What Are Your Go-To Tools for Technique?
Are they cultivating the whole-body coordination you need for real-life, fluent, expressive playing?
I 'worked on' my technique for years at music school. I did my scales and studies. At 18, I emerged dissatisfied, plagued by recurring injury and low self-esteem.
A ceiling remained on the 'holy grails' of exquisite dynamic control, rhythmic evenness, balance, ornamentation, cantabile, brilliant chords and octaves, not to mention just playing simple music beautifully and 'effortlessly'.
Inspired by pioneering American pedagogue, Abby Whiteside (1881-1956), and refined over 25 years of my own honest investigations, the Primary Portals introduce an enjoyable, alternative framework for technique.
The Primary Portals are striking, unorthodox ways of playing which cultivate fluent, expressive coordination in conjunction with your flowing response to music. They address Elephants in the Practice Room at the centre of your playing coordination, causing a sense of weakness or lack of control at the periphery.
Learn effective, engaging substitutes for conventional technical exercises which double as paths to expert mastery for Intermediate-Advanced players.
PLEASE NOTE: This course is the recommended entry-point for all levels of experience. It introduces essential contexts and concepts required for the later Transform Technique courses. Please note also that this is a course for technique, not the rudiments of playing for complete beginners.
Course Contents
- Engaging introductory videos outlining the essential Piano Portals philosophy
- Lively tutorials on the Piano Portals 7 Secrets of Piano Playing
- Quick demos and detailed walk-throughs of the 10 Primary Portals for transforming technique
- 60-page PDF Coursebook with bedtime reading on Piano Portals, at-a-glance summaries of the Primary Portals and journalling space corresponding with course videos
- Demos of excerpts from piano repertoire that benefit from engaging with the Primary Portals
- Demos of live recorded 1-2-1 sessions featuring the Primary Portals in real learning contexts
- A section on Partner Portals - activities like improvising and transposing which can be also be effective portals for technique
- A demo of how the Patterns from Transform Technique 2 can continue your journey towards fluent, expressive technique
- Interactive comments sections
- Access to the respectful, open-minded Piano Portals discussion forum for piano technique
- Unlimited, unrestricted access to course contents, including downloadable videos
Example Curriculum
- Primary Portal #1 - Type With 2 Fingers (12:07)
- Primary Portal #2 - Thread the Needle (4:25)
- Primary Portal #3 - Slow-Mo Chop (11:12)
- Interlude: Piano Piece and Live Demos 1 (15:42)
- Primary Portal #4 - Milk the Cow (4:06)
- Primary Portal #5 - Chopping Wood (7:32)
- Primary Portal #6 - Knock in the Pegs (3:25)
- Primary Portal #7 - Slow-Mo Yesss (3:22)
- Primary Portal #8 - The Eagle Flies (5:03)
- Interlude: Piano Piece and Live Demos 2 (7:50)
Meet Founder, Stephen Marquiss
MA (Cantab.)
Piano Portals Founder, Stephen Marquiss, journeyed from frustration to facility in playing in his 30s and 40s.
In the late 1990s, he left music school frustrated by recurring injury and a ceiling on technique.
Stephen spent 25 years refining a groundbreaking, holistic approach to piano technique that empowers Elementary to Advanced pianists to play to their potential.
Inspired by Abby Whiteside (1881-1956), Piano Portals is an accessible, joyful online school for technique and radical substitute for conventional exercises.
Stephen is an experienced pianist, tutor and speaker. He's been a piano tutor for the prestigious Jackdaws Music Education Trust since 2017 and twice a speaker at the UK Music and Drama Education Expo. His work has been featured in International Piano and Music Teacher Magazines and on BBC Radio 3.
@pianoportals on YouTube for free tutorials
@stephenmarquisspiano on YouTube for playing videos
