Building Healthy Technique: An Interview with Penelope Roskell

Few pianists combine the artistry of a seasoned performer with the insight of a pedagogue and the care of a medical specialist quite like Penelope Roskell. An international concert pianist and Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, Roskell has built a reputation not only for her acclaimed performances and recordings but also for her pioneering work on healthy technique and injury prevention.

Her award-winning book The Complete Pianist: from healthy technique to natural artistry has been hailed as “an encyclopaedic masterpiece of pianistic wisdom,” and her series Essential Piano Technique is transforming the way children approach the instrument from their earliest lessons. As Chair of the European Piano Teachers’ Association (UK), piano consultant to the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine, and founder of the Roskell Academy, she has become one of the most influential figures shaping piano pedagogy today.

In this interview, Roskell reflects on the thinking behind her latest publications, shares her perspective on building confident and injury-free pianists, and discusses her vision for the next generation of musicians.

Nikhil Sardana: Your book The Complete Pianist has become a cornerstone for advanced players. With Essential Piano Technique, you turn to younger learners. What motivated this shift towards early-level pedagogy? 

Penelope Roskell: I wrote The Complete Pianist over a period of about fifteen years. It was intended mainly for advanced pianists: college students, adult amateurs, professional performers and teachers. Its main focus is on how to coordinate the body in the best possible way to play not only with ease but also with artistry.

In the Essential Piano Technique series, I draw on all the principles set out in The Complete Pianist, but introduce them in a simple and light-hearted way designed to appeal to elementary and intermediate pianists. The aim is to establish a strong foundation in healthy technique from the very beginning, thus avoiding the many pitfalls, tensions and injuries that often occur later.

Levels 2 and 3, the most recent additions, guide students from mid-elementary to intermediate level. They build on techniques taught in the earlier books while introducing many new skills, such as agility, balancing sounds, greater control of tone quality, repeated notes, ornaments, extended hand positions, pedalling and much more.

NS: Many tutors rely heavily on repertoire-based methods. What gap in piano pedagogy did you hope to fill with your Essential Piano Technique series?

PR: Traditional beginner method books have tended to focus on note-learning and playing simple pieces in the five-finger position around middle C. However, this approach is not conducive to developing the coordination and freedom of movement required to advance confidently.

My books can be used alongside most modern methods or as stand-alone resources. My aim was to offer a series that integrates technique (in its broadest sense) with musicianship. Every aspect of technique is introduced first as a natural movement away from the piano. This is then put into practice in a simple exercise at the instrument, often using the full keyboard range, before being refined further in a short piece that focuses almost exclusively on that technique.

NS: Both Levels 2 and 3 include teaching notes, objectives and video demonstrations. How important is it for young pianists and their teachers to integrate technique and artistry right from the early stages?

PR: I interpret the word ‘technique’ in its broadest sense: all the skills a pianist needs in order to play with ease, confidence and musicality. Technique is a means to an end, but it must be taught systematically and sensitively.

It is difficult to play musically if the physical gestures made at the piano are at odds with the natural gestures inherent in the music. For instance, a mechanical finger action will not serve a flowing cantabile piece. I believe all technical training should therefore have a very clear musical purpose. This is why, in the Essential Piano Technique books, every new skill is immediately put into practice in an engaging piece of music.

As this approach is new to many teachers, I wanted to offer as much support as possible through teaching notes, videos and suggested repertoire, so that teachers can feel confident they are covering each topic thoroughly and in a musically focused way.

NS: You are widely recognised as a specialist in healthy piano playing and in the treatment of performance-related injuries. How does this expertise shape the way you present technique to children in your new books?

PR: Ever since I experienced an injury myself as a college student (while practising Liszt’s Second Concerto with a faulty octave technique), I have researched healthier ways of playing. I now run a clinic for the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine, advising pianists suffering from playing-related injuries. From this experience, I have identified certain technical habits that often underlie such problems. For example:

• Thumb pain is frequently caused by ulnar deviation (a twisted hand position), often a result of starting with middle-C position work.
• A stiff wrist can arise from attempting legato and chords too soon at elementary level.
• Tendonitis (repetitive strain injury) often develops after years of playing with excessively curved fingers.
• Focal dystonia (a distressing and debilitating condition involving involuntary movements) is, in my view, strongly linked to uneven finger curvature, sometimes established through early reliance on white-note playing. 

Many of these harmful habits are acquired in the first weeks of learning. My aim was to create resources that help teachers give every student the best possible start—both musically and technically.

NS: Could you share a specific example of how an exercise or duet from Essential Piano Technique helps young pianists develop both confidence and musicality?

PR: A fundamental example is the technique I call The Parachute Touch. We begin by freeing the arm in a forward-and-back swing. The student then imagines the raised hand as a cat hanging from a parachute, coming gently to land on the keyboard (see illustration).

This is first practised in a duet version of Pachelbel’s Canon, using single notes with one finger. It is then extended to include slurs and longer phrases.

The Parachute Touch teaches essential skills: coordinated arm use, gravity-assisted movement, and landing with a soft wrist. It produces a warm but focused sound—the foundation of cantabile playing. Once the broad movement is established, pianists refine it into what I call the breathing wrist, a gesture used at the start of every phrase and in all cantabile chords.

NS: Your career spans solo performance, teaching at Trinity Laban, and working with musicians worldwide. How have these different roles informed your approach to creating these new pedagogical resources?

PR: I am fortunate to have had a wide range of experiences as a performer, teacher, writer and injury specialist. Each informs the others. For instance, regular practising and performing keep me closely connected to the challenges faced by students and young professionals.

In my newer roles as Chair of the European Piano Teachers Association (EPTA UK) and Director of the Roskell Academy, I am particularly committed to supporting and educating teachers, and to providing resources that help their students become confident, inspired pianists.

NS: In your view, what are the most common technical habits—good or bad—that young pianists develop early on, and how do Levels 2 and 3 address them?

PR: In all the Essential Piano Technique books, we focus on establishing good habits from the outset so that bad ones never arise. This includes good posture and hand shape, flexibility in the wrist, elbow and shoulder joints, flowing arm movements that shape music eloquently, and energetic movements that provide impetus and rhythmic drive. Perhaps most importantly, we encourage attentive listening and the pursuit of a beautiful sound.

NS: Looking ahead, how do you envision the Essential Piano Technique series supporting the next generation of pianists, both in the UK and internationally?

PR: The response from teachers worldwide has been very encouraging. They tell me their students enjoy the imagery, imaginative pieces and gentle humour, and that lessons are more engaging as a result. Crucially, students develop a natural technique closely aligned with musical expression.

I am now planning a final volume of the series, covering late-intermediate to advanced levels, as well as a book on injury prevention and rehabilitation for pianists and teachers.

I have also founded the Roskell Academy, a not-for-profit community that supports pianists and teachers through resources and courses. My long-term aim is that teachers everywhere develop an understanding of healthy playing methods, so their students can play with ease, confidence and artistry—while avoiding career-threatening injuries.