I am an adult piano student and, after decades away, wish to begin again and believe strongly that I need to find a good teacher. One significant problem is that I have severe psoriasis on my hands (palms) and now arthritis in my left little finger both of which inhibit my reach and movement. I am interested in finding someone in my area who teaches using something similar to the Gieseking/Sandor/Whiteside approach - heavy on real music to learn technique instead of relearning all the scales "from the top" - as well as their whole-body approach. I don't want to have to focus on my hands since they are already painful both physically and psychologically.

I am in Norfolk, VA. Any ideas on how to begin to find someone? OR better yet - does anyone here know anyone in Norfolk/VA beach/tidewater area?

I just taught a workshop to the Tidewater Music Teacher's Forum on tuesday. What a great group of teachers!

If you'll send me a PM, I'll give you the contact information of the president of that group. I know they have over 100 members in that area, and undoubtedly the president will be able to find a teacher to meet your needs.

charlene

Eliz,

I just want to encourage you to pursue the Whiteside approach (I have some reservations about Sandor and haven't found Gieseking helpful)technique. I don't know of any teachers with her philosophy, but I found that by absorbing her concepts from her writings, especially focusing on the whole body and not on the fingers, I can improve my technique far beyond what I had learned from teachers. In three years (I am now 65) I have learned to play Chopin's etudes Opus 10 no. 1, Opus 25, nos. 11 and 12. These are reputed to be among the most difficult, and I am simply thrilled to be practicing them. I can hardly wait for retirement, in a year, to really get into it. My fingers are pretty stiff, but it's incredible what the arm can do. Best wishes!
Rich Y