Thanks for watching! After years of classical training, I emerged disconnected, dissociated and disillusioned. In my 30s and 40s, I overcame recurring Repetitive Strain Injury and mental health challenges and journeyed from frustration to facility in playing. I changed my entire conception of practice, throwing away what wasn't working and embracing fresh, empowering focal points. As a result, I created Piano Portals: Rethink Technique, a groundbreaking, joyful online school for holistic technique without excess tension. If you like what you hear and see, why not: ***FIND OUT MORE: https://pianoportals.com/ ***DOWNLOAD FREE CHEAT SHEET - Top 10 Causes of Technical Difficulties: http://eepurl.com/gdIXG9 - Could there be Elephants in the Practice Room holding you back? Please like, subscribe and tell me about your own piano pathway. Filmed at Christ Church, Frome, Somerset, U. K.

Struggling with piano tension or frustration that stalls your progress? Maybe it’s not effort—it’s hidden habits holding you back. 👉 Free Mini-Course: What in Your Technique is Holding You Back? https://tinyurl.com/jn57ar5h --- Watch this next: https://youtu.be/jmspjEZ-Dsg --- 👉 Free Cheat Sheet - Top 10 Causes of Technical Difficulties: https://eepurl.com/gdIXG9 👉 Find Out More: https://pianoportals.com/ --- Struggling with piano technique, tension, or recurring pain that seems to hold your playing back no matter how much you practice? What if the problem isn’t effort—but hidden assumptions about how you play? In this video, Founder, Stephen Marquiss, shares the turning point that changed his relationship with piano playing after years of frustration, lost confidence and recurring Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). Piano Portals explores mindful piano technique, healthy practice habits and simple yet transformational musical approaches that reveal the “hidden treasures” often overlooked in traditional training. Discover how questioning the status quo, revisiting fundamentals and working in beautiful, low-pressure musical contexts can rebuild facility, flow, and freedom at the keyboard. Whether you're recovering from tension or injury, struggling with technique or searching for a more natural and expressive way to play, this video offers a safe space to rethink how you practice and reconnect with music. If you're ready to transform your piano technique, prevent injury and play with ease and confidence, this channel is for you. 👉 Subscribe for more mindful piano insights, practical exercises, and creative approaches to becoming the musician you’ve always wanted to be.** #PianoTechnique #MindfulPractice #PianoPractice #MusicianHealth #RSIRecovery

I'm late to the Wellerman party... I was stuck with the score for 15 years of my professional musical career. I'm proud of teaching myself to play by ear from scratch in my 30s and 40s. If you want this amazing party trick - not to mention the huge benefits to classical technique - I share the exact tools I used in: ***ESSENTIALS OF PLAYING BY EAR COURSE: https://stephen-marquiss-s-school.teachable.com/p/essentials-of-playing-by-ear * Thanks for watching! After years of classical training, I emerged disconnected, dissociated and disillusioned. In my 30s and 40s, I overcame recurring Repetitive Strain Injury and mental health challenges and journeyed from frustration to facility in playing. I changed my entire conception of practice, throwing away what wasn't working and embracing fresh, empowering focal points. As a result, I created Piano Portals: Rethink Technique, a groundbreaking, joyful online school for holistic technique without excess tension. If you like what you hear and see, why not: ***FIND OUT MORE: https://pianoportals.com/ ***DOWNLOAD FREE CHEAT SHEET - Top 10 Causes of Technical Difficulties: http://eepurl.com/gdIXG9 - Could there be Elephants in the Practice Room holding you back? Please like, subscribe and tell me about your own piano pathway.

Practising for hours but still tense and inconsistent? Fix hidden habits blocking flow, confidence and control. 👉 Free Mini-Course: What in Your Technique is Holding You Back? https://tinyurl.com/jn57ar5h --- Watch this next: https://youtu.be/jmspjEZ-Dsg --- 👉 Free Cheat Sheet - Top 10 Causes of Technical Difficulties: https://eepurl.com/gdIXG9 👉 Find Out More: https://pianoportals.com/ --- If you’re an intermediate-to-advanced pianist who still feels tight, hesitant or inconsistent, the problem may not be more repetition—it may be what you’re neglecting in your technique and mindset. In this video, pianist and Piano Portals Founder, Stephen Marquiss, shares five transformative principles inspired by Abby Whiteside to help you reconnect with natural coordination, musical flow and expressive confidence. Using Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star as a simple, powerful framework, you’ll explore playing more by ear, singing inwardly, whole-body coordination, torso-led movement, forearm integration and playful practice. These fundamentals build freer piano technique, better accuracy, stronger memory and effortless musicality—without overworking your fingers. Ideal for pianists who feel stuck, over-practise mechanics or want more expressive, tension-free playing. 00:00 What might you be neglecting in technique? 00:28 Overview – Five core tenets (Abby Whiteside inspired) 01:08 Authentic connection before mechanics 02:15 Learning the melody by ear 04:22 Tenet 1 – Emotional/musical connection shapes coordination 04:47 Tenet 2 – Playing by ear & inner hearing (audiation) 06:04 Integrating singing with playing 09:00 Inaccuracies come from not truly hearing the music 09:30 Tenet 3 – Torso-led, whole-body coordination (not finger-centric) 11:16 Tenet 4 – Forearm freedom, rotation & tension-free movement 13:15 Tenet 5 – Playful mindset vs stress and over-effort 14:38 Free resources & next steps --- 👉 Visit https://pianoportals.com/ for free resources and courses and subscribe for more mindful piano practice tips, ear training and technique tutorials. #PianoTechnique #PianoPractice #PlayByEar #Musicianship #PianoTips

The first of my 7-song EP, Joshua's Fire - 7 piano pieces charting a human journey. This collection marked my breakaway from my musical past, which I describe in more detail below. Enjoy the journey, and please comment on your listening experiences below! * Thanks for watching! After years of classical training, I emerged disconnected, dissociated and disillusioned. In my 30s and 40s, I overcame recurring Repetitive Strain Injury and mental health challenges and journeyed from frustration to facility in playing. I changed my entire conception of practice, throwing away what wasn't working and embracing fresh, empowering focal points. As a result, I created Piano Portals: Rethink Technique, a groundbreaking, joyful online school for holistic technique without excess tension. If you like what you hear and see, why not: ***FIND OUT MORE: https://pianoportals.com/ ***DOWNLOAD FREE CHEAT SHEET - Top 10 Causes of Technical Difficulties: http://eepurl.com/gdIXG9 - Could there be Elephants in the Practice Room holding you back? Please like, subscribe and tell me about your own piano pathway. Filmed at Christ Church, Frome with kind permission from the vicar and churchwardens.