News

WPM 204: CMU Press Release
July 20, 2006 Prelude - music for piano, one hand

MEDIA CONTACT: Lindsay Allen, 989-774-7327
PROGRAM CONTACT: Scott Burgess, 989-774-2045

Using only one hand at a time, a Central Michigan University faculty member has produced an unconventional compact disc.

Associate Professor of Music Adrienne Wiley has released “Prelude: Music for Piano, One Hand” on White Pine Music, the recording label operated by CMU’s School of Music.

“My close and unplanned association with the single-handed repertoire began when I was in the midst of completing graduate school and joined the ranks of musicians who injure themselves because they practice improperly,” said Wiley. “For nearly six months, I became a single-handed pianist who practiced this new repertoire with enthusiasm and energy, waiting for the time when my right hand had rested enough to return to the traditional two-handed piano music.”

While capable of using both hands in her piano playing, Wiley has opted to continue her study and practice of one-handed techniques. Wiley said she feels it is important for pianists to develop a strong technique with each hand in order to foster increased musicality when the hands are used together in traditional piano playing.

To encourage the development of individual-hand techniques, Wiley, whose specialty is piano pedagogy, created “Prelude” with piano teachers and students in mind.

“I wanted to make this music more accessible for piano teachers and their students,” Wiley said. “It is an excellent opportunity to develop and concentrate on the technique of one hand and the musical challenge that goes with it.”

The CD includes teaching and performance techniques, and the enhanced portion of the disc features links to additional information about the pieces on the disc, as well as some of Wiley’s writings regarding piano performance and pedagogy.

Wiley, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Kansas and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma, has spent her career teaching, performing and conducting research. She also has written articles for such prestigious music magazines as Keyboard Companion and Clavier Magazine.

More details about Wiley are available on her CMU faculty Web site at http://www.mus.cmich.edu/faculty/adrienne_wiley.htm