What Every Pianist Needs to Know about the Body

What Every Pianist Needs to Know about the Body, by Thomas Mark, with supplementary material for organists by Roberta Gary and Thom Miles. GIA Publications, Inc., (7404 S. Mason Ave., Chicago, IL 60638). 155 pp. $29.95.

Since the number of keyboard musicians suffering debilitating injuries is increasing at an alarming rate, gaining an awareness of how the body functions and learning how to relate that information to playing the piano or organ is more crucial than ever to avoid future injuries.

Building upon the concepts of Body Mapping, discovered by Barbara and William Conable, Thomas Mark has provided keyboard players a valuable manual filled with vital concepts. It also helps bring to light teaching misconceptions that need, at long last, to be discarded.

Each of us has "an internal representation of our body and its movements and we use this representation to coordinate our actions. This internal representation is our body map." Our body map "includes the structure, size, and function of our body and its parts." This book operates on the theory that "the representation, not the [actual] structure, determines how we try to move. If our body map is incorrect, we will try to move in a way inconsistent with the actual structure of our body." If musicians can enhance their somatic and kinesthetic awareness, their quality of movement and, ultimately, their quality of playing will improve.

The nine chapters systematically work through the entire body. Since an important aspect of technique involves working on tone production and understanding how sound is produced, an entire chapter is devoted to mapping the piano. Information for organists is scattered throughout the book, with one chapter focused specifically on the "additional concerns of organists." The final chapter is devoted to injuries and retraining.

A videotape can be purchased as a supplement to the book. While not the most "exciting" video, it is extremely beneficial to see many of these movements and concepts demonstrated.

The information contained in both the book and video is based on physiological truths that, when understood, can revolutionize the way one approaches the keyboard. Keyboard musicians will learn invaluable ways to achieve physical ease at the keyboard, which will hopefully translate into more expressive and effortless music making. Reviewed by Gail Berenson, NCTM, Athens, Ohio.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Music Teachers National Association, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group