With regard to touch, fine control of the playing mechanism and one's auditory senses are an inseparable pair. It is one's hearing that informs the playing mechanism whether or not its actions are precise. As one of my teachers frequently said: "if you can hear it, you have the ability to make that sound."
First you must have image of sound picture in brain (result of much listening to masters)
I disagree. Trying to make the sound of masters on your piano is fruitless. It's a different instrument! You need to search for your own sound. That takes a degree of imagination. I agree with quantum's teacher - knowing it when you hear it is the key.
I agree a musician must live in his/her own milieu, but also they must be directed by their ear, not the mechanics.
First you must have image of sound picture in brain (result of much listening to masters)Second you must know how to create what sound with what movement.Third you have ears to CHECK result. If you have not 1 and 2, ears will not help.
Placing the focus on the discovery of a movement solution that best fits the desired sound, rather than picking from a multiple choice list, leads to the most direct and relevant solution. Placing the focus on discovery also establishes the mindset of continually enlarging one's body of knowledge with regard to auditory-mechanical relationships, as opposed to falling back on the comfort of familiar predetermined solutions.
I can very much agree with you for people who already masters, but I am in doubt a bit about learners like OP. Problem: a push movement with arm found by experiment, for a sample, may be good to get certain sound in easy or moderate music but if person uses this as habit solution for that sound quality, it may block development into virtuoso level. In advanced music person not has so many options to move. You do it correct or not correct. If not good, you cannot play that level. Very simple. Important to know what works on all levels if person wants to become master, so no re-training will be necessary in future.
On reading your posts bove, you seem to be saying that the ability to produce the sound you want is part of the art of playing the piano. It's not. It is very much part of the craft. The art comes from making the sounds you want (and then produce) the vehicle to express interesting or profound ideas.
Maybe I wrote something unclear. This is my idea: "Touch" = craft (something you must KNOW how to do) in the service of art (higher ideas). Students should learn this craft from expert-teacher if they are not genius. Without it, there can be no real high-level art, even if person has very interesting or profound ideas for certain pieces.
Why, if ears simply determine everything?
Different stage of the process, I think. I haven't used one of those, so can't speak with authority, but I believe the purpose is to lock in the movements with the idealised imagined sound uncorrupted by the actual sound? What was your experience?
For now: confusion. I understand now that sound is in head and fingers/body act somehow as result to expectation inside head. Ears check AFTER the act to see if I did it correct, but when I hear incorrect result, it is already too late. Silent keyboard takes away element and you are forced to concentrate very well on body awareness and sound inside head. You also learn something about cause-result, but I don't know yet what exactly. More I can not say. I ordered silent keyboard for myself now to experiment.P.S.: That is maybe why many students - so sad: They hear bad result but can do nothing because they do not know how to change bad result to good one.
In advanced music person not has so many options to move. You do it correct or not correct. If not good, you cannot play that level. Very simple. Important to know what works on all levels if person wants to become master, so no re-training will be necessary in future.
That's where the teacher comes in. The body works hand in hand (pardon the pun) with the ear to produce music. A teacher is required to point out any false turns - the student only needing to engage in mechanics when things are going down the wrong path.
Why wait until student goes wrong way? Why not show/teach good movements and fingertips concentration for beautiful touch from beginning?
True beginners come with good movements - it's nature's way. All they need is guidance where they don't quite find their way. Those that come riddled with bad habits, well that's another story.
It seems I can only play pp or FF.I can´t do anything in between
Your misfortune was to be instructed by a teacher who told you what to do rather than one who told you what not to do.
We are not born knowing the efficient way to press a piano key. If we were, self learners would all be thriving.
Self learners quickly develop bad habits that then get ingrained. It's as simple as that.
No. The starting point is already there - the way they feel, gesture, embrace, grasp etc.
Student has only 2 options: learn correctly or avoid advanced repertoire.
But what are you suggesting they "learn correctly"? There are two different approaches evident. One is that they learn (more or less by rote) a series of actions that are "proven" to work correctly and efficiently. The question then is what constitutes that proof (and endless argumants here suggest that is not an uncontrovesial question).The second, and FWIW the one I would advocate, is that they learn, on an ongoing basis, how to use their senses (how it sounds, how it feels) to identify the "correct" action in each situation.Neither approach will be successful in the hands ocf an incompetent teacher, or an obstinate student.
What about a third approach- where you teach in a way that fully relates to both of the first two? Why would doing one exclude the other? Who says these are "different" approaches, rather than two sides of one coin? A person can be extraordinarily perceptive yet incapable of playing the piano well. You can be a black belt in martial arts and a virtuoso on other instruments- but all the self awareness won't automatically make you a great pianist unless you are guided towards the basic concepts for what actually works. Awareness of what you are doing is nothing unless you also have awareness of what you NEED to be doing in order to succeed. When you have both, there is constant improvement. When you only have one or the other, there's no way to converge on what you want.
But what are you suggesting they "learn correctly"?
When person starts from "0" but with principles of "retraining" in mind, no harm will come.
But there is nothing to retrain if you start from 0. It is all training, and should be done such that no retraining will be needed.
It should be remembered that even when a person (even a young person) has never touched a piano before, harmful physical habits and posture problems may already exist. One can get a way with a lot in everyday life and run into problems when starting an activity like practicing the piano for hour or more a day. So the student is not necessarily a blank canvas and a good teacher may need to address bad movements from the start. Obviously many teachers don't, but concentrate on the pieces instead of the player.
Unfortunately, most students and many, too many teachers are not experts in field of moving on piano.
Children are experts in the field of moving. Have you ever considered what a miracle walking is? I've taught thousands to play music in my time - they need little guidance if it's done well.
It's just a bunch of levers.
It is my experience from many years of teaching that the problems come about from players overriding their natural body's way of operating. Without realizing they put into action a scheme they've invented because after all 'isn't there a way to play the piano?' Yes there is, but you can never know it - the body does with no need of knowing.
As I said, you wouldn't be aware you are 'inventing a scheme of action' but it's how the dual nature of being human works. Maybe google "system 1" "system 2" for some latest psychology.