Abby Whiteside on Piano Playing

the long version

Revolutionary piano pedagogue Abby Whiteside (1881-1956) influenced generations of pianists in America and elsewhere. Whiteside's pioneering approach to piano technique stood apart from the mainstream of piano teaching in her day, and her ideas remain essential to piano pedagogy even now. Fiercely committed to developing in her students what she called a "basic rhythm" - a sense of physical continuity and ease that emphasizes musical structures - Whiteside as a teacher encouraged students to express the basic emotional rhythm of the music, and her understanding of the mechanics of piano playing enabled them to avoid the strains and injuries often experienced by pianists. This reprint of the two long-out-of-print works has been eagerly awaited by teachers and students of piano music in many countries. At last Whiteside's ideas will be accessible to new as well as to longtime disciples of this devoted and brilliant teacher of piano.