Description
Essential Piano and Keyboard Technique takes early-intermediate students well into advanced levels.
- Four sections present technical exercises by category for easy reference.
- Contains a variety of important technical exercises in addition to the traditional scales, chords, arpeggios and cadences.
- Numerous tips on using dynamics and articulation in technical exercises.
- Exceeds the technical requirements established by the MTNA state-affiliate, California Association of Professional Music Teachers, and the Music Teachers’ Association of California.
- Accompanies students far beyond its entry point in our Classic Series: Volume 2 method book.
- 8.5 x 11 soft cover, 156 pages.
- This product qualifies for the 20% Lifetime Teacher Discount.
“What a joy to find a book that. . . is formatted to build a solid technical foundation. . . [and] offers practice suggestions that develop knowledge, fluency and control. Students will find it easy to understand their goals and enjoy a variety of practice strategies in their work. This is a perfect resource for students taking exams such as the National Music Certificate Program, the Associated Board, the Royal Conservatory Examinations, or many state programs.”
Sheila Vail – Member, Royal College of Examiners; Owner, Indian Springs Academy of Music in Cincinnati.
“If you want a comprehensive compendium of exercises that help build almost every aspect of technique, Essential Piano and Keyboard Technique is it. This book is a treasure trove… logically arranged into 4 broad sections for ease of locating specific exercises. Great resource!”
Patsy Rabinowitz – NCTM; Owner, West Chester Academy of Music.
“Essential Piano and Keyboard Technique contains a wide variety of useful technical exercises in addition to traditional scales, chords, arpeggios, and cadences. It provides material for many years of technical study and provides students with the solid technical foundation needed for advanced repertoire. I especially like the inclusion of a keyboard diagram with each scale. Teachers will find this book a valuable resource in preparing students for a variety of evaluations and auditions.”
Karen Rogers – Professor Emeritus of Piano and Piano Pedagogy, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.
See what other professionals have to say on the back cover!
L. Hong –
If you are learning piano and want to level up your technical skills, this is the ultimate book for you. All the books by Wehrli are incredibly well thought out and comprehensive without being overwhelming – very clear instructions, logical notation/fingering, clean design. For example, even the table of contents of each section lets you check off your progress – so simple but useful and makes you wonder why other books don’t do the same. Spend ten minutes with this book and before you know it you’ll be impressing your friends and family with your mad trills and fast hand jumps.
Danny Winslett –
I find that this Essential Piano and Keyboard Technique book has a little of everything in it to increase your abilities on the piano (right/left hand coordination drills; different scale variations and suggested fingering; chords; chord progressions; various dynamic drills). This is a book that the piano player can refer back to for a long time to continue improving on their technique. I have learned quite a bit through this book. I have not completely finished every drill in the book, that will take some time, but I have done quite a few drills from the different sections in the book. Another great thing about this book is the way it is arranged. It is divided into different sections so that you can work on different techniques from different sections of the book at the same time. I recommend this book to all piano players who want their music to come alive utilizing these techniques, whether it be reading from sheet music or improvising your own creation.
Andrea McClain –
I purchased the Classic Series: Vol 2 Intermediate Basics book along with the Essential Piano and Keyboard Techniques book by Barry Michael Wehrli. I’ve used these books both for teaching and personal development. I’ve used a lot of different teaching materials over the years and Wehrli’s books are my favorite!
Allen L. Perkins II –
This book is excellent for improving your technique. By identifying a specific problem–e.g., rocking/dropping the hand/ or, fast octaves– I’m able to select an appropriate exercise, and, shift from music to exercise, allowing me to build to performance tempo faster. The book covers all of the major and minor scales, and offers many exercises with instructions. Graphics and layout are excellent.
Carlos Sylvanstoke –
I am sixty years old now and have had this “Essential Piano and Keyboard Technique” for several years. I’ve had some piano lessons but I basically learned on my on. This book has been very valuable for me– a guide. I’ve practiced the techniques in this books over and over. My oldest grandson is three years old. He likes to sit on the piano and hit keys here and there. I am saving my copy for him since I know that the exercises in this book will make a difference in his learning..
Susan Alcon –
This intermediate to advanced level piano technic book is really the best I have seen. The exercises are well planned and progressive for practical application in literature. For beginning scale work, the scale preparation section presents blocking scales to place groups of fingers over the keys and small crossing finger drills with suggested metronome settings. This book goes way beyond the usual scales, arpeggio and chord fingering books I have used over the years. The clean page design and unit check off boxes are engaging and motivating. This one book is all you need for building professional technical skills.
Carlos Gardels –
The Essential Piano and Keyboard Technique Manual is highly useful. Alongside carrying the complete scales and arpeggios, it also extracts the best aspects of Pischna and Dohnanyi finger-holding exercises that build coordination and endurance. If you are a self-taught pianist who cannot currently afford lessons, this book is a great resource to follow along in your self-teaching journeys. Highly recommended.
Niko M. –
This is a solid book covering a wide array of topics. While it certainly has all the standard technical activities one could want (scales, arpeggios, chords, etc.), it also has many unique topics not commonly covered in other technique books (e.g., poly-rhythms, cadences, and chord progressions). In addition, the way in which scales are presented in this book is extremely intuitive. Instead of merely showing the staff notation of the scale, there is also an image of a piano keyboard with the respective notes of the scale highlighted. This makes learning scales easier as you are able to visualize the scale’s shape more easily, and thereby learn it quicker.
Regardless of your skill level, from beginner to advanced, you will be able to find ample exercises in this book to test your technique and your mind.
Cameron –
Great excercise book! If you want to easily learn scales and finger positions, then this book is good for you. I never correctly learned scales or correct fingering, but since I started using this book, I now know about finger positions and the different scales.
Michael –
GREAT Book… Full of exercises to help develop finger coordination and strength… Also helps one learn the different musical keys. Mk
A. Walker –
I recommend “Essential Piano and Keyboard Technique” for anyone who plays piano or keyboard at an intermediate to advanced level. This book focuses on training the hands through simple yet thorough techniques while including fundamental aspects such as dynamics, articulation, advanced tempo ranges, etc; All in all a great technique book.