Fit 4 Piano

“This is a wonderful new resource for pianists and piano teachers around the world. As a holistic guide to piano teaching at all levels it can’t be bettered – this will become a hugely influential course, with practical solutions and applications for every stage of teaching.”

Stephen de Pledge, NZ concert pianist & senior lecturer at UoA

“Whether you are teaching first-stage beginners, intermediate, advanced or concert-level pianists, whether you are a piano teacher wanting to keep up your playing or a concert pianist looking to keep yourself in finest form, in my experience the exercises in this course work for everyone. I have been trialling Fit 4 Piano at all levels of teaching, as well as using the exercises every day for my own warm up, and have found them indispensable.”

Katherine Austin, concert pianist and chamber musician

“Dr. Rae de Lisle is to be congratulated and praised for such a comprehensive course on pianoplaying technique. Twenty chapters, lasting nine hours, of sheer love to every detail of piano playing that is explained and demonstrated by Dr. Rae de Lisle in a very pleasant environment. Workouts are demonstrated by the lovely assistant Melody. All produced in top professional manner by film maker BillMcCarthy. I have to admit, there are so many similarities to the ideas about technique and fingering that I usein my playing, teach, and write about in my own books. This is all invaluable stuff without which you can't play the piano well. But some things are just too precious. I simply love 'sing the ornaments', 'everything should sing', and 'Large intervals need more time (like in singing)'. So, this course doesn't only teach you technique, but also how to make beautiful music. Highly recommended!”

Rami Bar-Niv, Israeli pianist, composer and author

“What a fabulous resource this course is for pianists wishing to develop a healthy, reliable and effortless technique. The course unfolds over 20 chapters, each comprising a series of bite-sized videos, accompanied by on-screen written summaries, and supported by a comprehensive downloadable PDF containing fully-notated examples of Rae’s short, pithy exercises. The videos themselves are beautifully shot, with various camera angles providing close footage of Rae’s demonstrations. Her commentary throughout is clear and warmly engaging. Of particular benefit are the Workouts with Melody which conclude each chapter. These are incredibly valuable and could be used by students as part of their daily practice routine. This comprehensive and well-organised course provides a means by which anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of piano technique can benefit from the insights and experience of one of the NZ’s most highly regarded and successful piano teachers. Highly recommended.”

Dr. Dianne James, Principal Teacher, Sherwood Piano Studio

“This course is an incredibly rich resource for both teachers and pianists, comprehensively guiding them through key concepts that are necessary in developing a piano technique which allows them to express themselves fully at the instrument with ease, grounded in an approach that lays the foundation for a lifetime of healthy piano playing. Rae’s research draws on decades of experience, resulting in a distilled wisdom that all can benefit from in this course. I employ these concepts and strategies in my own playing and in my teaching practice, and consistently see joyful results across all levels. The video explanations and demonstrations are professionally shot, with camera angles that let you see the techniques applied at the piano, and you feel as if you are receiving a personal masterclass from Rae every step of the way, supplemented with downloadable PDFs and summaries. This course provides the opportunity to learn from one of the finest piano teachers, and I highly recommend it to all.”

John-Paul Muir, Classical & Jazz Pianist, UK