前言

Preface

This book is a condensed but detailed textbook on what you must know to learn piano as quickly as possible. You do not start with exercises and lesson pieces because that wastes too much time; you start by learning what you want to play because most aspiring pianists already know what they want to play. In case you don't, there is a section on suggested pieces for beginners [(3) Starting a Piece]. 这本书是一本精练而详尽的教科书，它介绍了尽可能快地学习钢琴必须具备的知识。 您不会从练习和课程开始，因为这会浪费太多时间。 您首先要学习要演奏的东西，因为大多数有抱负的钢琴家已经知道他们想演奏什么。 如果没有，则为初学者提供建议的乐段[（3）开始乐段]。

I took piano lessons for over seven years from age ten, practicing up to eight hours on weekends. My successes in life and lifelong dedication to the piano [see (85) About the Author] gave me every reason to believe that I should be successful in piano. Although I became a choir accompanist and church organist, I was struggling with the Beethoven sonatas — difficult passages remained insurmountable no matter how long I practiced. This made no sense because there have been thousands of proficient pianists in the world — how did they all learn? I was told that musical talents and perseverance were the only ways, but I suspected that there are teachers who know how to teach. They must have written books. So I read books and they all taught the same things: practice scales, arpeggios, exercises, start with easy lesson pieces, etc., which I was already doing. Even published interviews with famous pianists gave no clue as to how they learned, except to endlessly tout their exceptional talents, an obviously self-serving device with no pedagogical value. Was lifelong, daily, total dedication to piano, at the exclusion of everything else, the only way? 我从十岁开始就上了七年的钢琴课，在周末练习了八个小时。我一生的成功和毕生的奉献精神[参见（85）关于作者]使我有充分的理由相信我应该在钢琴方面取得成功。尽管我成为合唱团的伴奏者和教堂风琴手，但我仍在与贝多芬奏鸣曲作斗争-无论练习多长时间，困难的乐章仍然无法克服。这是没有道理的，因为世界上有成千上万的熟练钢琴家–他们都是如何学习的？有人告诉我，才华和毅力是唯一的方法，但我怀疑有些老师会教。他们必须写书。所以我读了书，他们都教了相同的东西：练习音阶，琶音，练习，从简单的课本开始等等，这些我已经在做。甚至对著名钢琴家的公开采访也没有任何关于他们如何学习的线索，除了无休止地称颂他们的杰出才能，这显然是自私的，没有教学价值。唯一的办法是终生每天都全心投入钢琴吗？

This book originated in 1978 when I took our daughter to her piano lesson with Mlle. Yvonne Combe (see back cover). After a few years of lessons, our two daughters were progressing at unbelievable speed, which we attributed to their "exceptional musical talents". During this lesson, the teacher took out a book with lesson pieces arranged according to difficulty, for choosing a new piece to study. Combe said "Choose whatever you want!!!" and my daughter looked all over the book, as Combe played excerpts from various pieces. I couldn't help interfering to ask "Shouldn't she stay within her level of difficulty?" Combe smiled knowingly with our daughter and answered "Difficulty isn't our problem, is it?" I was so flabbergasted by the implications of what she said that I decided to investigate her teaching method. It took 15 more years of research and experimentation at the piano for me to realize that efficient practice methods were the key to success, not talent!!, and additional 10+ years to gather all this material. 这本书起源于1978年，当时我带着女儿和Mlle一起上钢琴课。 Yvonne Combe（请参阅封底）。经过几年的课程，我们的两个女儿以惊人的速度进步，这归功于他们的“非凡的音乐才能”。在这一节课中，老师拿出了一本书，并根据难度安排了乐谱，以便选择新的乐谱进行学习。 Combe说：“选择任何您想要的！！！”当Combe演奏各种片段的摘录时，我的女儿四处张望。我忍不住要问：“难道她不应该弹她所在的难度级别的曲子吗？”Combe知道地笑了笑，然后回答：“困难不是我们的问题，对吗？”她对我所说的话感到非常惊讶，于是我决定研究她的教学方法。在钢琴上花了15年的研究和实验时间，我才意识到有效的练习方法是成功的关键，而不是才华！！另外10多年的时间来收集所有这些材料。

I read over fifty of the most popular piano books and have reviewed them here and they demonstrate that practically every piano learning method consists of showing students what to practice, and what kinds of techniques (runs, arpeggios, legato, staccato, trills, etc.) are needed. There are few instructions on how to practice in order to be able to play them, which is mostly left to the student and endless repetitions. These books represent how teachers taught, because they were written by respected teachers. 我阅读了五十多本最受欢迎的钢琴书，并在这里对其进行了审查，它们表明，几乎每种钢琴学习方法都包括向学生展示如何练习以及采用哪些技术（演奏，琶音，连奏，断音，颤音等）。 关于如何练习以使其能够演奏的说明很少，这大部分得靠学生和无休止的重复。 这些书代表了老师的教学方式，因为它们是由受尊敬的老师撰写的。

Most of the known methods of how to practice for technique acquisition have been assembled in here, see [(50) Summary of Method]. New pieces are quickly learned using these methods because there are solutions to every technical problem, and previously "impossible" pieces come within reach. The difference in learning rate between approaches based on efficient practice methods and others can be the difference between a rewarding musical experience within months and a lifetime of exercises, lesson pieces, little progress and nothing to perform. I also researched hundreds of internet sources and over fifty [(82) References], and included any insights on practice methods from all these sources into this book. Books with significant useful information have been labeled "must read" in the reviews [(83) Book Reviews: General Comments]. 有关如何实践技术习得的大多数已知方法已在此处汇总，请参见[（50）方法摘要]。 使用这些方法可以快速学习新作品，因为每个技术问题都有解决方案，而且以前“不可能”的作品都可以触及。 基于有效练习方法的方法与其他方法之间的学习率的区别，可能是前者几个月内就会有快乐的音乐体验，而后者练一辈子的练习曲、课件，进展甚微且无所作为。 我还研究了数百个互联网资源和五十多个[（82）参考文献]，并将所有这些资源中对实践方法的任何见解都纳入了本书。 带有重要有用信息的书籍在评论中被标记为“必须阅读” [（83）书籍评论：一般评论]。

As a scientist, I knew that organizing this material into a logical, scientifically sound structure was the only way to write a useful textbook that did not contain fatal flaws such as false assumptions, a common flaw in most piano literature. My career as a research scientist was critical to the creation of this book and, together with the most complete treatment of practice methods, distinguishes it from every other book on piano; see (64) Why the Greatest Pianists Could Not Teach, (66) Scientific Approach to Piano Practice and (83) Book Reviews: General Comments. Eliminating some widely accepted practice methods based on incorrect assumptions frees up enough time to not only learn piano, but also pursue the education needed to navigate in today's world, or even have a separate career. The higher education is necessary for understanding and teaching piano! I became convinced of this book's potential to help students and teachers and, since 1999, have made it downloadable free on the internet — you can't put a price on a child's ability to make music. 作为一名科学家，我知道将这种材料组织成一个逻辑，科学合理的结构是编写一本有用的教科书的唯一方法，该教科书不包含致命的缺陷，例如错误的假设，这是大多数钢琴文学中的常见缺陷。我作为研究科学家的职业对这本书的创作至关重要，再加上对练习方法的最全面的处理，这使它与其他钢琴著作区别开来。请参阅（64）为什么最伟大的钢琴家不能教书，（66）钢琴练习的科学方法和（83）书评：一般评论。消除一些基于错误假设而被广泛接受的练习方法，不仅可以腾出足够的时间来学习钢琴，还可以从事在当今世界航行，甚至从事自己的职业所需的教育。高等教育是理解和教授钢琴的必要条件！我深信这本书可以为学生和老师提供帮助，并且自1999年以来就使该书可以在互联网上免费下载——孩子的音乐制作能力是非常重要、不能用金钱衡量的。

I did not originate most of the basic ideas in the practice methods. They were re-invented umpteen times in the 200 years since Bach, by every successful pianist; otherwise, they would not have had such success. I started writing this book using the teachings of Combe, the teacher of our two daughters who became accomplished pianists; they have won many first prizes in piano competitions and averaged about 10 recitals a year each for ten years; both have absolute pitch, enjoy composing music, and have careers in the computer field. 我并不是在练习方法中产生大多数基本思想的。 自巴赫（Bach）诞生以来的200年中，每位成功的钢琴演奏家都对它们进行了重新发明。 否则，他们将不会取得如此成功。 我是根据两个女儿的老师康贝的教学开始写这本书的。 她们成为了有成就的钢琴演奏者，在钢琴比赛中赢得了许多一等奖，并且在十年中平均每年大约有10个独奏会。 两者都有绝对音高，喜欢作曲，并且在计算机领域有事业。

Too many students spend 100% of their time learning new compositions and, because this process takes so long under the old teaching systems, there was no time left to practice the art of making music and to get a needed general education outside of music. The objective here is to make the learning process so fast that we can allocate 10% of practice time to technical work and 90% to making music, an objective first enunciated to me by Combe. 太多的学生花费100％的时间来学习新曲子，并且由于在旧的教学系统下该过程花费了很长时间，因此没有时间练习制作音乐的艺术并获得音乐以外的通识教育。 这里的目标是使学习过程变得如此之快，以至于我们可以将10％的练习时间分配给技术工作，而将90％的时间分配给制作音乐，这是Combe首先向我提出的目标。

The Age of Exercises (1900-2000), epitomized by Hanon's exercises and Cortot's book (Cortot, Alfred,), is finally ending because we know much better methods for technical development. The age of "you can't play this for ten years because it is too difficult" is also over; we can all start making music from day one of piano lessons and aspire to acquire significant repertoires of memorized, performable music within a fixed schedule of time. Hanon的练习和Cortot的书（Cortot，Alfred）所代表的练习时代（1900-2000）终于结束了，因为我们知道更好的技术开发方法。 “因为太难了，所以不能玩十年”的年代也结束了。 我们都可以从钢琴课的第一天开始制作音乐，并渴望在固定的时间内获取大量可记忆的、可演奏音乐。

I did not realize how effective these methods were until after I finished my First Edition book in 1995. These methods were better than what I had been using previously and, for years, I had been applying them with good results. I experienced my first awakening after finishing that book, when I read my own book and followed the methods systematically -- and experienced their incredible efficiency! So, what is the difference between knowing parts of the method and reading a book? In writing it, I had to take the various parts and arrange them into an organized structure that served a specific purpose and that had no missing essential components or fatal errors. It was as if I had most of the parts of a car but, without a mechanic to assemble it, find any missing parts, and tune it up, those parts weren't much good for transportation. That is a major advantage of books: everything can be carefully thought out and organized; nothing is forgotten. A teacher teaching a student in real time doesn't have that luxury; I always remembered important things that I should have taught (in science, piano, etc.) after the lessons were over. Without a good textbook, it is impossible to convey the information in a good book in lessons lasting just several hours a week. 直到1995年完成第一版后，我才意识到这些方法的有效性。这些方法比我以前使用的方法要好，而且多年来，我一直在应用它们并取得了良好的效果。当我读完自己的书并系统地遵循这些方法时，我在完成那本书之后经历了第一次觉醒-并体验了其惊人的效率！那么，知道方法的一部分和读书之间有什么区别？在编写它时，我不得不将各个部分安排在一个有组织的结构中，该结构可以满足特定的目的，并且不会遗漏任何必要的组件或致命的错误。好像我拥有汽车的大部分零件一样，但是如果没有机械师来组装它，找到任何缺失的零件并进行调整，这些零件对于运输来说就没有太大用处了。这是书籍的主要优势：可以仔细考虑和组织所有内容；没有什么被遗忘。实时教授学生的老师没有那么奢侈。我总是记得上完课后应该教的一些重要事情（科学，钢琴等）。没有一本好教科书，就不可能在一星期持续数小时的课程中传达在一本好书中信息。

Teachers are better than books because they can adapt their teachings to fit each student, but good books can provide more information than any one super teacher can hope to know, are always available to anyone, and cost less. Everyone agrees that the best system is a good teacher with good books, as practiced at all schools and universities. Can you imagine your school or university teaching without textbooks? Piano teaching got away without genuine textbooks for so long because it was based on talent instead of knowledge. Where would our civilization be today, if all institutions of learning were based on student talent instead of knowledge, where each student had to rediscover algebra, science, history, etc., on his own, without books and with only the teacher's memory as the source of information? 老师比书本更好，因为他们可以根据每个学生的需要调整教学内容，但是好书可以提供比任何一位超级老师都希望知道的更多的信息，任何人都可以使用，而且价格更低。 每个人都同意，最好的系统是在所有学校和大学中都实行的具有良好教科书的好老师。 您能想象没有教科书的学校或大学教学吗？ 钢琴教学在没有真正教科书的情况下走了很久，因为它是基于才华而不是知识。 如果所有的学习机构都是基于学生的才干而不是知识，并且没有书，每个学生不得不自己重新发现代数、科学、历史等，只有老师的记忆作为信息来源，那么今天的文明将是怎样的呢？

This book is not a dogmatic set of practice rules; it is a collection of tools for solving technical problems. It empowers students to create their own practice routines because each individual is different. It is about growth into independent, self-sufficient, mature individuals and musicians who control their own futures, instead of career students waiting for instructions. 这本书不是一套教条式的练习规则。 它是解决技术问题的工具的集合。 由于每个人都不一样，它使学生能够创建自己的练习程序。 它是关于成长为独立、自给自足、成熟的、控制自己的未来的个人和音乐家，而不是职业学生在等待指令。

Music, the ability to memorize a large repertoire, and IQ are linked. This book discusses this linkage, see (65) Creating Geniuses. Learning piano can lower the IQ (with mindless repetitions of exercises and cultivating a lazy brain) or raise the IQ by learning how to memorize, conversing with the greatest geniuses that ever lived through their music, increasing brain stamina and speed, and learning the four "genius skills": efficient practice methods (this book), mental play [(15) Mental Play (MP)], absolute pitch [Absolute Pitch, Relative Pitch], and play by ear [(18) Play by Ear (PBE), Composing], that we can all learn. It is astonishing that a majority of teachers never taught these genius skills -- little wonder that genius was such a rarity. 音乐，记忆大曲目的能力和智商是相互联系的。 本书讨论了这种联系，请参阅（65）创建天才。 学习钢琴可以降低智商（通过无意识地重复练习和培养懒惰的大脑），或者通过学习记忆、与音乐中有史以来最伟大的天才进行交流、提高大脑的耐力和速度并学习四种方法来提高智商。 “天才技能”：有效的练习方法（本书），Mental Play[（15）Mental Play（MP）]，绝对音高[绝对音高，相对音高]和用耳朵演奏[（18）用耳朵演奏（PBE） ，作曲]，我们都可以学习。 令人惊讶的是，大多数老师从未教过这些天才技能——难怪天才是如此稀有。

In order to understand music theory and to learn piano, it is helpful to understand the (76) Chromatic Scale and piano tuning [Chapter Three Tuning Your Piano]. Pianists need these types of knowledge to communicate intelligently with the piano tuner. Every tuner is familiar with these subjects, but they run into impossible problems when the pianists are not informed, so that the tuners decide what is best for the pianist. Bach and Beethoven used specific temperaments and some temperaments are problematic with Chopin's music. Today, you can change temperaments with the flick of a digital piano switch and experience the unbelievable sonority of Beethoven's Waldstein or hear key color with Bach's Well Tempered Clavier, that are impossible with even the most expensive concert grand tuned to today's standard (Equal) Temperament. 为了理解音乐理论和学习钢琴，了解（76）音阶和钢琴调音很有帮助[第三章钢琴调音]。 钢琴家需要这些知识才能与钢琴调音器进行智能交流。 每个调音器都熟悉这些主题，但是在不通知钢琴家的情况下，它们会遇到无法解决的问题，因此，调音师会决定最适合钢琴家的。 巴赫（Bach）和贝多芬（Beethoven）使用了特定的音律，而某些音律则对肖邦的音乐造成了问题。 今天，您可以轻弹一下数字钢琴开关来改变音律，体验贝多芬的Waldstein令人难以置信的声音，或者用Bach的Welled Tempered Clavier听到关键的音色，即使将最昂贵的音乐会三角钢琴调到今天的标准（平均）音律，也是不可能的 。

This book is only a beginning; future research will reveal better learning methods with limitless possibilities. Today, babies are tested for hearing as soon as they are born; tomorrow, parents who want musical children will teach them Absolute Pitch before they learn the alphabet, see Absolute Pitch, Relative Pitch, (65) Creating Geniuses. Don't worry if you find yourself reading the same sections several times; that is normal because the information density is so high. Today's pianists can learn so many skills so quickly that no amount of "inborn talent" can hope to compete with a properly educated pianist. 这本书只是一个开始； 未来的研究将揭示出无限可能的更好的学习方法。 今天，婴儿出生后便会接受听力测试。 明天，想要有音乐感的孩子的父母将在他们学习字母之前教他们绝对音高，请参见绝对音高，相对音高，（65）创造天才。 如果您发现自己多次阅读相同的章节，请不要担心。 那很正常 因为信息密度很高。 当今的钢琴家可以如此迅速地学习很多技能，以至于没有多少“天生的才能”却没受过良好教育的人希望与受过良好教育的钢琴家竞争。

Acknowledgements: I must thank Dr. Robert B. Marcus, my supervisor at Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ, who introduced us to Mlle. Yvonne Combe, the volunteers, some of whom spent years translating my book, and the thoughtful readers who contributed comments. 致谢：我必须感谢新泽西州Murray Hill贝尔实验室的主管Robert B. Marcus博士向我们介绍了Mlle。 伊冯·科姆（Yvonne Combe），志愿者，其中一些人花了很多年翻译我的书，还有一些有思想的读者发表了评论。

Here are eye-opening Testimonials; what teachers think of this book and how it affected each pianist. What readers say, matters. 这是令人大开眼界的读者来信，即老师怎么看这本书以及它如何影响每位钢琴家。 读者说的，很重要。