TC217: Penelope Roskell’s Top Tips for a Healthy Technique

Learn about success tips for teaching a beautifully healthy technique for all students. Today, we’ve invited the UK’s foremost specialist in technique, Penelope Roskell, to talk about playing freely, utilising whole body/whole person teaching approaches.

On the podcast today, Penelope talks about her book, The Complete Pianist: from Healthy Technique to Natural Artistry. Her book covers all aspects of piano technique for teachers, students and pianists of all levels to learn from.

Transcript of the show about healthy technique tips:

If you’d like to download a PDF transcript of this episode, please click below.

In this episode, you’ll learn more about teaching healthy technique to students.

• [04:47] Penelope’s teaching background.
• [06:37] Remarks on online classes with advanced students.
• [07:14] Background teaching story  
• [08:40] Piano teaching has evolved in the past decade
• [11:00] Going about the right way of teaching piano technique.
• [13:07] Penelope’s purpose behind writing this book 
• [17:02] Various ways to utilise this guidebook
• [18:25] Finding solutions for common technique problems 
• [19:08] Incorporating videos in the book’s lessons and explanations.
• [21:12]  Main book sections  
• [24:49] Talking about her favourite parts  
• [27:15] Penelope talks about common mistakes in teaching approches
• [32:00] Example: detached playing versus playing legato too soon.
• [34:52] Where to find Penelope, her book, and the courses & workshops she offers.

Links Mentioned

• Penelope Roskell Website

About our Guest

Penelope Roskell is an international pianist and Professor of Piano and Pedagogy at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London. She is the author of The Complete Pianist, from healthy technique to natural artistry and of The Art of Piano Fingering. She is also the foremost UK specialist in helping pianists prevent and recover from injury.

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