The PianoWell System
Mental practice for injury-free performance.
Describing an experience isn't the same as creating it. Every result at the keyboard begins as an internal process — one that can be understood, taught, and repeated.
Index of Comparisons
Choose an element to see how the two approaches differ.
Each element below is examined twice — first as it is traditionally described, then as it is created through the PianoWell System. Select any to jump straight to its comparison.
Sound & Line
Freedom in the Body
Musical Shape
“Technique is the ability to produce what you want. The presupposition is that you want something. So before going to the piano and training your muscles — which is a waste of time, because it’s not in the muscles, it’s in the brain, it’s in the inner ear. Artur Schnabel used to say it: “Hear before you play. If you play before you hear what you’re going for, it’s an accident, and everything is built then on an accident.” So — want something, hear it, go for it.”
Sound & Line
Legato
A single, familiar idea. Traditional teaching describes what legato should feel like and asks you to imitate it. The PianoWell System explains how that experience is actually produced.
Traditional Teaching
The description of the experience — “Imitate the effect.”
- Play smoothly. Overlap slightly when releasing the fingers.
- Imagine your fingers sinking into soft butter or dough.
- Let one note naturally blend into the next.
- Play as if you were singing — like bel canto singing.
- Gently enter the key without force.
- Sing! Feel the depth of the keys as you play.
The PianoWell System
How the experience is created — “Create the feeling.”
- 1Imagine the notes in the right quality and direction of the sound.
- 2Convey the imagined sound and its direction through aligned wrist motion.
- 3Internally sing the space between the notes with glissando and resistance.
- 4Transfer free energy within your body (arm weight) to the instrument through internal singing.
- 5Your hands don’t exist: they are simply a channel for expressing sound imagination and internal singing.
“I tell the young people, “Sing! Sing inside.” You have no voice — that doesn’t matter. The best voice is if you feel singing in you.”
“You must sing if you wish to play.”
Sound & Line
Articulation
The same divide appears with articulation. The traditional vocabulary is a stream of corrections; the PianoWell System is a repeatable internal sequence.
Traditional Teaching
The description of the experience — “Imitate the effect.”
- There is a difference between finger and wrist staccato.
- Too unclear… and now too harsh! Sharper, brighter, more clear!
- Imagine playing as if your hands are on a hot stove!
- Active fingers, active fingertips — but avoid a static wrist!
- Hold the tenuto longer, with more weight!
- The accent must be sharper, but still round and rich!
- Do you know which articulations are written here?!
The PianoWell System
How the experience is created — “Create the feeling.”
- 1Imagine the notes in the right quality and direction of the sound.
- 2Convey the imagined sound and its direction through aligned wrist motion.
- 3Adjust your upper arms and elbows to support position changes, keeping the hand naturally closed and tension-free.
- 4Internally sing the space between the notes with glissando and resistance, using the correct singing technique for the given articulation — alternating the speed and weight of your singing as needed.
- 5Transfer free energy within your body (arm weight) to the instrument through internal singing.
- 6Your hands don’t exist: they are simply a channel for expressing sound imagination and internal singing.
“When you control the things you play, then you can create the illusion of playing a glissando on the piano — you dream every note between the notes. That is a hypnotic thing, because people are going to hear those glissandos if you hear them. It will be like a rainbow: the rainbow doesn’t exist, the rainbow exists only where you are.”
Freedom in the Body
Relaxed Hands
Rather than chasing looseness directly, the control of playing shifts from compulsive tension throughout the body to a focus in the mind and vocal cords — engaging only the small, invisible muscles needed for the desired touch and tone.
Traditional Teaching
The description of the experience — “Imitate the effect.”
- Relax your hands. Find the sections where you can relax your hands.
- Hands are breathing. Don’t tense up! You are so stiff, just relax!
- Shake your hands, make them loose.
- But not too much — now you’re not able to play anything!
- Relaxed, but not too loose: just flexible and firm.
The PianoWell System
How the experience is created — “Create the feeling.”
- 1Your hands don’t exist: they are simply vessels, a channel for expressing your musical intentions at the piano.
- 2Imagine the notes in the right quality and direction of the sound to activate the fingertips.
- 3Convey the imagined sound and its direction through aligned wrist motion to avoid static energy and create a breathing pattern when playing.
- 4Adjust your upper arms and elbows to support position changes, keeping the hand naturally closed and tension-free.
- 5Internally sing the space between the notes with glissando and resistance to control the finger muscles in the palm.
- 6Transfer free energy within your body (arm weight) to the instrument through internal singing to maintain free energy while playing.
“If you have in your ear the sound of the oboes, or the violin, or the chorus, or the flute — the mere fact that you have that in your ear, and the understanding of how that flute sounds in that register, will allow you (if you have the necessary manual control) to produce a sound that is much more interesting and imaginative than the sound produced by simply bringing the keys down.”
Freedom in the Body
Flexible Wrist
Traditional Teaching
The description of the experience — “Imitate the effect.”
- The wrist shouldn’t be static. Let your hand breathe!
- Relax your wrist. It shouldn’t feel too loose or too fixed.
- The wrist should sing! Find a natural angle.
- Avoid tension. Move your wrist more freely — but not too much.
The PianoWell System
How the experience is created — “Create the feeling.”
- 1Imagine the notes in the right quality and direction of the sound.
- 2Convey the imagined sound and its direction through aligned wrist motion.
- 3Adjust your upper arms and elbows to support position changes, keeping the hand naturally closed and tension-free.
- 4Internally sing the space between the notes with glissando and resistance.
- 5Transfer free energy within your body (arm weight) to the instrument through internal singing.
- 6Your hands don’t exist: they are simply a channel for expressing sound imagination and internal singing.
Freedom like this is not found by chance. It is built motion by motion, and the program guides you through every step.
Freedom in the Body
Active Fingertips
Traditional Teaching
The description of the experience — “Imitate the effect.”
- The fingertip should feel engaged and connected, almost as if it’s “clinging” to the key.
- The arm remains completely loose and relaxed, staying in contact with the keys without any tension.
- The tone lacks depth and color.
The PianoWell System
How the experience is created — “Create the feeling.”
- 1Imagine the notes in the colors of harmony, dynamics and voicing, adding the direction of the sound.
- 2Convey the imagined sound and its direction through aligned wrist motion.
- 3Your hands don’t exist: they are simply a channel for expressing sound imagination and internal singing.
“You think you have to play the piano with your fingers. That’s a big mistake — you play the piano with your hand. Playing the piano has to have a kind of dynamic feeling: the motion of the music, like things moving in space, like the wind blowing, coming and turning.”
Freedom in the Body
Good Posture
Posture is connected to inner singing with arm weight, so it is maintained while playing. When you focus on the musical expression, you won’t lose awareness of your posture — and vice versa.
Traditional Teaching
The description of the experience — “Imitate the effect.”
- Be mindful about your posture. You’re holding too much tension in your neck and shoulders.
- Look up! Sit higher for octaves, lower for runs and passages.
- Relax your back — don’t stiffen up!
- Release tension in your lower back and hips.
The PianoWell System
How the experience is created — “Create the feeling.”
- 1Feel your posture — a lightly slouched, loose back naturally pulled upward from the crown of your head; loose shoulders and thighs.
- 2Internally sing the space between the notes with glissando and resistance.
- 3Transfer free energy within your body (arm weight) to the instrument through internal singing.
Musical Shape
Phrasing
Traditional Teaching
The description of the experience — “Imitate the effect.”
- Keep going! More! Less!! Shape the phrase!
- Break it here — pause, then continue! A comma here, a period there!
- Breathe with the music! Small units build a larger story.
- Too choppy — connect it! Lead the phrase forward!
- Add a touch of rubato here! Phrasing must breathe, not stagnate!
The PianoWell System
How the experience is created — “Create the feeling.”
- 1Map out the shape of phrasing in the score — the length and contour of smaller and larger units.
- 2Internally sing the space between the notes with glissando and resistance, using the correct breathing technique for phrasing — gradating the nuances of energy and arm weight in your inner singing.
- 3Transfer free energy within your body (arm weight) to the instrument through internal singing.
- 4Your hands don’t exist: they are simply a channel for expressing sound imagination and internal singing.
“The next step would be not to phrase in a childish way. Child phrases are short, like children reciting poetry. Instead of separating the phrases, now connect them.”
Musical Shape
Storyline
The musical form — its beginning, development, rising action and climax.
Traditional Teaching
The description of the experience — “Imitate the effect.”
- Tell me a story. Everything feels a bit static — play again with more movement.
- Let me feel the development of the story.
- It’s the climax here — more, more, more!!!
- You can’t repeat this part with the same energy, it has to be different!
- Too much! Too little!
The PianoWell System
How the experience is created — “Create the feeling.”
- 1Map out the structure of form in the score — beginning, development, rising and climax parts.
- 2Internally sing the space between the notes with glissando and resistance, using the correct singing technique for form — gradating the nuances of energy and arm weight.
- 3Transfer free energy within your body (arm weight) to the instrument through internal singing.
- 4Your hands don’t exist: they are simply a channel for expressing sound imagination and internal singing.
“The more a piece of music has many different characters, colours and attributes, the more important it is to think of it strategically — so you never find yourself manipulated by the music. When you have a clear, new beginning of a sequence, like when you start a new paragraph in writing, it has to be very clearly enunciated.”
Musical Shape
Steady Pulse
The pulse is felt as a heartbeat integrated into the musical image and form, so it is never lost — because it is never disconnected from the musical idea.
Traditional Teaching
The description of the experience — “Imitate the effect.”
- You’re losing your tempo! Tem-po! Tem-po!
- Clapping the pulse… tapping with a pencil… walking… marching…
- Practice with a metronome at home.
- Playing louder doesn’t mean playing faster! There is a ritenuto written here!
- It’s too slow. Not too fast! This was rushed — find the right tempo.
The PianoWell System
How the experience is created — “Create the feeling.”
- 1Identify how many beats are in each bar.
- 2Decide which beats are stronger and which are lighter.
- 3Choose the heartbeat (tempo) associated with the emotion of the music.
“Sometimes I am missing a pulse. Even though it is pianissimo and only an arpeggio, the beginning element must already have a substance. There is a basic pulse which you can alter as the music requires — but if you find it in a strict sense, then all the expressivity will be even stronger.”
Dynamics & Colour
Forte
Traditional Teaching
The description of the experience — “Imitate the effect.”
- You’re playing everything mezzo-forte. Do you know which dynamic is written here?
- It’s not enough! It’s too harsh! Not banging!!
- Engage your back! Keep your wrist flexible.
- More!!! Don’t hold back!
- Play with a round, rich and full tone — not flat.
The PianoWell System
How the experience is created — “Create the feeling.”
- 1Imagine the notes in the right density and direction of the sound.
- 2Convey the imagined sound and its direction through aligned wrist motion.
- 3Adjust your upper arms and elbows to support position changes, keeping the hand naturally closed and tension-free.
- 4Internally sing the space between the notes with glissando and resistance.
- 5Transfer free energy within your body (arm weight) to the instrument through internal singing.
- 6Your hands don’t exist: they are simply a channel for expressing sound imagination and internal singing.
Dynamics & Colour
Piano
Traditional Teaching
The description of the experience — “Imitate the effect.”
- Too colorless — bring out the tone! Everything is mezzo-piano, where’s the contrast?
- Shhh… softer! No ghost notes! Control your tone.
- Prepare your fingers before each note.
- Enter the keys slower. Keep your fingers closer to the keys.
The PianoWell System
How the experience is created — “Create the feeling.”
- 1Imagine the notes in the right transparency and direction of the sound.
- 2Convey the imagined sound and its direction through aligned wrist motion.
- 3Adjust your upper arms and elbows to support position changes, keeping the hand naturally closed and tension-free.
- 4Internally sing the space between the notes with glissando and resistance.
- 5Transfer free energy within your body (arm weight) to the instrument through internal singing.
- 6Your hands don’t exist: they are simply a channel for expressing sound imagination and internal singing.
Dynamics & Colour
Voicing
Traditional Teaching
The description of the experience — “Imitate the effect.”
- The melody is colorless. Project this voice more!
- Where is the melody?!! The melody is louder and everything else is softer!
- Show me a hidden voice here. I can’t hear the main theme!
- Too little! Now too much!!! Bring out the melody.
The PianoWell System
How the experience is created — “Create the feeling.”
- 1Imagine the notes in the right distance and direction of the sound.
- 2Convey the imagined sound and its direction through aligned wrist motion.
- 3Adjust your upper arms and elbows to support position changes, keeping the hand naturally closed and tension-free.
- 4Internally sing the space between the notes with glissando and resistance.
- 5Transfer free energy within your body (arm weight) to the instrument through internal singing.
- 6Your hands don’t exist: they are simply a channel for expressing sound imagination and internal singing.
Dynamics & Colour
Harmony
Traditional Teaching
The description of the experience — “Imitate the effect.”
- Show me this harmony. Show me different colors.
- This is a resolution.
- Highlight this surprising harmony.
- This chord is more tense.
The PianoWell System
How the experience is created — “Create the feeling.”
- 1Imagine the notes in the right harmonic quality and direction of the sound.
- 2Convey the imagined sound and its direction through aligned wrist motion.
- 3Adjust your upper arms and elbows to support position changes, keeping the hand naturally closed and tension-free.
- 4Internally sing the space between the notes with glissando and resistance.
- 5Transfer free energy within your body (arm weight) to the instrument through internal singing.
- 6Your hands don’t exist: they are simply a channel for expressing sound imagination and internal singing.