Piano Notes 
Practical notes on piano technique, practice habits and repertoire — written for my students, and for anyone learning piano.
Esercizio — the elements of technique
The building blocks of piano technique
Scales, arpeggios, double notes and polyphony — four rooms in the same house, and what each one trains.
Morbido — softness and release
Reducing stiffness: freedom of movement at the piano
Tension is rarely a muscle problem — it is usually uncertainty or misdirected effort.
Peso — weight and the whole arm
Arm, wrist and fingers: understanding your playing mechanism
The fingers only finish the movement — the sound begins in the back, arm and wrist.
Sciolto — ease at the keyboard
Confidence as the basis of physical freedom at the keyboard
Stiff wrists usually begin as doubt — how certainty turns into physical ease.
Cantabile — technique with purpose
Technique in service of musicality, not the other way around
Fast fingers are not the goal — every exercise should answer a musical question.
Sonorità — training the ear
Ear training exercises for a more beautiful tone
Beautiful tone starts in the ear, not the fingers — a few exercises I come back to.
Dinamica — from whisper to roar
Exploring the piano's full dynamic range
The gap between a printed forte and what your piano can really do is enormous.
Cantabile — the singing tone
Why tone matters more than speed
Speed is the easiest thing to measure — and the least interesting thing to listen to.
Due contro tre — two against three
A structured way to practice polyrhythms
Two against three isn't magic — it's a craft you can build step by step.
Tempo rubato — borrowed time
Rubato: expressive freedom without losing the pulse
Real rubato borrows time and pays it back — it isn't random slowing down.
Tempo giusto — the living pulse
What healthy rhythm really feels like
Rhythm isn't a metronome click. It's a living pulse — and learning to feel it changes everything.
Ascoltando — learning by ear
Learning from great pianists — without imitating them
A great recording is a teacher, not a template. What to actually listen for.
Affettuoso — beyond the notes
Beyond the notes: finding the artistic image
Technique is only the means. The artistic image — the emotional and poetic idea behind a piece — is the goal.
Legato — pedal technique
How to use the piano pedals
The sustain, una corda and sostenuto pedals, explained the way I teach them in Zurich.