I only like to say that I have watched and read your demo with much interest, and what you write here sounds very convincing to me too. Even although English is not my native language i consider buying your DVD.
Only a little thing: although I normally play with curved fingers, my both pinkies tend to remain straight while playing. Someone told me I should do something against this probably bad habbit. Not easy after almost 4 decades of playing. I have seen in your demo that your pinkies weren't curved either. Does it make sense to overcome that habbit in my case?

Dear Olaf,

I have good news, the DVD has German subtitles. More good news: it's a lot more complicated than a simple good/bad habit definition. Some people I might tell to curve their pinkies if I saw that it was hindering their technique in some way. Others I may well say nothing about it because it is not a problem. You have to look at the overall picture. How is your hand's structure and function on the key? What is your sound like? Orchestral? Full? Rich? Many-coloured? Expressive? Bland? Weak? One-dimensional? How does your hand contribute to all of this? Curved, curled or flat are all good depending on what you want to achieve in your sound. A general rule: the juicier the tone you seek the greater the amount of finger flesh you want to have actually contacting the key, and thus the flatter the finger... Horowitz curled his pinkies, it seems that I don't. Who is "right???" I worship him but it seems I don't have the same physical organization, much as though I aspire to it!

Thank you for your reply!

By the way, you speak very clearly and slowly on the DVD demo, so even for non-native Englishmen it is good understandable, also if there were no foreign subtitles.

To the thing about whether straight pinkies are a bad habbit or don't care: It shows me of course also the limit a DVD can have: because it cannot dig deeper into the personal habbits and their influence on the playing. Nevertheless, from what you said and what I have seen so far your DVD will be for sure a worthful thing and helps to improve in this or that area.

About "personal habits:" it's an interesting formulation. Makes me realize that what I am trying to do in the film is to access our basic function, something that doesn't go against personal habit but improves the way in which you do your own personal idiosyncracies no matter what they are. Which is why I hope the film can help even though I am not there personally to see which aspect should be addressed first. The film should act like a sort of template to be laid over, or even better which will underlay, what you are used to doing at the keyboard...

AFF