A profound and intelligent piano methodology
Christian A. Pohl not only looks at the practicing process in detail, he also describes it as work on one's own personality.
Based on his own practicing biography and the highs and lows associated with it, the pianist and teacher Christian A. Pohl has created his Piano methodology has written a comprehensive work that is unique in its kind. Pohl teaches at the Felix Mendelssohn Academy of Music in Leipzig.
In his 400-page book, he succeeds in breaking down the exercise process into its essential aspects and bringing them into a complementary and fruitful cycle.
Musical-technical penetration, the concrete planning of practicing (meta-level), working on his own personality (self-reflection and perception), all these elements are described in an exemplary and comprehensible manner. His credo: "Systematic practicing is more than just a tool. It is also always constant work on your own person."
The core of the book is formed by the 27 methods described in detail, which provide guidance on how to work on the instrument in a varied and goal-oriented way. Pohl manages to balance the whole and its parts in a convincing way. The individual methods are embedded in the four overarching learning areas of decoding, automating, balancing and coloring.
He repeatedly incorporates ideas from the psychology of learning that deal with perception, emotion, repetition, simplification, complication and precise analysis. He attaches great importance to always directing attention inwards and avoiding any excessive demands in the process.
This book is an inexhaustible treasure trove, especially for teachers. With the help of Pohl's book, many things that are often only implicitly addressed in the classroom can become explicit learning content and be consciously developed using his concepts and methods. The more than 300 flashcards, which are available to download from Peters-Verlag as a supplement to the book, serve as a didactic aid to easily visualize individual learning steps in the practice process.
Passion, care, understanding and wisdom characterize this work. I can recommend it to anyone who wants to delve deeper into the subject.
Christian A. Pohl, Klaviermethodik, 400 p., € 89.00, Edition Peters, Leipzig 2022, ISBN 978-3-87626-182-9
