In this brief lesson, American pianist Jeffrey Biegel applies the practice techniques he learned from famed Juilliard teacher Adele Marcus to Rachmaninoff's Prelude in E-flat Minor, Op. 23 No. 9, a mesmerizing study in double-notes.

In this lesson, American pianist Jeffrey Biegel presents a primer on arpeggio practice.

Biegel presents a practice routine that builds arpeggios gradually from one octave to four octaves. Each key requires a unique choreography depending on the pattern of black and white keys, and selecting the best fingering for each is crucial to internalizing these patterns through repeated practice.

Biegel rounds out the lesson by giving several creative practice tips for building strength and security in arpeggios.

In this lesson, American pianist Jeffrey Biegel discusses Clementi's underrated collection of etudes entitled "Gradus ad Parnassum."

The collection is filled with wonderful gems that are great to practice after working on Hanon, since they are much more musically gratifying and contain inventive challenges that will push your technique to new heights. Biegel shows you his favorite exercise from the set that he has used over the years to build different advanced skills, but encourages you to choose the ones that best fit your needs.

In this lesson, American pianist takes a tour of Book I of Hanon's The Virtuoso Pianist, demonstrating techniques for building finger strength and agility with the goal of making these famous (and famously boring) exercises a little more fun and fruitful.

Biegel begins by showing how to train finger strength by lifting and dropping into every key at gradually increasing tempos, using the metronome as a guiding tool. As he progresses through the exercises, he shows you different articulations, rhythms, hand crossings, and other ways of manipulating the exercises to develop specific skills.

As a result of applying these techniques to your Hanon practice, you will develop more evenness and fluidity in your playing.‍

In this video, American pianist Jeffrey Biegel introduces the technical regimen he learned from his teacher, the famous Juilliard pedagogue Adele Marcus.

Having been born almost entirely deaf, music was Biegel's first language, and connecting to the piano physically was an important part of his development both musically and personally. Therefore, he takes particular interest in demonstrating the importance of adapting and refining Marcus's regimen to help students of any age feel more comfortable and secure on the instrument, so that they may express themselves more fluently, just as he learned to at an early age.

In this lesson, American pianist Jeffrey Biegel demonstrates the Octave Exercise, the fourth core exercise in the Technical Regimen he adapted from his teacher Adele Marcus, who prescribed a version of it to her students during her more than 30 years at Juilliard.

Marcus, a student of Josef Lhevinne who had one of the greatest octave techniques of the 20th century, taught emphasized the basic use of the wrist in developing and sustaining strong, repeated octaves. Biegel shows how to summon the energy upward into the wrist and releasing the energy back down into the keys. This "snapping" motion builds reflexes in the wrist and hand to allow for relaxed and responsive octaves.

In this lesson, American pianist Jeffrey Biegel presents on primer on scale practice.

Scales should be seamless, as if sung, and yet on the piano they must be played by individual fingers striking discrete keys. Biegel demonstrates how the whole body must be called upon to create smooth lines, from the legs up through the torso and arm and into the fingers, which should crawl like spiders around the keyboard. Biegel asks you to imagine the keyboard as a canvas, and paint broad brush strokes with the arm. He ends with a recommendation for developing a reliable scale practice routine.

4th and 5th Finger Stretch

In this lesson, American pianist Jeffrey Biegel demonstrates the "4th and 5th Finger Stretch", the second core exercise in the Technical Regimen he adapted from his teacher Adele Marcus, who prescribed a version of it to her students during her more than 30 years at Juilliard.

The purpose of this stretch is to build strength in the weaker part of the hand. Just like in any kind of strength training, it is important to learn the correct form of the stretch so as not to create strain and risk injury. Biegel plays the role of your personal trainer, guiding you methodically through the work out with the end goal of firming up your 4th and 5th fingers of both hands.

In this lesson, American pianist Jeffrey Biegel demonstrates the "Diminished 7th Chord Stretch", the first core exercise in the Technical Regimen he adapted from his teacher Adele Marcus, who prescribed a version of it to her students during her more than 30 years at Juilliard.

Biegel starts by demonstrating the proper way to orient yourself at the piano. Before you attempt the first three finger-strengthening stretches of the regimen, you must ensure that you are aligned naturally at the piano and that your shoulders and elbows hang loosely so as to avoid tension and energy.

Biegel then instructs you to cover the 5 notes of a C fully-diminished chord, or a slightly modified chord for smaller hands, which serves as the basis for the exerciset. Biegel plays the role of your personal trainer, guiding you methodically through the work out with the end goal of firming up the stucture of the hand and finger tips, increasing security and facility in anything you play thereafter.

In this lesson, American pianist Jeffrey Biegel demonstrates the "Open Arpeggio Stretch", the third core exercise in the Technical Regimen he adapted from his teacher Adele Marcus, who prescribed a version of it to her students during her more than 30 years at Juilliard.

The purpose of this stretch is to activate all 5 fingers, get comfortable with wider spans between intervals, and to build up the energy in your hand over time.