Play the piano like it’s a violin (Thoughts on practicing Chopin’s Prelude in E minor, Op. 28 no. 4)

If pianists would think of the string or vocal model when playing, their phrases would be sculpted and shaped nicely.

What pianists can learn from string players

Piano students have a lot to learn from string players who have direct contact with their sound source by strokes of a bow. As pianists, we are physically separated from the strings as hammers must be activated by our key depressions, but by listening to the swells of a violin, cello, or viola, hearing shades…