Insert witty title here.

Wow. There was a lot in this chapter about Matthay. He was quite the prolific man and had some interesting things to say about technique. I like his chart about Conception and execution and how it breaks down. He said we shouldn't hit or squeeze the key as it affects our tone production. He tried to advocate weight and relaxation in a more convincing way than Breithaupt. As far as clarity in articulation goes, he blows Briethaupt out of the water. But as far as being able to execute everything, it's not exactly possible. I liked that he said technique is so much more than posture, position and movements.

While reading this chapter, I realized why so many treatises lost favor. Because it is so hard to articulate exactly what you mean without some form of demonstration or individual instruction. This means we will all have jobs in 50 years because people will not be able to teach themselves. *Whew*

He seemed like quite a successful teacher. His suggestion to practice slowly with exaggerated gestures is quite practical and beneficial. As you progress in tempo, the gestures shrink to they point where you can't really see them at all, but psychologically they are still there and aid in relaxation and ease of execution. He also emphasized the importance of listening as we practice and perform. In this book, we've seen just about every technique possible (aside from extended techniques of the 20th and 21st centuries). To resurrect Ivan's question, What technique is right? Well my answer, whatever technique works for you. We all have our individual tricks that come from many different techniques and different style periods. We're all eclectic technicians, and I wouldn't want or expect anything different.