ADDENDUM
Updated May 6, 2011
This Addendum contains material that will be included in the next edition of Fundamentals of
Piano Practice if, and when, it is written. Any ideas/comments would be appreciated, as it is still under
Construction. Please email me your comments.
Contents
Introduction
1. Creating Geniuses
2. Mozart’s Formula (see P. 206)
References
3. Memorizing (how to)
4. Parallel Set Exercises: Importance of Ex. #1
5. The Future of the Piano: the Digital Revolution
6. Defining Science and the Scientific Method
7. How to Teach Piano
7.1 The First Lesson
7.2 Subsequent lessons
8. Project Management
8.1 Basic Rules
8.2 Example: Learning Absolute Pitch
8.3 Example: Lawn Care: A Weed Free Lawn
9. New Methods, Explanations, and Discoveries of this Book
Book Reviews
Introduction
This addendum is an example of what I meant by “this book is not a finished product, it is just the
Beginning” (backcover). The future of piano pedagogy has unlimited potential and how far it advances
Depends only on our efforts, and the methods we use, to study how to study. This book is not the only
Pioneer advancing piano teaching methods; there are now many web sites and teachers who are applying
Modern education to piano with similar results (see Book Reviews, bottom), although this book is the most
Comprehensive. This phenomenon is a consequence of the advancement of education in general, which tells
1
Us that higher education will become increasingly helpful and necessary to future pianists.
The most important universal lesson of this book is project management (see item 8): how to
Manage a project from beginning to end. It is important because the same principles apply not only to
Learning other musical instruments, but also to everyday life, school, and work.
Historical accounts indicate
That Alexander the Great used similar methods to defeat armies much larger than his.
This book also contains several new discoveries and teaching methods that cannot be found
Anywhere else in the literature; the major ones are listed in item 9.
1. Creating Geniuses
This book deals with the human brain and how to use it to produce music. The greatest discovery of
This book is that we have found the procedures for creating geniuses. To this end, we must define what a
Genius is. Prodigy, talent, and genius are basically synonymous here. We can distinguish at least two classes
Of geniuses: Class I consists of those who have acquired so much musical knowledge and skill that they
Can perform incredible musical feats; Class II consists of those with inborn musical minds, such that with
Little or no musical training, they can perform those same incredible musical feats. Discussions on whether
Geniuses are born or created are presented on pages 16 and 202. Until the 1900s, the assumption was that
They were born (Class II). However, there has been a growing realization that they can be created (P. 16,
Olsen). This is somewhat analogous to the now discredited belief that some are born with absolute pitch –
Nobody is born with it; everyone must learn it. In fact there is ample evidence that Class I geniuses exist,
And that most of those we consider to be geniuses are of the Class I type. The number of Class II geniuses
Is extremely small and most of them have handicaps that prevent their geniuses from fully developing. We
Therefore conclude that the majority of geniuses are Class I – they are created.
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