THE STUDIO:
Members will I am sure, be delighted to know that Trevor Barnard's articles that have been appearing as a series in The Studio are now available together in a new publication.

I can highly recommend this not only as an invaluable resource in the day-to-day teaching situation but also for those teachers involved in pedagogy studies.

The contents deal with several issues of piano technique and basic musicianship that often present so many problems for students: “Basic Pedaling Techniques”, “Equal Training for Both Hands,” “Early Lessons in Phrasing,” “How Soft is Soft”, “Keyboard Stiffness” and “Cross-Rhythms”. Each article is generously supplemented with photos and appropriate musical examples taken from the general literature.
Rita Crews

STRETTO:
In the late 1990s and early 21st century, Trevor Barnard wrote a series of articles that were published in the U.S. journal Clavier and the (Australian) Music Teacher International magazine.

These articles have now been collated into the book Neglected Areas of Piano Teaching . This is an excellent book for both teachers and students, not only covering very important written guidelines in studying piano techniques but accompanying these with music examples from well-known compositions.

The First Chapter is Basic Pedalling Techniques . This covers direct pedaling, legato (also called ‘indirect pedalling'), half pedaling and flutter pedalling.

The Second Chapter instructs on Equal Training for Both Hands . ‘Much beginning repertoire has the melody in the right hand, neglecting and underdeveloping the left hand. This often leads to later co-ordination problems when melody is passed to the left hand.'

Passages from Bach's Minuet in G (from Anna Magdalena Notebook ) for the lower levels, through to Beethoven's Sonata in C Minor Op. 13 and Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# Minor Op. 3 no. 2 are a few of the examples discussed.

The Third Chapter is Early Lessons in Phrasing . ‘Learning to phrase is often neglected in the early years of study, when it is especially valuable to develop musical skills.'

Again, this chapter discusses passages from different compositions from Baroque to 20 th Century, and is followed by five pages of written music examples.

The Fourth Chapter , How Soft is Soft ? is a very interesting discussion on dynamics and how to interpret the intention of the composer. Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# Minor Op. 3 no. 2 ‘stakes a strong claim for having the most extravagant dynamic levels in the entire piano repertoire'. As pointed out the dynamic range in this composition is from ppp to sffff .

Written examples given over four pages include excerpts from Chopin's Nocturne in G Minor op. 37 no. 1, Grieg's Wedding Day at Troldhaugen (no. 6 from Lyric Pieces Op. 65) and others.

Fifth Chapter – Keyboard Stiffness . ‘This chapter takes for granted finger suppleness and concentrates on maximum use of the forearm.' The importance of wrist rotation, legato touch and octave technique are also covered.

The Sixth and final Chapter is Cross-Rhythms . A discussion on ‘opposing rhythms, mostly between the right and left hands, that are not mathematically symmetrical'. References to three notes against two and on to 4/3, 8/3, 10/3, and 11/3 are dealt with, as well as others such as 5/4 and 7/6.

This chapter concludes with different written examples from seven of Chopin's Nocturnes .

The outstanding difference with this book is the many written music examples that follow each chapter, making the text very easy to read and understand.
June McLean

PIANO MAGAZINE:
This book is both welcome and depressing. Welcome because it contains a wealth of wisdom and authoritative suggestions, and depressing because of its title. The fact is that most of the areas which Barnard (probably rightly) perceives as neglected are in fact fundamental. The chapter headings say it all: ‘Basic Pedaling Techniques', ‘Equal Training for both Hands', 'Early Lessons in Phrasing', ‘How Soft is Soft?', ‘Keyboard Stiffness' and ‘Cross-Rhythms'. Good advice abounds, much o fit grounded in pure common sense and all of it presented with a simplicity that never hints at condescension.

Occasionally, luminous simplicity yields to frustrating economy, as when the author observes that ‘accents on the first beat of measures 5,6 and 7 call for a diminuendo' without explaining why. More serious drawbacks are the often very badly printed musical examples, which are herded into mini-ghettos at the end of each chapter rather than being incorporated into the text at the appropriate junctures. In truth, this is not really a book at all, but a brief anthology of articles written for American and Australian journals, and not evidently re-edited for British consumption.

With examples ranging from the first book of Bartók's Mikrokosmos to Beethoven's Op 2 no 3 and Chopin's C minor Sonata, D784, the target audience would seem to be teachers, but it should have still greater value for those students whose teachers need to be told any of this.
Alan Blakelock

** NOTE: with regard to musical examples, while we note Mr Blakelock's opinion about their placement, a valid viewpoint, we cannot accept that they are "badly-printed" - in fact we think they are very clear and the author says ." I think you have done a wonderful job in their reproduction". Potential buyers should not be put off by that comment!

PIANO PROFESSIONAL:
Trevor Barnard is a well-established teacher and performer in Australia and over the years contributed to Clavier (USA) and Music Teacher International (Australia) with a series of articles on Piano teaching which have now been collated into the present edition. There are six chapters: Basic Pedalling Techniques, Equal Training for Both Hands, Early Lessons in Phrasing, How Soft is Soft?, Keyboard Stiffness and Cross-Rhythms and all deal with important technical issues but sadly not in great enough depth to help a self-taught student. In fact, the articles skim over the surface and are actually what most of us teach every day. **

The numerous musical examples are listed at the end of each chapter instead of underneath the actual bullet point, making it slightly awkward to grasp the essential point. There are some very unusual ideas on practicing scales to eliminate any stiffness and deals in more through detail with the wrist, preparing for a looser fore-arm. There are some original points on practicing double octaves to build up speed. The 66 musical examples range from Bartók's Microcosmos 1 to Schubert's Sonata in A minor thus giving any student a wide range of possibilities in aiming to make technical progress. This is obviously aimed at teachers but is of more use to aspiring self-taught students who need specific guidance on various details of musical repertoire.
Nadia Lasserson

**NOTE: these points are what all piano teachers, like Ms Lasserson, ought to be teaching every day, in which case the book would have no purpose, The author found it to be necessary because he came across so many students whose teachers were neglecting these areas - hence the title.