Mastering Intermediate Technique (Parts 1 & 2)

Begin your journey toward effortless, expressive piano playing with the first two instalments of Fred Karpoff’s twelve-part course, Mastering Intermediate Technique. These foundational lessons introduce whole-body technique and reveal how movement connects with tone to bring music to life.

Part 1 Contents

Unit 1 - Foundations

• Adopting a balanced sitting position that enables fluid movement across the keyboard
• Discovering how forearm awareness and muscle release create a “quiet hand”, unlocking speed and comfort without tension
• Finding your hand’s natural shape and alignment with the forearm for greater control and physical ease in your playing
• Learning how the wrist, knuckles and fingers can work in harmony to improve coordination, tone and expressive nuance - no matter your hand size or structure

Unit 2 - Fundamental Movements

• Learning how to let your arm fall freely and release into the keys
• Supporting arm weight through each finger, especially the 4th and 5th, while maintaining a relaxed hand
• Unlocking freedom and preparing for virtuosic playing with the powerful, but simple vibrato motion
• Using the vibrato motion to provide more comfortable and musical fingering alternatives for repeated notes

Part 2 Contents

Unit 3 – The Three Families of Sound

• Introducing three tone qualities - round, rhythmic, and ringing - that form an expressive palette for bringing music to life
• Learning to produce these essential sounds with ease and apply them to repertoire examples for greater nuance and creativity in your playing
• Experimenting with tone layering and contrast - powerful tools for vivid musical storytelling

Unit 4 – Slurs and Expressive Motion

• Unlocking freedom of movement through the deceptively simple two-note slur - the gesture that connects technique to musicality
• Progressing from two-note groups into flowing sequences, refining balance and alignment while building momentum
• Exploring shaping, finger substitutions, and avoiding the dreaded “second note kick” in repertoire examples by Beethoven, MacDowell, and Florence Price
• Transitioning to three- and four-note slurs, discovering how wrist arcs, weight transfer, and timely release contour expressive lines in works by Mozart and Chaminade
• Expanding your range of motion through “over and in” and “under and out” gestures, preparing both hands for the basic Three-Dimensional Form on five notes

About the course

Award-winning pianist and educator, Fred Karpoff’s new online course, Mastering Intermediate Technique, is designed to help pianists at an intermediate level overcome technical challenges and play with greater fluidity and ease.

Through twelve detailed instalments featuring over 80 examples from the repertoire, the course teaches how to instil a whole-body technique, enabling you to express yourself authentically and effortlessly at the piano. Click here to find out more about the course.

Purchase options

Purchase first two instalments (of twelve) here featuring eighteen detailed video lessons for a once-off cost of £100. Alternatively you can save on the individual instalment prices and purchase lifetime access to all twelve instalments here for £500.