Piano Paper
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In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Muzio Clementi and Carl Czerny taught the importance of finger training.14 Czerny believed that endless repetitions would cure any problems a pianist might encounter.15 His books for finger exercises are still commonly used in teaching.
Louis Adam, a keyboard player of the Paris Conservatory, is considered the first person to write a method book for the pianoforte.16 His method, published in 1802, focused on a variety of touches and the use of the pedal.17
Piano instruction during this first hundred years displays three major principles: 1) only the fingers should be used; consequently, the upper parts of the arm should be [fixed]; 2) technical training is a purely mechanical procedure, requiring many hours of daily practicing; 3) the teacher is the absolute authority.18
Nineteenth Century: Innovation and Cultivation In the middle of the nineteenth century, the piano became a commonplace object, both in the home and in the concert hall.19 During this time, two distinct schools of piano playing appeared. One of the schools was led by a student of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, whose emphasis was on clarity of texture and fluency of technique.20 Ludwig van Beethoven was a leader of the other school...