Has anyone read or attended any workshops on Dr. Karpoff's Basic Three Dimensional Form," "Vibrato Technique?", etc? I watched a few clips but can't really determine if the seminar is worth taking off work to attend. Is there anything new to his concepts?

Isn't anyone out there who can answer my thread? Please?????

sample video

overview

HI Keystring, I am unable to access those videos (I was on Karpoff's website before posting this thread). I did however, find some clips on youtube by Karpoff, but they were very very short. I was hoping to get some input from someone who may have purchased the rather expensive set of DVD's. The workshop is probably a synopsis, or overview of Karpoff's concepts. I wondered if it presented anything fresh in the technique world.

Going by the sample videos and write-up, this seems to concern the idea of the whole body being involved in playing the piano from feet and hips to finger joints. Somebody gave a link to Seymour Bernstein recently, who ofc is well known, and I think that he also addresses the body being used in playing. Maybe some teachers who are familiar with Bernstein and maybe others will know whether there is anything unique, or simply whether what the man is demonstrating makes sense to pianists?

One of the links also gave an outline of a workshop.

Hello,

I met Dr. Karpoff several years ago at a music teacher's convention in California. I live overseas and was desperately looking fr a teacher. I bought his whole series on faith and it totally transformed my teaching. I still refer to both the DVD's and the manual and use his techniques with all of my students. I have been fortunate enough to have a lesson or two with him when we happen to be in the same country at the same time.

His methods have enabled me to improve my own playing as well as keep well ahead of my advancing students. I think about which of his techniques to teach when I choose new repertoire for my students and am also choosing repertoire for the 4th level of the piano method I wrote with this in mind.

Every once in a while, I go back to the foundations and basic form units with my students to review how they are playing their pieces. This week we worked on 2 and 3 note slurs again. I have been using the idea of free fall and relaxing to work with a 14 yr old who has a brilliant ear and reads well but gets nervous and tense when he plays for me.

I don't know what you mean by anything new with his concepts. But I like the way he breaks everything down into small teachable segments. There are numerous other specific reasons I like his program.

I hope this helps.

Sarah

Sarah, thanks so much for the input. I have been taught the concepts of using arm weight, relaxed arms, wrists, fingers, free falling arm, rotation, relaxed shoulders, drop down, lift up techniques. I attended a workshop on the Alexander technique, and did extensive research on ways to combat tension and injury while playing the piano. I wondered if there was anything new in Karpoff's methods.