Taught by renowned pianist
Adam Golka
Pianists are so focused on making music that their habits of mind and body go unnoticed during practice sessions. Yet the most satisfying musical experiences for pianists are ones in which they have mastered their mental and physical approach, and can just "let go" at the instrument. In this course, virtuoso pianist Adam Golka will share mindfulness techniques taken from meditation and Feldenkrais practice in the form of playful experiments anyone can try at the piano.
Intro: Experimentation & Self-Discovery
In this first lesson, Adam Golka introduces you to meditation and the Feldenkrais method and describes the value each has to the practicing pianist. Golka invites you to engage in a series of playful experiments, from your head to your toes, intended to trigger a process of technical self-discovery at the piano.
Sit bones
This experiment targets your posture by focusing on the crux of the matter: your sit bones. Using the famous opening chords from Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto, Adam Golka leads you in a series of activities to help you feel your sit bones and learn to align yourself more organically at the instrument.
Feet
In this experiment, Adam Golka asks you to focus on your feet during a series of challenges involving Chopin's "Ocean" Etude.
Eyes I
In the first of two experiments targeting the head and eyes, Adam Golka asks you to choose a passage with a moving right-hand part and follows along while the head and eyes move in contrary motion. Golka himself demonstrates on a famous passage from Chopin's D-flat Nocturne.
Eyes II
In the second of a two-part experiment, Adam Golka now asks you to switch from lateral to vertical head movement, requiring the eyes to look "up" or "down" at the keyboard. Golka demonstrates on a passage from Beethoven's "Les Adieux" Sonata.
Breath
For this experiment, Adam Golka asks you to breathe in different rhythms while playing four of the most beautiful bars Brahms ever composed.
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Unlock Course →Polish-American pianist Adam Golka has been regularly on the concert stage since the age of sixteen, when he won first prize at the 2nd China Shanghai International Piano Competition. He has also received the Gilmore Young Artist Award and the Max I. Allen Classical Fellowship Award from the American Pianists Association.
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