Nbsp | A Workable Practical Guide to Piano Playing

Dedication to Overcoming Trouble and Difficulty in a Pianist’s Career

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The Magic Touch…

It gives me great pleasure that Wallace Tate has produced this record of my teaching, a task that has never been attempted before. I heartily endorse The Magic Touch, and hope that pianists will find it both an inspiration and a practical help on their musical journey.

Emeritus Professor Lionel Bowman

Stellenbosch University.

May, 2000

The above are the words of Lionel Bowman, a man whom I hold a great respect for, not least due to his dedication to resolving a deeply troubling issue that he experienced in his late thirties and early forties.

Many pianists have experienced similar problems, over their playing careers, to varying degrees, and I should note, this can apply equally to laymen pianists as well. It is not only an issue for the professional player.

In Lionel's case, he found the pain so debilitating, and the discomfort so great, that he temporarily gave up the piano. However, unlike many who may have given up for good, he took the time and opportunity to study the anatomy of the hand and arm, as well as the fingers, and experimented with various techniques, till he established the 'Bowman Method' that he had been using and teaching ever since.

Whilst it was initially intended only as a way for him to play gain, he found that the sound of the result of his playing was better, and he was able to play pain free as well. Once he then taught the method to his students, their playing had improved as well, and many were able to avoid the problems he had experienced himself.

This was a great inspiration to himself, as well as his students. The work, written by Mr Wallace Tate, a retired Director General of the West Australian Music Board, as a result of countless visits by Professor Bowman to Western Australia, was created as a means to convey the Bowman method to as many pianists and teachers as possible.

The presentation is presented as a manual, substantially illustrated, as well as accompanied by a DVD or online video series. The material is very well presented and aimed at all levels for all piano players. Naturally, the absolute beginner may find it difficult, but there is where the assistance of a good teacher will pay handsome dividends.

To learn more, see the Manual below.

Note on the Exercises in the Magic Touch

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The exercises are based on what the hand is capable of doing with various passages, i.e. single notes, octaves and chords in their thousands of permutations, which make up what we call music. Once the learning processes are understood, the pianist will find that they are comparatively few, and that they can be adapted and applied to the learning of any passage regardless of style or character.

These basic techniques are learnt through the exercises which are to be practiced daily in the manner prescribed. They provide a therapeutic learning process and are elementary guidelines only to play more comfortably and with greater ease at speed. They also give one the means of cultivating various basic touches.

During the learning process some of the technical movements, muscular conditions, postures, and sounds, are extremely exaggerated, as a good deal of concentrated attention and effort is required. Eventually it will be sufficient to devote a few minutes only to the more essential and representative exercises before regular practice sessions.

The exercises were taught by Professor Bowman by rote: they were not written out for the student. Thus, attention focused on the physical means by which notes were played in order to produce a preconceived type, intensity and quality of sound. As a result, the approach was experimental, somewhat improvisational and rhythmically flexible. The student should keep this in mind when working the exercises as transcribed in this book.

DVD

A DVD to illustrate the exercises and examples in this book is available as well, from

//www.ThePianoMagicTouch.com

Can I Overcome Hardship in my Life and Career?

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I think this is an important questioon to ask ourselves, time and time again, when difficulty strikes, as inevitably, we can all suffer from set backs from time to time.

As you are no doubt only too well aware, the difference between the winners and the losers, to use a term, is the mindset we apply, as well as our creativity…

What do I mean here?

Well, whilst I am going to refer to Lionel Bowman as my subject in this example, there are countless people who have mixed sheer determination, creativity, and opportunity to turn an otherwise seemingly bleak situation into a benefit, not only for themselves, but for others as well.

I was greatly privellaged to be given the honour and opportunity to transcribe the manual on The Magic Touch, or Therapeutic Techniques for Pianists to an electronic format

In so doing, I was able to learn about the human spirit in overcoming adversity, and that lesson alone, if for nothing else, was worth its weight in gold.

However, being a piano player, either for pleasure or professional gain, the impact of this manual compounds itself greatly, and provides a light to all pianists experiencing pain and difficulty in playing various complex works. This can greatly enhance the difficulty that many people with small hands may also be experiencing.

Mr Wallace Tate has successfully taken a complex subject matter, and explained it in a readable, and relatively easy way to understand. This skill, in itself is a rare gem, and I can thoroughly recommend the manual to all serious piano players.

Having learned the piano myself, I could certainly have benefited from this information many years ago. The bonus fact, however, is that it is not too late to implement the techniques created by Professor Bowman. The book, apart from a learning tool of great value, is testimony to man's ability to overcome all difficulties, no matter how seemingly hard, at the time. It also has benefited countless students to massively enhance their playing technique, and resulting sound at the keyboard.

The Benefits of Learning from Someone Who Has Been There

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I understand the title to this entry may seem a little vague, but in effect, it becomes clearer with further reading.

What do I mean?

Well, in the case if Lionel Bowman, he is a classic case of someone who was a dedicated, and convincing pianist, at concert level.

In fact, it would be accurate to say that he was at the peak of his career, in his late thirties.

Unfortunately, he experienced a set back, in the form of a hand and arm injury, through sprains, and difficulty of playing, as his hands were relatively small.

Whilst he still played the piano well, he often ended up needing medical assistance to help heal the injuries in his hands.

For many people, this may well have signaled the end to their career, but Lionel was no ordinary person, prepared to give up at the first sign of resistance. In fact, he turned what could have been a professional disaster into a gain, not only for himself, in that he was able to continue playing, but also for countless numbers of others.

He managed to develop a technique for playing the piano, that not only allowed him to play pain free, but actually enhanced the sound of his playing. The method involved the strengthening of the fingers, and a modification to the technique that he approached the keyboard with. The result was The Magic Touch, expressed in written form by Mr Wallace Tate, himself a past Music Examinations Board Director in Western Australia.

Professor Bowman has been able to bring the very best of a terrible and painstaking journey to light, in the form of a manual and instructional video to help others improve their playing skills. Whilst the professional pianist can certainly gain from the lessons, the techniques are also very valuable for the teacher as well as more junior student, in that the application of the correct technique early on will mean not having to relearn a method that works, and unlearn another.