and Teacher as Seen by His Pupils (Cambridge
University Press, 1986).
62
Gerig, 167-168.
63
Alan Walker, “Liszt, Franz, 9: Liszt and the Piano,” Grove Music Online, accessed September
25, 2017, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com
20

technique is the source of ongoing debate. It is relatively clear that he started out with a
traditional finger school technique. In 1819 Liszt met Czerny, who was bothered by
Liszt’s fingering and technique at first but was also impressed by Liszt’s ability and
talent.64 Liszt started teaching very early in his life65 and taught the old finger school
technique in his early years. His teaching style was very similar to his teacher Czerny.
Below is an excerpt from his student’s mother’s diary:
The first lesson was devoted to posture, hand position, and two etudes by
Bertini. Liszt wants the body held straight, with the head bent slightly backward
rather than forward. There must be nothing suggestive of tension in the way the
hands are held, but they can move with grace when the musical text warrants it.
However, one must never play from the arms and the shoulders. He insists very
much on these points.66
Liszt’s later teaching style was quite different from his early years. Since he only
took advanced students and did not give that many technical instructions,67 his students
could have completely different technical styles. Even though Liszt did not give much
technical advice to his students later in his life, his exercise collection Technical Studies
for the Pianoforte, which was composed between 1868 and 1873, shows strong evidence

64
Alan Walker, “Liszt, Franz, 1: Early Childhood,” Grove Music Online, accessed September 25,
2017, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com
65
Alan Walker, “Liszt, Franz, 23: Liszt as Teacher,” Grove Music Online, accessed September 25,
66
Gerig, 181.
67
Alan Walker, “Liszt, Franz, 23: Liszt as Teacher,” Grove Music Online, accessed September 25,
21

of the finger school technique. This twelve-book collection includes exercises for all of
the patterns Liszt could possibly think of.68
Book I was named Exercises for gaining strength and independence of each
individual finger with quiet hand, and chord-studies.69 The concept of finger
independence and a quiet hand are classical finger school style. Most exercises in this
book require the pianist to hold certain keys still and repetitively strike other keys. Many
exercises in this collection are remarkably similar to the Hanon exercises. They are not
musical in any sense, and the two hands play in unison in most of the exercises.
There is no doubt that Liszt was a great effortless performer. However, it is
difficult to say how far he proceeded in the arm technique direction. Liszt might have
used arms and body intuitively, but he did not invent a true theory of arm technique in his
teaching. In fact, there is evidence showing that Liszt was greatly influenced by the finger
school technique. Along with the fact that his students had very different technique
styles, it is not surprising that Mario Paci, his student’s student, taught the high finger
technique in China and influenced numerous Chinese pianists in the twentieth century
(Details about Paci will be discussed in the third chapter).
Sigismund Lebert (1822-1884) and Ludwig Stark (1831-1884) were the main
founders of the Royal Conservatory in Stuttgart.70 The Lebert-Stark piano method
brought finger training to another level and started teaching a high-finger action, which
was made popular throughout Europe. Their method book, Theoretical and Practical
Piano-School: for Systematic Instruction in all Branches of Piano-Playing, was first

68
Franz Liszt, Technical Studies for the Pianoforte (Leipzig: J. Schuberth & Co., 1886-1888?).
69
Ibid.
70
Gerig, 230.
22

published in 1856 and soon became the most successful method book in Europe. When
the fifth edition was published around 1870, more than nineteen recommendation letters
were printed at the beginning of the first book.71 Liszt’s recommendation letter was
printed at the very beginning, in which Liszt said that this method “educates real
artists”.72 By the middle of the nineteenth century, many conservatories in Europe,
especially the ones in Germany, used the Lebert-Stark method.73 Gerig commented,
“Once this system was well established on the conservatory level, it became a thriving
business proposition and tended to perpetuate itself.”74
The Lebert-Stark high finger technique was a very dangerous technique. It
required curled fingers, lifting fingers and fixed joints.75 There was no consideration of
the involvement of the arms and body. This method was even more unhealthy than the
original finger school technique from the harpsichord/clavichord era, because it
emphasized fixed positions and barely addressed the importance of relaxation.
In the section “Theory of Technique”, Lebert and Stark gave detailed technical
instructions. Under “Position of the Arm”, they wrote:
The arm must form a straight line with the hand; because, if it is held
higher, we are apt to play with it, while, on the contrary, it should always be

71
Gerig, 230.
72
Instruction in All Branches of Piano-Playing (New York: G. Schirmer, Inc., 187-?), III.
73
Gerig, 230.
74
Ibid.
75
Instruction in All Branches of Piano-Playing (New York: G. Schirmer, Inc., 187-?), XXIII-XXIV.
23

perfectly quiet. If the arm be held too low, the hand has not full control of its
power.76
Under “Mechanism of the Piano”, they wrote,
The mechanism of the piano, whose most important principle rests upon
the rapid rising of the hammer from a fixed point, and the equally rapid falling
back into its first position, requires a corresponding counter-action on the part of
the hand. All the fingers must on an average be held firmly about one inch over
the keys (this, of course, depends upon the size of the hand), strike rapidly and
perpendicularly and just as rapidly return to their first position.77
Although Lebert and Stark said the arm should hang in an easy and loose
manner,78 all the instructions shown above imply a very stiff and mechanical technique
style. The words “held” and “strike” are frequently used. The rules about fingers and
hand position are stricter than ever as if the fingers should operate like a machine.
Charles-Louis Hanon (1819-1900) shared a similar view to the Lebert-Stark
school. He also believed in practicing with high fingers. His sixty exercises, published in
the 1870s, were widely used in Asian countries in the twentieth century. In the preface,
Hanon guaranteed that whoever practices those exercises everyday would overcome any
technical difficulties.79 At the beginning of Part 1, he wrote:

76
Instruction in All Branches of Piano-Playing (New York: G. Schirmer, Inc., 187-?), XXIV.
77
Ibid., XXIV.
78
Ibid., XXIII-XXIV.
79
Charles-Louis Hanon, The Virtuoso Pianist in Sixty Exercises (New York: G. Schirmer, 1900),
preface.
24

For studying the 20 exercises in this First Part, begin with the metronome
set at 60, gradually increasing the speed up to 108…….Lift the fingers high and
with precision, playing each note very distinctly.80
While Theodor Leschetizky’s (1830-1915) teaching career was mainly in St.
Petersburg and Vienna, his technique was also very similar to the mechanical high finger
technique of Lebert and Stark. Leschetizky always insisted that he did not have a method.
He said:
I have no method and I will have no method. Go to concerts and be sharp-
witted, and if you are observing you will learn tremendously from the ways that
are successful and also from those that are not. Adopt with your pupils the ways
that succeed with them, and get away as far as possible from the idea of a
method. Write over your music-room the motto: “NO METHOD!”81
Even though Leschetizky insisted that he did not have a specific method nor any
rule, his method book, written by his student Malwine Brée (1861-1937), has more than
enough rules. Leschetizky did not write the book, but he wrote a very passionate and
complimentary preface for the book. In the preface, he said the book can represent his
method and all the picture demonstrations in the book are indeed his hands.82 He told one
of his students:
Frau Brée is writing a book---- a book about my (long pause)----about my
method. One has to call it something, if one must write a book at all about the

80
Charles-Louis Hanon, The Virtuoso Pianist in Sixty Exercises (New York: G. Schirmer, 1900),
2.
81
Gerig, 273.
82
Malwine Brée, The Groundwork of the Leschetizky Method: Issued with His Approval (London:
Schott & Co., 1903), preface.
25

way to study. It is the most difficult thing to write about; and most books are
worse than useless. But hers will be good----as good as a book can be; but
method---well, method depends on the person you have before you.83
The technique shown in Brée’s method book is very similar to the Lebert-Stark
technique. It talks about lifting fingers and arched hand position. Brée wrote:
The hand should assume a decidedly vaulted form for, apart from the
unpleasing, amateurish impression made by playing with flat hands and fingers,
the only way to get strength into the fingers is to hold the hand rounded upward.
The wrist must be held somewhat lower than the knuckles, and the fingers so
curved that the tip-joints fall vertically on the keys, which are touched by the
tips of the fingers only…….When the finger is raised from the key, it must not
change its form, but remain curved. Bending the raised finger inward, or
stretching it out stiff and straight, does not look well, and is a waste of strength
at the expense of tone and velocity. 84
There is also evidence showing that Leschetizky indeed used curled fingers in his
playing.85 It also seems like he might have some stiffness and tension. Josef Hofmann
said, “I have not studied Leschetizky, but I think that he believes in a very low position of
the hand and a sort of super-energetic tension of the tendons of the arms and hands.”86
From the evidence above, we can conclude that it is highly possible that
Leschetizky used and taught the high finger technique. He might have even been

83
Gerig, 279.
84
Malwine Brée, The Groundwork of the Leschetizky Method: Issued with His Approval (London:
Schott & Co., 1903), 5-7.
85
Gerig, 277.
86
Ibid., 284.
26

influenced by the Lebert-Stark high finger school, as they share many common views,
like hand positions, lifting fingers and practicing drills. While some of Leschetizky’s
students had a very critical view of his technique, his method book was used by many
pianists.
The Weight School
While the Lebert-Stark high finger school was promoted successfully throughout
Europe, the weight school started to form and eventually became a big influence. William
Mason (1829-1908) and Ludwig Deppe (1828-1890) were the pioneers of the weight
school. They were the first pianists who pointed out the active participation of the upper
arms.87 Soon after them, Rudolf Maria Breithaupt (1873-1945) developed his own theory
about arm weight. His teaching is all about releasing weight and relaxation. Breithaupt
seemed to be confused about the difference between arm participation and complete
relaxation. Movements of fingers and hands were neglected so much that collapsing
became the new problem. The movements of the arms were too exaggerated which
interfered with playing. In the second volume of the Natural Piano-Technic, Breithaupt
explained the idea of “high-fall” and “low-fall” for playing successive notes. He wrote:
High-fall,” characterized by the projection of the weight of the arm from
below upward, in which the hand and arm, passing from the low position, below
the key-board, to the high position, execute a sort of recoil. In the low-fall the

87
Gerig, 236.
27

hand is straightened out, in the high-fall it is curved, suspended passively. The
movements in the high-fall are merely the inversion of those in the low-fall.88
The pictures he used along with those words show very exaggerated movements
of the arms. In the high-fall position, the whole arm is almost a straight line. While in the
low-fall position, the wrist is so low that the hand collapses on the keyboard.89 In general,
Breithaupt’s technique method pointed out the importance of relaxation and arm
movements, but his ideas can be confusing and contradictory at times.
Around the same time, Tobias Matthay (1858-1945) in England was also opposed
to the Lebert-Stark high finger school. Matthay wrote The Act of Touch around the same
time Breithaupt wrote The Natural Piano Technic. He was especially interested in tone
quality and tried to analyze how the key depression affects the tone.90 He tried to control
the key speed by using different types of attacks.91 He also addressed the importance of
forearm rotation.92 Although Matthay’s approach was not quite a scientific approach, he
encouraged arm participation. He also talked about releasing weight and making the arm
“lapse”, a method similar to Breithaupt.93 However, he seemed to understand the danger
of collapsing or over-relaxation.94

88
Rudolf Maria Breithaupt, Natural Piano-Technic Vol. 2: School of Weight Touch, A Practical
Preliminary School of Technic Teaching the Natural Manner of Playing by Utilizing the Weight
of the Arm (Leipzig: C. F. Kahnt Nachfolger), 20.
89
Ibid., 21.
90
Tobias Matthay, The Act of Touch in All Its Diversity: An Analysis and Synthesis of Pianoforte
Tone-Production (London: Bosworth & Co. LTD., 1903), 47-51.
91
Ibid., 101-119.
92
Ibid., 149-150
93
Ibid., 177-181.
94
Ibid., 181-182.
28

The Modern Technique
Pianists as early as Chopin and Liszt were already developing a modern unified
technique. With the advent of video in the early part of the 20th century, we have visual
evidence of how great performers such as Sergei Rachmaninoff, Josef Hofmann Josef
Lhevinne, and Walter Gieseking approached technique. This evidence, as well as aurally
passed on traditions from teacher to student, shows how technique was quickly
developing to using the whole body. Otto Ortmann (1889-1979) then led the cause to a
more scientific level. In the 1920s, Ortmann was in charge of the Peabody Laboratory,
which had many apparatus for experiments. When Ortmann made an experiment, he kept
a scientist’s attitude, i.e., he did not observe the experiments with any assumption in
mind, nor did he try to interpret the results in a way that fitted his personal theory.95 His
fields of interest included anatomy, physics and acoustics.96 Ortmann’s The Physiological
Mechanics of Piano Technique, written in 1929, documents the results of his findings.
The book has three parts, “The Physiological Organism,” “General Aspects of
Physiological Movement,” and “The Touch-Forms of Piano Technique”. In this book
Ortmann provided the readers detailed information about various joints and muscles that
are needed for piano playing from an anatomical point of view. He explained clearly the
capabilities of each joint. Ortmann also described various kinds of arm movement that are
needed for piano playing. He explained in a scientific way why neither the high finger
technique nor over-relaxation is desirable.97

95
Gerig, 411-412.
96
Ibid., 412.
97
Co., Inc., 1929).
29

It is very valuable that Ortmann pointed out the difference between relaxation and
coordination. He wrote:
We are now in a position to understand the relationship between relaxation
and coordination----by no means synonymous terms. A coordinated movement
necessitates the presence of just that degree of muscular relaxation that will
transmit the desired force to the desired point in the proper time. The degree of
relaxation depends entirely upon the force required to produce the effect, more
rigidity or less than necessary will produce an incoordinated movement. An
incoordinated movement results from excess relaxation as well as excess
contraction. Too much relaxation may produce a movement just as inefficient as
that produced by too little relaxation, as in paralysis of a muscle-nerve.98
Prior to Ortmann, pianists and pedagogues tended to confuse the concepts of
relaxation and coordination. Virtually all of them addressed relaxation. This concept was
actually exaggerated in the weight school. Ortmann’s contribution is valuable in that he
points out that relaxation is not the ultimate goal for piano technique. Instead,
coordination should be the new goal.
After Ortmann’s revolutionary work, many pianists started to follow this
scientific path of piano technique. Those pianists included Abby Whiteside (1881-1956),
Guy Maier (1891-1956), Jozsef Gat (1913-1967), Dorothy Taubman (1917-2013), among
others. While Ortmann was writing his revolutionary book in the 1920s, Chinese pianists

98
Co., Inc., 1929), 100.
30

had just started their journey with two foreign pianists, Boris Zakharoff and Mario Paci.
They were both from the old finger school.
31

CHAPTER 3: HISTORY OF PIANO TECHNIQUE IN CHINA
The Piano Arrives in China
In China, pianos were first imported in the middle of the nineteenth century. After
China was defeated by Great Britain in 1842 in the First Opium War, China was forced to
open five major ports for trade and immigration.99 In 1850, the first piano store, the
Moutrie Piano Company, was established by the English in Shanghai. Soon after that
many music stores which sold Western instruments were established.100 Piano became
more popular in schools and churches, although the music played in those places was
predominantly easy songs and hymns.101
Around the turn of the century, some Chinese musicians (including Shutong Li
and Xingong Shen) went to study in Japan and returned with some piano training
materials. Among those were the Beyer Method, the Hanon Exercises and the Czerny
Etudes.102 Those materials later became the “standard textbooks” for Chinese piano
students.
The Earliest Piano Teachers
Professional piano training did not start until the establishment of the National
Conservatory in Shanghai in 1927. Before that many universities and schools already had

99
Amy Wang, “The evolution of piano education in twentieth-century China with emphasis on
Shanghai and Beijing Conservatories” (Doctor of Musical Arts dissertation, University of
Maryland at College Park, 2001), 1.
100
Ibid., 2.
101
Meng Bian, The Formation and the Development of Piano Culture in China (Beijing, China:
Yuehua Press, 1996), 8-9.
102
Ibid., 9.
32

Western music education. Many of the early piano teachers were from the United States
(including Ruth Stahl and the Grahams).103 Also, several Chinese pianists went to study
piano in the United States and came back to teach in China.104 They all contributed to the
early piano education in China. However, not many documents regarding their teaching
and technique survive.
The National Conservatory in Shanghai and Two Influential Pianists
The National Conservatory in Shanghai was founded by Youmei Xiao, who was
strongly supported by Yuanpei Cai, the director of the Educational Department of the
Najing government at that time. Cai was the first director of the conservatory and Xiao
was the first administrator, dean and also a faculty member.105
After the establishment of the conservatory, Xiao devoted himself to hiring the
best musicians in Shanghai, because he believed that good faculty was the determining
factor of a successful music institute.106 The most influential piano teacher at that time
was Boris Zakharoff. When Xiao first invited him, Zakharoff refused to teach at the
conservatory. Zakharoff replied, “you don’t need a musician of my level to teach the kids
at your institute.”107 Despite Zakharoff’s arrogant attitude, Xiao kept trying to persuade
him. Eventually he was moved by Xiao’s sincere attitude and Zakharoff agreed to be the

103
Ibid., 11.
104
Ibid., 11.
105
Wang, The Evolution of Piano Education, 10.
106
107
Meng Bian, The Formation and the Development of Piano Culture in China (Beijing, China:
Yuehua Press, 1996), 16-17.
33

head of the piano department. Xiao promised Zakharoff that he only had to teach 7
students at a time and his salary was twice that of the other faculty.108
Before Zakharoff went to China, he was a student of the Russian pianist Anna
Yesipova and a friend and colleague of Prokofiev.109 He also studied with Godowski in
Russia and taught at the Leningrad Conservatory.110 At the end of the 1920s, Zakharoff
and his violinist wife, Cecilia Hansen, divorced during an international tour, and
Zakharoff decided to stay in Shanghai.111
There were very different comments among musicians concerning Zakharoff’s
piano playing. Heinrich Neuhaus thought Zakharoff was a “very dry and cold pianist”.
However, Leyi Wu said Zakharoff was a very passionate musician.112 Yesipova,
Zakharoff’s teacher, was a student and wife of the famous pianist Leschetizky.113 As
discussed in the last chapter, Leschetizky’s piano technique resembles the Lebert-Stark
high finger school. It seems that Yesipova’s method was very similar to Leschetizky’s
method. Schnabel described his study of Czerny etudes under Leschetizky’s wife, Anna
Yesipova:
She used to put a coin on my hand, a silver coin almost as big as a silver
dollar (a gulden) and if I played on Czerny study without dropping it, she gave it
to me as a present. I think that was sweet of her. In the meantime, I have

108
Bian, The Formation and the Development, 16-17.
109
Yamin Wang, “Remembering the Father of Chinese Modern Piano Education: Boris
Zakharoff,” Piano Artistry, no. 10 (2013): 16.
110
Bian, The Formation and the Development, 16.
111
Buzeng Xu, “Wu Le Yi and Boris Zakharoff,” Music Lover, no. 6 (2009): 38-41.
112
113
Jennifer Spencer, “Yesipova, Anna,” Grove Music Online, accessed September 24, 2017,
34

changed my way of handling the piano so radically that now if I were to play
only a few tones the coin would drop. I don’t think that the “static” hand is a
recommendable technique for the expression of music. For very young
beginners, however, it might, temporarily, be the only method……114
The quote above shows that Yesipova required her students to play with “quiet”
wrist, which is a strong indication of a finger school technique. Although not many
documents can be found about Zakharoff’s technique style, the quote below shows that
Zakharoff’s technique was greatly influenced by Yesipova and Leschetizky. Zakharoff’s
student and famous Chinese pianist Leyi Wu recalled:
He emphasized finger technique and insisted on a rounded hand position.
For technical studies, he assigned his students Hanon exercises and Czerny
studies.” He also thought that the hand should always feel like it had an egg in it.
His most famous quote was “if you would like to, you could play piano with
your hands upside down.115
During the time when Zakharoff was the department head, he invited other
Russian teachers to teach lessons or give master classes; these included S Aksakovl,
Boris M. Lazareff and Z. Pribitkova, whose playing and teaching styles were very similar
to Zakharoff.116 For example, they all agreed on the importance of Hanon exercises,
scales and arpeggios.117

114
Gerig, 278-279.
115
116
117
Ibid., 19.
35

Based on the discussion above, it is most likely that Zakharoff repeated what he
learned from his teacher Anna Yesipova and taught the finger school technique. Many of
his technique ideas continue in China today. Since Zakharoff was a very influential figure
and many of his students later became influential teachers in China, his technical method
was passed down from teacher to teacher.
Zakharoff’s most successful students include Shande Ding, Xianmin Li, Leyi Wu,
Cuizhen Li and Jisen Fan.118 They were all famous pianists in Chinese piano history and
significantly contributed to the development of the Chinese piano school.
Shande Ding was a professional Pipa (a traditional Chinese instrument) performer
before he changed his major to piano performance. He was the founder of the Shanghai
Private Music Institute. His piano students included Gongyi Zhu, Guangren Zhou,
Wenzhong Zhou, among others. Shande Ding later devoted his life to composing and
became one of the most renowned Chinese composers for western instruments. He
became a professor of composition at the Shanghai Conservatory in 1949 and his piano
works are a very important part of the Chinese piano repertoire.119
Xianmin Li was famous for performing compositions of her husband, Alexander
Tcherepnin. After graduating from the Shanghai Conservatory, she went to France to

118
Ibid., 18.
Yun Sun, “The cross-cultural influence of the formation and evolution of piano pedagogy at the
Shanghai Conservatory of Music” (Doctor of Musical Arts dissertation, The City University of
New York, 2012), 30.
119
Yuhe Wang, “Ding Shande: Lifelong Contribution to Chinese Music World,” People’s Music,
no. 1 (1996): 5-9.
Jian Zhu, “Composer Shande Ding,” Biographies of Modern Chinese Musicians, vol. 2
(Shenyang: Chunfeng Art and Literature Press, 1994), 167-180.
36

study with Alfred Cortot. After World War II, Xianmin Li moved to the United States
with her family and became a piano teacher at DePaul University in Chicago.120
Cuizhen Li was famous for being one of the foremost pianists at the Shanghai
Conservatory. She was already an accomplished pianist before she studied with
Zakharoff and was able to play all of Beethoven’s sonatas from memory at the age of 20.
Zakharoff was amazed by her ability and granted her the degree after only one year of
study at the conservatory. In 1934, Li went to study in London. She returned to China in
1942 and became a piano professor at the Shanghai Conservatory. Her most famous
student is Yafen Zhu, who was Lang Lang’s teacher. Li committed suicide during the
Cultural Revolution.121
Leyi Wu gave her debut recital at the age of 18 and performed many piano
concertos with the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra. She graduated from the Shanghai
Conservatory in 1941 and in 1948 went to study in France. Her teachers included
Marguerite Long. After that she returned to teach at the Shanghai Conservatory and
became the head of the department after the Cultural Revolution. Her most famous
students include Qifang Li, Yingming Qin and Yifan Liu.122
Jisen Fan started studying with Zakharoff in 1934. He became the piano
department head at the Shanghai Conservatory in 1953 and contributed greatly to the

120
Fushu Liao, “Remembering Alumna Xianmin Li,” Journal of the Central Conservatory of
Music, no. 3 (1992): 82-83.
121
Tian Shu, “Cuizhen Li’s Contribution to Piano Arts in China,” Lantai World, no. 25 (2014):
84-85.
Zhijue Chao, “Piano Pedagogue Cuizhen Li,” Biographies of Modern Chinese Musicians, vol. 2
122
Zhijue Chao, “Remembering Professor Leyi Wu,” People’s Music, no. 10 (2006): 38-40.
Leyi Wu, “Pianist Leyi Wu’s autobiography,” Biographies of Modern Chinese Musicians, vol. 3
37

development of the conservatory. Many of his students later became piano professors at
either the Shanghai Conservatory or the Central Conservatory in Beijing. His students
include: Yu Wang, Naixiong Liao, Qifang Li, Xiaosheng Zhao and Liqing Yang.
Another influential figure at that time was the Italian pianist and conductor Mario
Paci. He was a student of Giovanni Sgambati, who was a student of Liszt.123 In 1904,
Paci gave his first public piano recital in China.124 In 1918, when Paci came to China the
second time, he was terribly sick and decided to settle down in Shanghai. He was then
appointed as the conductor of the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra.125 Paci’s first step was
to hire outstanding musicians from Europe. Most members of the orchestra were
Russians who came to China after the October Revolution. Paci also hired musicians
from Italy.126 After years of development, this orchestra became the best in the Far
East.127
Paci also performed frequently as a concert pianist in Shanghai. He gave a series
of public recitals in 1919. The program included music by Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy
and Liszt.128 His recitals were praised greatly by reviewers. One reviewer wrote:
There was such a variety of touch and tone coloring, such poetry and such
perfect crispness and clearness of fingerwork, that the audience was charmed
and Paci was enthusiastically recalled….Paci is a magnificent pianist and
possesses all that a great pianist needs: musical interpretation, a beautiful

123
Buzeng Xu, “Mario Paci and Shanghai Municipal Orchestra,” Music Lover, no. 10 (2004): 28.
124
125
Ibid., 10.
126
Xu, Mario Paci and Shanghai Municipal Orchestra, 28.
127
Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, “Times of Mario Paci,” Shanghai Artists, no. 3 (2014): 10.
128
Sheila Melvin and Jindong Cai, Rhapsody in Red: How Western Classical Music Became
Chinese (New York: Algora Publishing, 2004), 20-21.
38

singing touch, great power and wonderful technique, and all music lovers will
look forward to his next concert.129
Paci lived in Shanghai for the rest of his life and had many private piano
students.130 He was also interested in hosting youth concerts, introducing Western music
and instruments to children and teenagers in Shanghai.131 Guangren Zhou and Cong Fu,
well-known pianists in China, were both students of Paci. However, their opinions about
Paci’s teaching differ dramatically. Fu, an eight year old boy at the time, was not very
complimentary about Paci’s teaching: “I hardly learned anything good in a whole year.
When I played, he put a coin on the back of my hand. He would beat me if I let the coin
drop.”132 From Fu’s description, we can see that Paci was a very strict teacher and his
technique was very old finger school.
Differing from Fu’s opinion, Guangren Zhou thinks that Paci laid a solid technical
foundation for the students.133 Zhou also recalled that Paci was very patient with younger
students. He made them perform in small concerts and encouraged them to comment on
each other’s playing.134 Regarding Paci’s teaching, Zhou remembers Paci as “a strict
teacher who stressed finger independence and high-finger technique.”135 Zhou also
recalled in his book “Zhou Guangren: The Art of Piano Teaching”:

129
Ibid., 21.
130
131
132
133
Dagang Huang, ed., Zhou Guangren: The Art of Piano Teaching (Beijing: Central
Conservatory of Music Press, 2006), 5-6.
134
Fushu Liao, “Mario Paci,” Journal of the Central Conservatory of Music, no. 1 (1992): 86.
135
Wang, 100.
39

I took only 44 lessons with him…….He did not use Czerny etudes but
believed in Cramer and Clementi Etudes. He thought those etudes can give the
fingers equal training. I studied only 60 Cramer etudes with him in a year. He
asked me to learn two etudes every week and keep practicing the etudes I had
already learnt. I practiced slowly first and then speeded up gradually......After
studying with Mr. Paci for a year, I had a very solid foundation for my fingers.
He asked me to play 24 major and minor scales and appegios every day and
tested me during my lessons. He liked to use Pischna exercises to train the
fingers’ independence.136
Although they had very different opinions about Paci, both Fu and Zhou’s
memories show that Paci taught the high finger technique. Many Chinese pianists carried
on this technique and teaching style. Paci really believed in his method and his ability to
teach Chinese students. It seemed that they considered Paci to be the maestro from the
West. Maybe this is one of the reasons why many of his students believed so deeply in
his technique and taught their students the same way. His most successful students
include: Bianmin Yu, Gongyi Zhu, Guangren Zhou and Cong Fu.137 They all became
famous pianists and teachers.
Bianmin Yu graduated from the University of Shanghai in 1936 with degrees in
English Literature and Music. Between 1935 and 1948, he was a famous music critic for
the China Press. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, he became a
private piano teacher. Fu Cong studied with him briefly, which made Yu famous in the

136
137
40

1950s when he hosted numerous home concerts for musicians in Shanghai. Yu was in
prison between 1969 and 1971, because he was a Christian. In 1980, Yu was
disappointed with his life in China and moved to the United States. He became a full-time
faculty member at the Interlochen Arts Academy in 1983.138
Gongyi Zhu became a successful concert pianist under the instruction of Mario
Paci. In 1949, he became a piano professor at the Central Conservatory in Beijing. His
students include Huiqiao Bao, Zhihong Guo and Daming Zhu. Many of his students have
won international piano competitions. 139
Cong Fu was probably the most famous world class pianist among Paci’s students.
He won the third prize at the fifth Chopin International Piano Competition (1955) and has
had a successful concert career ever since. He also studied with Zbigniew Drzewiecki in
Poland in the 1950s. He has performed extensively throughout the world. His parents
committed suicide during the Cultural Revolution, and Fu did not return to China until
1976 when he gave recitals and masterclasses in many major cities in China.140
Guangren Zhou was the most famous Chinese piano pedagogue after 1980. Her
background and teaching style is discussed in detail later in this chapter.
Zakharoff and Paci were undoubtedly the most famous and influential piano
teachers in China before 1950. Their contributions to the Chinese piano traditions are
immense. However, with the development of modern piano technique in the Western

138
Xiaoli Zheng, “Bianmin Yu, The Man and The Artist,” Journal of the Central Conservatory of
Music, no. 2 (2013): 118-126.
139
Jun Yang, “Professor Zhu Gongyi,” People’s Music, no. 9 (1981): 17.
Shuchun Zhou and Jun Yang, “Piano Pedagogue Gongyi Zhu,” Biographies of Modern Chinese
Musicians, vol. 3 (Shenyang: Chunfeng Art and Literature Press, 1994), 510-519.
140
Tingge Wei, “Concert Pianist Cong Fu,” Biographies of Modern Chinese Musicians, vol. 4
41

world at the beginning of the twentieth century, it is unfortunate that the two most
important teachers both taught the finger school technique. Even though they were from
different countries, they agreed on finger technique, which might have caused Chinese
pianists to think that was the only authoritative way to play piano. Instead of exploring
other technique possibilities, most of their students decided to simply work harder
physically when they had technical difficulties. By 1937, the finger school technique
already had a solid foundation in China.
The Second Sino-Japanese War
Between 1937 and 1945, the development of piano technique was interrupted by
the Second Sino-Japanese War, which was part of World War II. The Japanese army first
invaded northeastern China in 1931, where their troops were stationed. But the Second
Sino-Japanese War did not officially start until 1937, when the Communists and
Nationalists finally agreed to fight the Japanese together. The Japanese and Chinese
troops had their first battle at the Marco Polo Bridge outside Beijing, which marked the
beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War.141
Before the Japanese troops invaded Shanghai, the Shanghai Conservatory’s
location was very close to the airport which was considered very dangerous. 142 Youmei
Xiao, the director of the conservatory, was greatly concerned about the safety of the
students and teachers and relocated the conservatory to the French Concession in
Shanghai.143 After the Japanese invaded Shanghai, there were many murders,

141
142
Ibid., 59.
143
Ibid., 60.
42

kidnappings and other crimes. Xiao relocated the conservatory once again, this time to
the Common Concession in 1938.144
The faculty’s and students’ lives were at risk, and they suffered from the poor
living conditions. In 1940, Youmei Xiao died of pulmonary tuberculosis.145 Zakharoff
passed away in 1941 because of cancer.146 The management of the conservatory faced a
great challenge following these deaths. However, many teachers and graduates devoted
themselves to maintaining the conservatory.147
Meanwhile, Shande Ding founded the Shanghai Private Music Institute, which
had piano, violin and vocal majors. Most of the students were pianists.148 In Chongqing,
which was occupied by the Nationalists, the Ministry of Education founded another
National Conservatory. Most faculty members were teachers and graduates from the
Shanghai Conservatory.149
During these eight years, Chinese people were living in very poor conditions and
suffered both physically and mentally. Many musicians chose to leave their schools and
join the Chinese army. Instrumentalists, especially pianists who could not carry their
instruments around, experienced great difficulty in their musical development.150

144
Ibid., 60.
145
Ibid., 61.
146
147
Ibid., 26.
148
Ibid., 26.
149
150
43

The Civil War
After the Japanese surrendered, the conflicts between the Communists and the
Nationalists became the main problem in China. The American Ambassador, Patrick J.
Hurley, accompanied Mao to Chongqing to negotiate with the Nationalist leader Jieshi
Jiang (Chiang Kai-shek).151 Following forty days of discussion they agreed to
cooperation and to the establishment of a new country, but the agreement was never
implemented .152 The two parties fought for another three years until the Nationalists fled
to Taiwan.
During the three-year Civil War, many Chinese pianists chose to study abroad.
Shande Ding, Leyi Wu and Shique Hong went to France to study with Marguerite Long
and Alfred Cortot. Jialu Li went to study in the United States at Nebraska State
University.153 They later brought back valuable new technical thoughts.
In 1946, the Chongqing National Conservatory moved back to Shanghai and
joined the Shanghai National Conservatory and the Shanghai Private Music Institute. The
new Shanghai Conservatory was a combination of those three institutes. It had one
hundred and sixty-two students and sixty-one teachers and staff.154 All the department
chairs were Chinese. The director of the keyboard department was Cuizhen Li, who had
just returned from London.155
The graduates from the Shanghai National Conservatory also began teaching in
almost all the major cities in China. They were the main piano teachers in China at that

151
152
Ibid., 68.
153
Ibid., 69.
154
Ibid., 68.
155
44

time. We can say that Shanghai was the origin of the Chinese piano school.156 Since most
Shanghai pianists were greatly influenced by Zakharoff and Paci, their technique ideas
were very similar. I see this period as the time when finger school technique started to
take root nationwide. This also explains why Chinese piano teachers who grew up in
other cities also had a strong belief in the high finger technique and used the same
teaching materials.
Help from the Soviet Union
After the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, the communication
between China and the West was interrupted. The Soviet Union became a key friend for
Chinese musicians. Many Russian and Eastern European musicians began visiting the
two major conservatories on a regular basis. The most talented students at the two
conservatories had the opportunity of studying with the visiting musicians. Those
musicians also gave masterclasses, solo recitals and lectures.157
Alexander N. Serov came to teach at the Shanghai Conservatory for about two
years, and Aram G. Tatulyan and Tatiana P. Kravetchenko taught at the Beijing Central
Conservatory.158 These experts from the Soviet Union brought valuable new technical
ideas to China, including the concept of relaxation, weight, tone quality, etc.159 Shuxing
Zheng, the interpreter for the Russian pianists at the Shanghai Conservatory, recalled:

156
Ibid., 27-28.
157
Wang, The Evolution of Piano Education, 79-80.
158
159
Conservatory of Music Press, 2006), 123.
45

Well into the 1950s, Chinese pianists were accustomed to the “high-finger”
and “fingers-only” concept of piano playing. By introducing the ideas of
incorporating fingers, wrists, arms and the use of arm weight in playing, Russian
experts opened new dimensions on technique to Chinese pianists.160
Guangren Zhou, the leading Chinese pedagogue, was chosen to study with the
Russian experts.161 Regarding Tatulyan’s teaching, she said:
He introduced me to the concepts of incorporating arms and utilizing arm
weight in playing. With these new concepts I made a substantial breakthrough
technically.162
Chi Lin, a former student of Guangren Zhou at the Central Conservatory of Music,
wrote:
Taturian emphasized the importance of a singing tone in piano playing. He
taught Chinese pianists to imagine a sound before actually playing and to apply
their natural arm weight to obtain a singing tone. Chinese pianists realized that
their arms had been too stiff and too tight to produce a good sound. The study of
Russian music enhanced their sense of tone and technical ability. Their arms and
wrists became fully flexible when they played.163

160
161
162
163
Chi Lin, “Piano Teaching Philosophies and Influences on Pianism at the Central Conservatory
of Music in Beijing, China” (Doctor of Musical Arts dissertation, Louisiana State University,
2002), 16.
46

These quotes show that the concept of arm technique was very new to Chinese
pianists at that time. It is also further proof that Zakharoff and Paci did not talk about the
use of arm and body that much. The Russian teachers not only brought new technical
ideas to China, they also raised the standards of performance in China.164 The Russian
pianists returned to Russia in the 1960s because of the deterioration in the relationship
between the two countries.165
Chinese Students in Western Countries
After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese
government chose talented students who could study abroad. Because of the political
environment during that time, the Chinese students could only go to the Soviet Union and
some Eastern European countries. Among them, Shikun Liu, Chengzhong Yin and
Pingguo Zhao went to study in the Soviet Union, while Cong Fu, Qifang Li and Dazheng
Shi went to Poland.166 Later they all became famous pianists.
Also in this period, Chinese pianists started entering international piano
competitions and winning prizes. For example, Shikun Liu won the second prize at the
first Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958. Chengzong Yin won the second prize at the
second Tchaikovsky Competition in 1962.167

164
Lin, Piano Teaching Philosophies, 17.
165
Ibid., 17.
166
Bian, The Formation and the Development, 45
167
Ibid., 46-47.
47

The Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution was the biggest disaster after the establishment of the
People’s Republic of China.168 Its negative influence was felt in every academic field.
Almost all the schools were occupied by “student soldiers” and all classes were
stopped169. Students were sent to farms in rural parts of the country. Meanwhile
professors and experts at colleges and schools became the “enemies of people”.170
Anyone who had experience studying in Western countries or had direct contact
with the Western world was considered “evil”. Therefore, many renowned music
professors became targets.171 Most of them were tortured and humiliated. Many pianists
either committed suicide or had mental problems during the Cultural Revolution.172
Eighteen professors at the Shanghai Conservatory committed suicide, and two died from
untreated illnesses.173 Among them were the excellent pianists Cuizhen Li, Jisen Fan and
Shengying Gu.174
During the Cultural Revolution numerous Western instruments, including pianos,
were destroyed,175 because they represented the Western culture. Some passionate
pianists had to practice mentally and secretly at home. Daming Zhu recalled, “I drew the

168
The Cultural Revolution was a sociopolitical movement in China between 1966 and 1976,
which was initiated and led by Chairman Mao Zedong. One of the goals of it was to preserve the
purity of communism. It affected the Chinese society and economy negatively and is commonly
considered a disaster.
169
170
Ibid., 66.
171
Sun, The Cross- Cultural Influence, 46.
172
Ibid., 46.
173
Ibid., 46.
174
Sun, The Cross-Cultural Influence, 46.
175
48

keyboard on cardboard and practiced on it secretly.”176 Some other pianists decided to
play communist songs and accompany communist operas, so they could at least play the
piano without getting into trouble. An example is Chengzong Yin, who helped arrange
and premiered the Yellow River Concerto.177
The New Start
After the Cultural Revolution the classical music world in China was given a new
start. Since many renowned musicians and teachers committed suicide or became ill
during the Cultural Revolution, the country had very few music experts left. Those few
experts took the responsibility of rebuilding the conservatories and the classical music
field. Most pianists were trained in China and did not have much experience studying in
Western countries. Therefore, their technique style still reflected the old finger school
technique from Zakharoff and Paci.
In 1979, the first piano pedagogical treatise “Talking About Fundamental Sectors
in Piano Teaching” was published.178 The author Nai Xiong Liao wrote many valuable
things about piano teaching and playing. He says: “Technique is not about playing loudly
and fast. It has many aspects.”179 This concept was very refreshing to the Chinese piano
world then because technique was often related to drills and exercises. Liao also stated

176
Ibid., 95.
177
178
179
Naixiong Liao, “Talking about Fundamental Sectors in Piano Teaching,” About Music
Education (Beijing: Central Conservatory of Music Press, 2010), 588.
49

that the teacher should help the students get a well-rounded technique foundation180 and
design teaching plans according to the individual’s need.181
Despite all of the new and good things he pointed out, we can still find the old
finger school influence in his method. For fundamental training, Liao said that the teacher
should focus on five aspects: posture, hand shape, finger independence, flexibility and
finger control.182 From this statement, we can see that Liao still thought about fingers as
isolated from the arms. He insisted on the importance of finger exercises and did not
mention how other parts of the body can contribute to piano playing.183
After the opening of the country in 1978 more Western piano teachers started
visiting and teaching in China. Chinese piano teachers also started to rethink and change
their technical and teaching styles. Among those teachers, the most famous Chinese piano
pedagogue was Guangren Zhou. After the Cultural Revolution Zhou chose to stay in
China and help her home country by developing the piano department at the Central
Conservatory, where she became the director.184
Zhou was born in Hannover, Germany. She and her family moved back to China
when Zhou was four years old. When she was ten, she was accepted by the Shanghai
Private Music Institute.185 At the institute, Zhou studied with Shande Ding and was
deeply influenced by him.186 When Zhou got older, she was very interested in studying

180
Ibid., 588-592.
181
Ibid., 592-600.
182
Ibid., 603.
183
Ibid., 603.
184
Shimin Zhao, “Pianist Guangren Zhou,” Biographies of Modern Chinese Musicians, vol. 4
185
186
Ibid., 99.
50

with Mario Paci and left Ding. Because Paci had an extremely good reputation at that
time, the cost for his lessons was very high. Zhou had to teach more than twenty students
a week, so that she could afford to have lessons with Paci.187
Zhou also studied with Alfred Marcus for two years in Shanghai after Paci passed
away. Marcus thought that using high fingers was a waste of energy and caused tension
in the arms.188 Zhou also studied with Bela Belai and Violinist Wittenberg (who also
played piano) briefly.189 In 1951, Zhou met Joszef Gat in Hungary. Gat told Zhou that the
new piano technique was not only about using fingers but also about using arm weight
and relaxation. Gat later mailed Zhou his book The Technique of Piano Playing, which
was about the modern technique method.190 In 1955, Zhou also studied with the Russian
teacher Aram Tatulian at the Central Conservatory. 191
Since Zhou was exposed to more advanced technique ideas later in her life, she
thought deeply about piano technique and started to criticize the old finger school
technique. Below are her words from the book Zhou Guangren: The Art of Piano
Teaching:
Now, when I do research about my pedagogy, I use a historical view to
analyze the advantages and disadvantages in my piano study. I think the piano
education I got came mainly from the German school in 18th and 19th century.
My piano technique is still in the period of Czerny’s finger school.192

187
Ibid., 100.
188
Dagang Huang, ed., Zhou Guangren: The Art of Piano Teaching, 7.
189
Ibid., 7-8.
190
Ibid., 9.
191
Ibid., 9-10.
192
51

The old teaching method lasted until the 20th century. Until today, there
are still lots of piano teachers in China using the same method. We can see how
stubborn the conservative power is. This situation exists in many countries. For
example, the use of Beyer method: I accept the value of this method in history,
but this book was written more than a hundred years ago. Since then, the piano
art has developed greatly. New pedagogy thought has appeared. Why do we still
use Beyer so much today? Because it is a habit and the teachers don’t need to
use their brain when they teach it.193
When we teach children, we always asked the students to maintain an
arched hand shape and curled fingers. Many teachers say that it is like holding a
ball. As a result, I see some children who think they need to have a beautiful
hand shape all the time. They over curl their fingers and think the first joints
need to be vertical to the keyboard. When they raise a finger, all the joints have
to be curled. They use the high finger method to train the fingers. We all learnt
this way when we were young. It is said that this method can train the fingers’
independence and strength. This method makes many people have very tight
arms when they play. However, this method has already been replaced by a
more natural technique.194
While Zhou was a great thinker of piano technique, she still had some deep belief
in the high finger technique. This deep belief was apparent in her teaching. Although she
criticized the unmusical sound caused by the high finger technique, she still believed that

193
194
Ibid., 32.
52

the high finger technique was useful in terms of training. Below are her words from the
same book:
I still think high finger technique is useful when it comes to training
student’s fingers. The high finger technique can make the knuckles flexible and
soft. However, the kind of sound and the concept we should have during the
training is completely different.195
I think both kinds of technique are necessary. Especially for beginners,
the high finger technique can train the fingers’ strength, independence and
flexibility. However, concert pianists should use low finger technique, because
high finger technique is a waste of strength and time and causes a percussive
sound.196
Zhou’s view about hand position also contradicts her appreciation of the Russian
school arm technique and the natural hand position. Chi Lin, a former student of Zhou at
the Central Conservatory of Music, wrote:
Regarding hand position, Zhou instructs her students to hold the knuckles
high and curve the fingers before playing. The hand should be shaped just like a
dome with every finger curved. She explains that a hand without strong
knuckles and firm finger support is like a house without a roof and foundation.
Zhou taps her students’ fingers and knuckle joints to test their firmness.197

195
196
Ibid., 115.
197
Chi Lin, “Piano Teaching Philosophies and Influences on Pianism at the Central Conservatory
of Music in Beijing, China” (Doctor of Musical Arts dissertation, Louisiana State University,
2002), 39.
53

For students at the Central Conservatory of Music, Zhou also designed a teaching
plan with emphasis on fundamental exercises and drills, which are also from the finger
school. In an essay Lin gave a discussion about Zhou’s teaching method at the Central
Conservatory of Music:
For each undergraduate student during the first year at the CCOM, Zhou
designs a plan to build up the student’s fundamental technical skills. In each
two-hour lesson, she asks students to perform technique drills for thirty minutes
to an hour. Technical training usually starts with five-finger exercises written by
Zhou, followed by exercises including scales, double notes, arpeggios, octaves,
and chords. Zhou believes that one can never expect to fix technical problems by
just practicing pieces from the repertoire.198
Zhou also introduced stretching exercises, where students, especially those who
have small hands, were required to lift fingers high in those exercises. Lin recalled:
This stretching exercise requires students to use a diminished seventh
chord and play one note at a time, lifting each finger as high as possible and
feeling the stretch between each finger.199
Even though Zhou was greatly inspired by the modern technique later in her life
and tried to change the way that other teachers were thinking and teaching, she was still
not completely free from the finger school influence. She appreciated the beautiful sound
and touch from the Russian school but still believed in high finger technique for at least

198
Lin, Piano Teaching Philosophies, 38.
199
Ibid., 38-39.
54

part of the student’s training. This contradiction about the high finger technique can be
found quite often among Chinese piano teachers.
Successful Young Chinese Pianists and Their Teachers
The most renowned young Chinese pianists now are Lang Lang, Yuja Wang and
Yundi Li. While they are all great artists with excellent technique and memory, they were
all trained more or less under the high finger technique school when they were young.
Their playing still shows traces from the high finger school.
Yafen Zhu and Pingguo Zhao are the two teachers with whom Lang Lang studied
for long periods of time when he was in China.200 While they are very experienced and
excellent teachers, we can find evidence of the high finger school in their teaching. Yafen
Zhu was Lang Lang’s first piano teacher. He started studying with her at the age of
four.201 Zhu addresses the importance of relaxation in her teaching and thinks it is
unnecessary for beginners to pay too much attention to hand shape. She thinks relaxation
is the precondition for developing piano technique.202 However, Zhu also uses high finger
exercises in her teaching. She tries to combine high finger exercises and relaxation.
In a masterclass in Hainan province in 2006, she said, “when practicing the high
finger exercises, the fingers should be lifted naturally without tension. The fingers should

200
Huiqiao Bao, “Interview with Concert Pianist Lang Lang,” Interviews with Chinese and
Foreign Pianists, vol. 2 (Beijing: China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Publishing
Corporation, 2010), 72.
201
Ibid., 72.
202
Lidan Zhang, “Notes from Yafen Zhu’s Class in Hainan,” Little Performer, March 2006, 17-
18.
55

strike the keys very fast and then relax quickly.”203 In practicing five finger exercises, she
says that the metacarpal joint should be firm and supportive and the fingers’ movement
should be clear. She also emphasizes the importance of sound quality during those
exercises.204
Pingguo Zhao was Lang Lang’s teacher after he entered the primary school
attached to the Central Conservatory. Lang Lang studied with Zhao until he went to
Curtis Institute of Music in the United States.205 Zhao first studied with a Chinese teacher
but was greatly influenced by Russian teachers later in his life.206 He was fully aware of
the different schools of piano technique.207 Zhao is not a follower of any specific
technique school, but he still thinks high finger exercises are important for training
technique.
In the article “Pingguo Zhao Talking about Piano”, Zhao explained the high-
finger technique under the section “Finger Independence Training”. He wrote:
This method is: while keeping the arms and wrists flexible, the fingertips
should be able to stand on the keyboard. The metacarpal joint should be open
enough and the force is from the metacarpal joint. After lifting a finger and
keeping it curved, use the muscles at the metacarpal joint to press the key very
quickly, so the finger has enough force. The fingertips should reach the

203
Lidan Zhang, “Notes from Yafen Zhu’s Class in Hainan,” Little Performer, March 2006, 18.
204
Ibid.
205
Huiqiao Bao, “Interview with Concert Pianist Lang Lang,” 72.
206
Ya Hu, “About Prof. Zhao Pingguo’s Teaching,” Piano Artistry, no. 2 (2005): 32.
207
Pingguo Zhao, “Pingguo Zhao Talking about Piano,” Little Performer, April 2007, 25.
56

keyboard as if they are bullets from a gun. Meanwhile, the weight from the arms
should be delivered to the fingertips.208
Zhao also said that the high finger exercises have three main steps: get the hand
ready, lift a finger and strike fast. He thought that the beginner students should practice
this method very slowly at first, so that the fingers can become independent gradually.
Zhao said this method was very important in developing technique, but he also thought
that this method should not be the only method in piano playing. 209
Like Zhao, Lang Lang also incorporates more than one technique school in his
playing and teaching. In his method book for the Lang Lang Piano Academy, Mastering
the Piano: Technique, Studies and Repertoire for the Developing Pianist, he addresses
relaxation, arm weight and the free movement of wrists and arms in many places, but he
also shows traces from the high finger school. For example, at the beginning of Level 1
his words are printed with his pictures, “I was always told to curve my hands and
fingers—as though there was an egg under my palm. This is a wonderful posture for
making sure the power flows directly to our fingertips.”210 In Unit 5 “Developing
Dexterity” the first exercise from the Hanon exercises is used for Warm up. The
instruction says, “Play steadily, lifting your fingers high and placing them precisely,
making each note clear. Gradually increase the speed each time you play it—using a
metronome will help.”211

208
Pingguo Zhao, “Pingguo Zhao Talking about Piano,” Little Performer, July 2007, 30.
209
Ibid.
210
Lang Lang Piano Academy, Mastering the Piano: Technique, Studies and Repertoire for the
Developing Pianist (London: Faber Music, 2014), 2.
211
Ibid., 28.
57

Yuja Wang was a student of Yuan Ling and Guangren Zhou when she was in
China. Like Guangren Zhou, Yuan Ling is also a great thinker about piano technique and
has been greatly influenced by the finger school technique. She thinks the high-finger
technique is necessary in training flexibility of the metacarpal joint. When answering the
question “Do you use high-finger technique to train students?”, she said, “yes, without
high finger exercises, the metacarpal joint cannot be opened up. However, the high finger
exercises should only be a method and procedure in piano training.”212
Yundi Li studied with Zhaoyi Dan for nine years before he won the Chopin
International Piano Competition. Dan was a student of Guangren Zhou,213 and his
technique opinions are very similar to Zhou’s. He is aware of the existence of different
technique schools but still believes in the high finger technique for training finger
independence.214
From the discussion above, we can see that the three most successful young
Chinese pianists were all influenced by the high finger technique. Fortunately, their
teachers incorporated more than one technique school in their teaching and all addressed
the importance of relaxation. This may explain why those Chinese pianists can still
achieve a certain artistic level with their finger school background. As discussed in the
first chapter, the high finger technique can be dangerous. Lifting a finger high while
keeping the fingers curved causes co-contraction and makes it impossible for the arms to

212
Huiqiao Bao, “Interview of the Renowned Piano Professor, Ling Yuan,” Piano Artistry, July
2016, 7-8.
213
Huiqiao Bao, “Interview with the Famous Piano Professor Zhaoyi Dan,” Interviews with
Chinese and Foreign Pianists, vol. 1 (Beijing: China Federation of Literary and Art Circles
Publishing Corporation, 2002), 141.
214
Zhaoyi Dan, Dan Zhaoyi’s Writings on Piano Education (Shanghai: Shanghai Music
Publishing House, 2013), 110-111.
58

relax. Those renowned Chinese piano teachers may not have understood why the high
finger technique is dangerous from an anatomical point of view.
The Current Status of Chinese Piano Pedagogy
While Zhou was a great thinker about piano technique, many Chinese piano
teachers still have extremely strong beliefs in the high finger technique. Most Chinese
piano teachers in the 1980s and the 1990s did not have the chance to study abroad. They
were students or “grandstudents” of Zakharoff and Paci. Even though many of them had
the chance to go to masterclasses or study for a short time with Western teachers who
came to China, their belief in the high finger technique was too strong to make them
change.
Even today, many Chinese piano teachers still teach the high finger technique to
millions of piano students. Numerous articles and books about how to practice the high
finger technique are still being published and read. With the development of the internet,
Chinese pianists have access to all the valuable information from the Western World.
Numerous Chinese pianists have gone to study in Western countries. However, many
Chinese pianists are still not totally open to new ideas, and it may take a few more
generations before the conservative finger school technique fades away.
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CHAPTER 4: FUTURE OUTLOOK AND CONCLUSION
China is a country steeped in tradition. Meaningful change is not something that
comes easy for anyone, including Chinese piano teachers. We have seen an influx of
young Western trained Chinese piano teachers into China in the past few decades. These
pedagogues are bringing a more modern approach to piano instruction with them.
However, there is still an abundance of teachers, both in academia and at the pre-college
level, who are holding on to the old method of the high finger technique. There are a few
reasons why I believe they are doing so. On a simplistic level, change is difficult and
people tend to resort to what is most comfortable to them. Another reason could be the
lack of access to modern thought on technique for the pre-college teachers. China is a
vast country, with a great amount of variation in economic prosperity. The Internet is
highly regulated and possibilities for continuing education are few and far between. A
further reason is that the high finger technique can give students and teachers a quicker
gratification. Children can play loud and fast very early on. This kind of bravura playing
often dazzles audiences and wins competitions. At an age where children are not
expected to have deep musical thought, expression, and interpretation, flashy technique
can rule. Winning competitions leads to fame, recognition, and honor. These are all
attributes, which are especially important in Chinese culture. However, this kind of
shortsightedness can have negative long-term effects. The musculature, tendons, and
even the bones in the hand of children are far more flexible than those of adult. They can
thus sustain the kind of maltreatment the high finger technique poses. However, at some
point, it will most likely catch up to them. Tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and
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general fatigue will follow. These conditions are difficult to get rid of, and will lead to
constant struggle in a profession, which is supposed to bring joy.
Based on this, I am proposing a multifaceted approach to changing the culture of
the high finger technique in China. As mentioned above, there are already young
professors active in the field in China. It is important to support them with as much
information as possible to assist them in their endeavors. I would begin by offering my
own essay, translated into Chinese, to as many pre-college teachers as possible.
Furthermore, I propose translating as many contemporary treatises on piano technique
into Chinese as possible. I would recommend starting with Otto Ortmann’s The
Physiological Mechanics of Piano Technique: An Experimental Study of the Nature of
Muscular Action as Used in Piano Playing and of the Effects Thereof Upon the Piano
Key & the Piano Tone.215 For me, this is an indispensable book on understanding exactly
how the piano playing apparatus works. It approaches piano playing from a scientific
standpoint, attempting to ignore opinions and perceptions. It is incredibly detailed,
thorough, and exhaustive in its approach. While translating this would pose a
monumental task, it is one, which I believe would help further a healthier approach to
playing the piano in China.
Another key element in bringing China firmly into the 21st century of piano
technique is to provide continuing practical education to pre-college teachers across
China. This education should focus on the potential physical pitfalls of the high finger
technique, as well as the musical benefits of a more well-rounded approach to playing the

215
Co., Inc., 1929).
61

piano. I would like to bring this knowledge to the teachers in a series of lecture
demonstrations and workshops. Other ways of disseminating the information would be
via a series of videos, which could be distributed through Chinese social media platforms.
The content would include, but not be limited to the following topics: a basic
physiological and anatomical overview of the playing apparatus (as laid out by Ortmann),
avoiding excessive force, the importance of a flexible wrist, using forearm rotation
principles (Matthay and Taubman),216 physical timing, and the use and misuse of finger
exercises. These workshops will revolve around demonstrating how a modern, unified
technique creates a much more beautiful tone and allows for more depth of interpretation
than the high finger school ever can. It is my firm belief that if the “only” side-effect of
the high finger school would be potential injuries, that it would still have widespread use.
Pianists would risk injury for the sake of better musicianship. However, not only is it
physically dangerous, it is also musically less efficient that the modern unified approach.
Here are some basic thoughts on how I would approach the various topics in a potential
workshop/lecture demonstration. In order to enact meaningful change, it will be
important to not only describe the physical disadvantages of the high finger technique,
but to also show how a unified approach is musically more satisfying and more easily
achievable.

216
Tobias Matthay, The Act of Touch in All Its Diversity: An Analysis and Synthesis of Pianoforte
Tone-Production (London: Bosworth & Co. LTD., 1903).
Tobias Matthay, The Visible and Invisible in Piano Technique: A Digest (USA: White Press,
2016), 125-135, E18-26.
Therese Milanovic, Learning and Teaching Healthy Piano Technique: Training as an Instructor
in the Taubman Approach (Germany: Scholar’s Press, 2014).
Dorothy Taubman, et al., Virtuoso in a Box: the Taubman Techniques, Disc 2 (Medusa, N.Y. :
Taubman Institute, 2005).
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Excessive Force
One problem the high finger school creates is that it usually requires excessive
force by the fingers. Disciples of this school of thought strike the keys with great speed
all the way through the descent of the key to the keybed. It is believed that this kind of
attack can produce a deep and “solid” sound. However, the fast strike can generate a very
harsh tone instead of a deep tone, which makes it harder to play singing melodies. A
further misconception is that the point of sound production is not the arrival at the
keybed, but much sooner during the descent of the key. Students need to learn to feel the
activation point of the key. And while teachers discuss the importance of relaxing the
fingers after impact, they should do so after sound production, thus lessening the stress on
the fingers.
The only factor which changes the volume and sound quality is the speed of the
key descent. Understanding this leads to a greater understanding of producing a variety of
tone colors. In particular a singing tone can be much more easily produced. I would use
Chopin’s Nocturne Op.48, No.1 (Figure 3) to demonstrate this. The right hand has a
singing melody while the left hand has the chordal accompaniment. The melody should
be played with a slow movement of the whole arm. All of the joints, the wrists, elbows
and shoulders, should be very flexible. Playing with high fingers and quiet wrist makes it
unnecessarily difficult to achieve the slow descent and thus the singing tone.
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Figure 3 Chopin Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48 No. 1, measures 1-10
The Importance of a Flexible Wrist
The high finger school gives tremendous attention to the action of fingers and
usually does not encourage the movement of the wrist. A flexible wrist is very important
in playing most compositions. Although some teachers from the high finger school also
talk about relaxation and a smooth wrist, the movement of the wrist is still very small and
“conservative”, compared to the modern piano technique. When fingers (or any part of
the playing apparatus for that matter) move into the extreme ranges of motion, they are
counteracted by tension in opposing muscles and tendons. For example it is nearly
impossible to raise one’s finger extremely high, without the wrist and forearm becoming
tense.
The movement of the wrist is of course very crucial when playing certain
technically challenging passages. It is very difficult to play broken chords that are bigger
than an octave without a flexible wrist. Chopin’s Etude Op. 10 No. 1 (Figure 4) has
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continuous arpeggios for the right hand throughout the piece. The right hand needs to
play many broken chords that have the range of a tenth interval. Pianists will need to
have lateral flexibility of the wrist in order to properly execute this etude. This is
particularly true for small-handed pianists. However, as one of Chopin’s students noted,
this etude is not for large hands, but a supple hand.217
Figure 4 Chopin Etude in C Major, Op. 10 No. 1, measures 1-5
Another example for this is his Etude Op. 10 No. 9 (Figure 5). In this piece, the
left hand covers a range bigger than tenth throughout the piece and also features a
compound melody, which should be brought out. Wrist participation is needed along with
forearm rotation and shoulder’s participation.218 Playing with high fingers and quiet arm
is impossible in this piece and makes it harder to bring out the hidden melody in the left
hand.

217
Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger, Chopin: Pianist and Teacher as Seen by His Pupils (New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1986), 68.
218
Uriel Tsachor, piano lesson, November 2014.
65

Figure 5 Chopin Etude in F Minor, Op. 10 No. 9, measures 1-8
Without enough participation of wrist, it is also very hard to play a true legato
line. Although some may argue that one can still play legato by holding the first note
until the second note is played, it is difficult to achieve without adjusting the wrist
position. Some teachers from the high finger school may be able to adjust the wrist
position intuitively, but it may be frustrating for the students to try to play legato while
keeping a “quiet” wrist.
The Importance of Forearm Rotation
Forearm rotation has an important role in modern piano technique. Tobias
Matthay wrote extensively on the matter,219 and Dorothy Taubman has shown that long
term injuries can be healed by switching over to a more rotational technique.220 However,
it is often neglected by the high finger school. Like the use of a flexible wrist, forearm

219
Tobias Matthay, The Visible and Invisible in Piano Technique: A Digest (USA: White Press,
2016), 125-135, E18-26.
220
Dorothy Taubman, et al., Virtuoso in a Box: the Taubman Techniques, Disc 2 (Medusa, N.Y. :
Taubman Institute, 2005).
66

rotation is needed in most compositions. It is particularly difficult to play trills and
tremolos (or any other passage, which revolves around a back and forth motion) without
using forearm rotation. There are countless examples I could use in a workshop. One
would be the Recitativo section of Liszt’s “Vallée d’Obermann” (Figure 6), which has
continuous tremolos for the accompaniment hand. The tremolos here have the dynamic
marking PP and P, while the melody is marked F. Attempting to play this with high
fingers or fingers alone is very difficult and most likely will make the tremolos more
articulated and louder than they should be. It would also defeat the musical purpose of the
section, where Liszt is creating a timpani effect.
Figure 6 Liszt “Vallée d’Obermann”, measures 119-122
It should also be mentioned that forearm rotation and adjusting wrist position is
important in bringing out melodies that are within blocked chords/intervals. The middle
section of Prokofiev’s Etude Op. 2 No.1 (Figure 7) serves as a good example for that.
While the right hand needs to play staccato blocked intervals, it is also important to bring
67

out the top notes of certain intervals, which consist of the theme. It can be achieved more
easily by turning the forearm more clockwise (towards the fifth finger) when needed.221
In this situation, it is nearly impossible to control the voicing by finger attacks alone.
Figure 7 Prokofiev Etude in D Minor, Op. 2 No. 1, measures 19-26
High Finger Technique and Timing
Movement of our body is also associated with our sense of timing. The high
finger school requires students to lift every finger before the attack, which makes every

221
Uriel Tsachor, piano lesson, April 2016.
68

note a separate action. There are three main issues with this approach. It is far more
difficult to anticipate the precise moment of when the finger will strike the key, when it
will go in motion, and when it will initiate the tone production. It also causes
unnecessary stress on the tendons. A given piece might have upwards of 5,000
keystrokes. The accumulative impact on the body is enormous, which is why it is
necessary to be as efficient as possible. This kind of movement also makes it more
difficult for pianists to feel the long line and the main beats, especially when playing slow
pieces. Chopin’s Nocturne in D-Flat Major, Op. 27 No. 2 (Figure 8) is in 6/8. Every
measure has two main beats, and when the harmony changes, it occurs on the main beats.
Playing those sixteenth notes with high fingers will not help the feeling of the meter.
Instead, the accompanying notes will be more articulated than they should be, which
makes every sixteenth note sound like a single beat. In order to achieve the feeling of the
6/8 meter, every six-note group should be played as one continuous gesture with very
flexible arms.222 It will provide a solid harmonic foundation in the bass, while
minimizing the sense of individual notes. This is also another example of how a high
finger technique can be detrimental to a beautiful singing line.

222
Uriel Tsachor, piano lesson, March 2015.
69

Figure 8 Chopin Nocturne in D-Flat Major, Op. 27 No. 2, measures 1-6
The high finger technique also affects the timing and shape in scales or
passagework. For example, Mozart’s Sonata in C Major, K.545 (Figure 9) has descending
and ascending scales in the beginning of the first movement. It is important to play the
sixteenth notes even, but also to feel the long line and the shape of the scales. They
should be played as fast moving melodies, instead of mechanic and isolated notes. The
use of flexible wrist and elbow will also more easily help create a beautiful musical line.
Playing with high fingers makes it harder to achieve the evenness and the musical goals
in those scales.
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Figure 9 Mozart Sonata in C Major, K.545, 1st movement, measures 1-13
Exercises and Drills
High finger technique is frequently associated with practicing exercises and drills.
While it is debatable whether it is necessary to practice these things at all, many Chinese
piano teachers consider practicing drills as the most important thing in practice sessions.
When asked which method they started on, a majority of Chinese students will answer
Hanon, Czerny, and/or Beyer. From day one, they are required to practice and drill these
exercises. In the case of Hanon, they even ignore one of his most important instructions,
namely to play them in all keys. Chinese students for the most part only do them in the
notated C major positions. The advantage of drilling these exercises is that they are very
easy to learn. Thus, one can almost immediately focus on the technical difficulty at hand.
Students can focus on their fingers and hands, as they do not have to focus on the score.
However, this “over-focus” on the technique is void of any musical value. In actual
71

repertoire, each piece has its unique challenge and has numerous patterns, which cannot
be summarized by sixty exercises. It is more helpful for students to learn how to play
various types of passages than learning all the Hanon exercises on the white keys. We are
doing a disservice to the art, when playing as fast and as loud as possible becomes more
important than projecting a musical meaning.
Famous Young Chinese Pianists
Most Chinese pianists were trained by the high finger technique when they were
young. It is not until the 1990s that studying abroad started to be a popular choice for
Chinese pianists. It is undeniable that the finger school technique helped many pianists
reach a high technical level of piano playing. Additionally, pianists such as Lang Lang
and Yuja Wang incorporate more than just one technique in their playing. They have
been exposed to a variety of pedagogical approaches. One can find a flexible wrist,
rotation, and relaxation in their playing, along with high fingers. However, I would argue
that these pianists have been successful despite this technique and not because of it.
It is my hope that by bringing these educational thoughts to the pre-college piano
teachers across China, I will be able to help the country down a path to a more informed
and healthy piano technique. It is important to work with these teachers, highlighting
their strengths, but also offering ways to improve their teaching. Being able to
demonstrate the musical weaknesses of the high finger technique, while showing them
the anatomical limitations of the human body, will hopefully give the teachers the
confidence to enact change for the greater good of Chinese piano students.
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The High Finger Piano Technique in China: Past, Present, and Future

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University of Iowa

Iowa Research Online

The high finger piano technique in China: past,

This dissertation is available at Iowa Research Online: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/6342

Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd

Part of the Music Commons

An essay submitted in partial

Essay Supervisor: Professor Alan Huckleberry

All Rights Reserved

This is to certify that the D.M.A. Essay of

has been approved by the Examining Committee for

Essay Committee: ____________________________________________

schedules to be on my committee. I would also like to thank my editor, Mrs. Barbara

Thanks to my parents, my parents-in-law and my husband for their great support

during this difficult time in my life!

finger school successfully promoted this technique in European conservatories. It was

anatomical and scientific analysis, became the mainstream.

technique might look.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS………………………............1

CHAPTER 2 AN OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF PIANO TECHNIQUE……10

The Beginning of Keyboard Technique……………………………….10

CHAPTER 3 HISTORY OF PIANO TECHNIQUE IN CHINA…………………….32

The Piano Arrives in China…………………………………………....32

CHAPTER 4 FUTURE OUTLOOK AND CONCLUSION.........................................60

1 Muscles of the Forearm………………………………………………………..6-7

2 Hand and Wrist, X-Ray…………………………………………………………..8

3 Chopin Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48 No. 1, measures 1-10……….……..64

4 Chopin Etude in C Major, Op. 10 No. 1, measures 1-5…………………….......65

5 Chopin Etude in F Minor, Op. 10 No. 9, measures 1-8………………………...66

6 Liszt “Vallée d’Obermann,” measures 119-122……………………………….67

7 Prokofiev Etude in D Minor, Op. 2 No. 1, measures 19-26…………………….68

8 Chopin Nocturne in D-Flat Major, Op. 27 No. 2, measures 1-6………………..70

9 Mozart Sonata in C Major, K.545, 1st movement, measures 1-13…………….. 71

understanding of the anatomy of the playing apparatus. However, as an in-depth

relaxation cause uncoordinated movement.6 This scientific approach led to a unified

and North America.

finger technique continues to be the most popular technique in China.

In order to help enact change, it is important to first understand what is currently

here is very similar to the Lebert and Stark method.

finger technique can be dangerous and inefficient.

difficult to line up.

fingers are in the forearms. 10

Figure 1 A, B The Deep Muscles of the Forearm: A, front; B, back.12

Figure 1 C, D The Superficial Muscles of the Forearm: C, front; D, back.13

muscles need to “work”. A coordinated movement requires a certain set of muscles to

The Beginning of Keyboard Technique

press the keys very easily without feeling much resistance.

The earliest important keyboard method was described in Il Transilvano, written

by Girolamo Diruta (1554-1610) in Venice around 1600.15 He gave some detailed

Michel de Saint Lambert’s (1610-1696) Les Principes du Clavecin (The

Principles of the Harpsichord) and Francois Couperin’s (1668-1733) L’ Art de Toucher le

Mécanique des doigts sur le Clavessin (Method on Harpsichord Fingerings), he worte:

transformed into an easy and rapid action.24

fingers. Forkel wrote:

According to Sebastian Bach’s manner of placing the hand on the keys,

have to press down.27

Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) and George Frederick Handel (1685-1759) were

of Playing Keyboard Instruments), he wrote:

from one principal disadvantage in addition to awkwardness; the fingers,

always remain as close as possible to the hand.28

The Invention of Pianofortes

place already existed.30

Bach was very pleased.32