Fundamentals of Piano Practice

[dcstudio]

I do apologize if I sounded negative sir.  I have  been teaching piano for more than 20 years...and I work as a jazz pianist..  My experience in this area causes me to disagree with you on some things...  but that doesn't mean I have anything against you personally or your book.

good luck to you and in the sales of your book... which is available for $25 and is not free as you had claimed...  I guess you must have meant it's free right now for our review. Perhaps I have just totally misunderstood everything... if that's the case

my apologies

[timothy42b]

No, it is free, go here and download it:

https://www.pianopractice.org/FOPP3Ed.pdf

Or go to Amazon and pay for it, either way. 

[keypeg]

I wrote some things about the book yesterday.  I remember one of the advanced pianists saying he/she would have a look.  I'd be very interested in what they have to say as I don't feel as knowledgeable myself.

[CC]

For those who do not know this yet, to download the free material (which is everything), go to my web page by clicking on the link below my post, like this one. 

The 2nd edition printed book on amazon has a price because it costs money to print and mail a book.  I am willing to give it away free, but not rich enough to pay for everything.  I had initially priced it lower, but buyers were complaining that Amazon charged shipping for books priced below $25, unless you subscribe to prime.  Did you know that if you have prime, you can invite four people (claimed to be family members), and they will qualify for prime shipping (free two-day delivery)?

[keypeg]

So far nothing, except for prices and non-prices.

[dcstudio]

Dr. Chang..

it might go a long way here if you make a short video and let the members at PS know that you actually play the piano...sometimes those who profess to be great teachers.. are themselves, pretty lousy musicians.  We have all seen it.. and your book declares it pretty clearly from what I have read.

I mean this most respectfully sir..  and it's just a suggestion.. not a challenge.

[adodd81802]

Dr. Chang..

it might go a long way here if you make a short video and let the members at PS know that you actually play the piano...sometimes those who profess to be great teachers.. are themselves, pretty lousy musicians.  We have all seen it.. and your book declares it pretty clearly from what I have read.

I mean this most respectfully sir..  and it's just a suggestion.. not a challenge.

I do agree with this.
But one thing to bare in mind, without google...
Who are the following;
Jozef Elsner
Mme. Maute
Christian Gottlob Neefe
Anna Ornatskaya

**SPOILER ALERT**
These are the first or some the most influential teachers of the greats, Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin , Rachmaninoff.

A great pianist, a great piano theorist and a great performer are all different and so while I agree we should definitely question the teachings of this book; of which I have managed to read about half so far and so will withhold my full review until completion, I don't compare Dr Chang's teachings to his piano ability as evidence that what he says his right.

Again we are drawn to that one-practice-fits-all virtuoso secrets and the reality is there isn't. Of which I fear that Dr Chang's information may not only be useless for a number of pianists, it may also be inaccurate and misleading to beginners or those looking for answers in the wrong places.

[dcstudio]

Again we are drawn to that one-practice-fits-all virtuoso secrets and the reality is there isn't. Of which I fear that Dr Chang's information may not only be useless for a number of pianists, it may also be inaccurate and misleading to beginners or those looking for answers in the wrong places.

whether or  not you equate his ability to play with his ability to teach--you have to admit that it is kind of an unspoken rule around here... one that you, addod, had no problem following, if I remember correctly.  if you want to be taken seriously you post a performance.  Those who can play well.. and even some who can't--post recordings or videos or both.  The performance need not be earth-shattering -- nor does it  need to be some high end advanced piece of music... but so many come through this place trying to convince others of their non-existent piano skills. It's just nice to see someone who is confident enough to post their own playing before telling others how to play.

[adodd81802]

whether or  not you equate his ability to play with his ability to teach--you have to admit that it is kind of an unspoken rule around here... one that you, addod, had no problem following, if I remember correctly.  if you want to be taken seriously you post a performance.  Those who can play well.. and even some who can't--post recordings or videos or both.  The performance need not be earth-shattering -- nor does it  need to be some high end advanced piece of music... but so many come through this place trying to convince others of their non-existent piano skills. It's just nice to see someone who is confident enough to post their own playing before telling others how to play.

Fair point and I agree. However in such circumstances in which you refer to *cough* yadehoo lol.

I seem to remember he did post a recording that gave even the beginners on this forum no doubt that his performance did not match his "advice"

I am open minded about this text at the moment simply because a few other piano street users on here seem to highly rate it. I just want to consider the fact that being a great teacher isn't the same as being a great pianist. Admittedly Dr Chang hasn't proven to have been either just yet but so far I haven't found anything drastically wrong with his book, it's certainly not earth shattering either though. 

[CC]

I just wrote a long post, clicked on "Post" and it disappeared!  this is the second time.  has this happened to anyone else, or am I doing something wrong??

[outin]

But one thing to bare in mind, without google...
Who are the following;
Jozef Elsner
Mme. Maute
Christian Gottlob Neefe
Anna Ornatskaya

**SPOILER ALERT**
These are the first or some the most influential teachers of the greats, Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin , Rachmaninoff.

Now what makes you think they were not excellent pianists themselves? You do realize that skill and fame never don't necessarily go hand in hand?

[outin]

I just wrote a long post, clicked on "Post" and it disappeared!  this is the second time.  has this happened to anyone else, or am I doing something wrong??

Yes, it happens here sometimes to some people unfortunately

If I write a long post I try to remember to copy the text before hitting send, because you never know when that happens...

[outin]

you have to admit that it is kind of an unspoken rule around here...

Not sure such a rule really exists

I don't necessarily question people's expertise just because I haven't heard them play. I usually do because they present ridiculous claims. Those who can usually understand the complexity involved better than those who cannot and that undertsanding is reflected in their posts.

Changs claims are not ridiculous in any way, just a bit controversial and IMO slightly populistic.

[dcstudio]

Now what makes you think they were not excellent pianists themselves? You do realize that skill and fame never don't necessarily go hand in hand?

..if talent and fame were one in the same then everyone would know my name...




and I can't remember who said that...ironically... LOL

[pianoplunker]

Dr. Chang..

it might go a long way here if you make a short video and let the members at PS know that you actually play the piano...sometimes those who profess to be great teachers.. are themselves, pretty lousy musicians.  We have all seen it.. and your book declares it pretty clearly from what I have read.

I mean this most respectfully sir..  and it's just a suggestion.. not a challenge.

Interesting, when I read what I read, not all of it to be fair, it seems that Dr Chang's reflections are reflective of observations of successful students rather than of his/her own creation.  And the price is right. I dont think piano teachers can really do well online other than written material.  I did not see this as an attempt to teach but more of passing information learned.

[dcstudio]

Not sure such a rule really exists
.

IDK..  most of us who claim to be long-timers, or teachers, or performers, back it up with a video--or 40..lol. maybe not a rule, but it is expected.

after seeing some of the other ads popping up on this forum now for piano methods.. I have to say that Dr. Chang's book is far superior to those.   His book is well-researched informative and it doesn't make wild promises of guaranteed overnight success...  Someone just posted about an "ingenious" series that will give you a professional sound in DAYS...  wow...LOL

[keypeg]

And the price is right. I don't think piano teachers can really do well online other than written material.  I did not see this as an attempt to teach but more of passing information learned.

I am not interested in the gentleman's ability to play because there are plenty of people who play brilliantly who couldn't teach how they got there, and may only have the memory of their own narrow path.  This is especially true of the beginner level - the book is not aimed at experienced pianists.  For many professional pianists the beginner level is a distant memory in childhood.  When there is an attempt to teach others, then I'd want to see experience teaching.

The "information learned" in this case involves what the writer gleaned by watching an excellent teacher guide his daughters, and what he understood from this.  The writer plays piano himself and therefore did have an understanding of what he is observing.

I wrote what I could of my own impressions of the book, which did not get any response.

My main concern would be if the contents were taken as a textbook, and the approaches were taken to be the only right way.  Even a teacher who tends to have a particular routine will vary according to the student, his makeup, and where he is in his journey.  Secondly, different excellent teachers may appear to do things in almost opposing ways, but at the end they arrive at the same place,

[pianoplunker]

I am not interested in the gentleman's ability to play because there are plenty of people who play brilliantly who couldn't teach how they got there, and may only have the memory of their own narrow path.  This is especially true of the beginner level - the book is not aimed at experienced pianists.  For many professional pianists the beginner level is a distant memory in childhood.  When there is an attempt to teach others, then I'd want to see experience teaching.

The "information learned" in this case involves what the writer gleaned by watching an excellent teacher guide his daughters, and what he understood from this.  The writer plays piano himself and therefore did have an understanding of what he is observing.

I wrote what I could of my own impressions of the book, which did not get any response.

My main concern would be if the contents were taken as a textbook, and the approaches were taken to be the only right way.  Even a teacher who tends to have a particular routine will vary according to the student, his makeup, and where he is in his journey.  Secondly, different excellent teachers may appear to do things in almost opposing ways, but at the end they arrive at the same place,

I agree with you, it certainly is not the only way and I am sure good teachers know that. That being said I have experienced a couple of teachers who espoused some of the virtues in Dr changs writings. Things like NOT practicing endlessly towards mistakes, NOT performing right before a performance as a warm-up, but the big item that sticks out to me is Mental Practice. I have had a
Baseball coach, a Football coach, a School Teacher, and a piano teacher all same the same thing. And it does work towards keeping your mind focused when you actually do play.   

[CC]

Keypeg: THX; very helpful, especially because it shows that what I tried to write is not what the reader reads.  So I need to be more careful -- a very difficult job, but that's MY job. The material that disappeared, referred to earlier, was a response to your comments.

My book is definitely not a cookbook (not intentionally), it's actually a rebellion against dogmatic cookbook type teachings which some teachers use because they know no other way.  What I am trying to do is to encourage pianists to mature as a human and as musician, to become independent and self-sufficient by providing all the tools needed to solve problems; otherwise, they become career students always looking for instructions because they were never trained any other way.  I have heard this criticism before, to the effect that my book sounds authoritarian and dogmatic. My explanation is that it sounds that way because I provide explanations of why it works and why other common methods don't. This might sound authoritarian because you aren't given any other alternatives. That misses my point, because in reality, explanations of why what works and what doesn't work lead to an UNDERSTANDING of the process.  Once you understand it, you become free to alter it, and adapt it to your specific needs, you become totally free.  It is when you don't understand something that you have to follow instructions exactly.

HS is not always; I know, it is hard to read it once and remember everything (many commented that they have to read my book three times -- which I actually expect, because the density of info in my book is a lot higher than practically every other piano book), if you can play HT satisfactorily, HS is not necessary; exceptions are: (1) beginners should learn everything HS just to learn the method, and (2) if you want to memorize well, HS can be very helpful because most people rely mostly on hand (muscle) memory, which is necessary, but not sufficient for performances because hand memory is unreliable when it comes to blackouts.  Therefore, you need to add a lot of other memories such as mental play, theory, photographic, etc., and HS is particularly effective for that. My intention is that my book is not a teaching method but an assembly of ideas for solving problems.

Yes; intuitive is not the best terminology, because it is more often used in a good sense, but I haven't found a better term that encompasses the nuances that I wanted it to have, much like my use of Thumb Over.

You are right; my instruction on day 1, 2, 3, etc., (section 44) is not meant to be a recipe; I just wanted to provide one detailed, concrete example, which is the best way to illustrate the principles.

The comments on parents; my point is exactly the same as yours, but somehow, you read it the opposite way! I'll see if I can't write it more clearly.

I guess everyone has different ideas of what a textbook is.  My view of textbooks is they are the depositories of basic, correct information on a subject, like an algebra or physics textbook.  It is not a teaching lesson for a specific type of teaching method.

You are right, that recitals organized poorly can be turn-offs, and some students hate recitals no matter what.  Those are exactly the points I address because I realize that there are teachers who oppose recitals (especially competitions) and consider them to be counter-productive.  That's why that section is so long. I provide suggestions of how to make them acceptable to as many students as possible.

Most teachers do not have the ability to put down their teaching method in writing -- they have no training for it.  But a textbook, written by someone who can, is essential in ANY field of education.  Can you imagine going through school without a textbook?  Some classes, like gym have no textbooks, but something as complex as piano, needs one, just as other complex fields, such as Quantum Mechanics, has one. Piano pedagogy got away without textbooks for 200 years (Thompson, Beyer, Czerny, etc., are really not textbooks for practice methods, which is what students need most and can not find) because it was based on talent instead of knowledge; in the future, I am sure it will be based on knowledge instead of talent, so that everybody will be able to learn piano, not just the "talented".  Nobody knows how to define talented, anyway, except to say that he can learn quickly or is musical, but those are not workable definitions.  I've seen smart kids fail in piano, while less smart ones, through sheer effort, or with luck, getting the right teacher, become "talented" pianists.  Under a very good teacher, practically every student becomes a talented musician, and under the wrong teacher, practically everyone is a failure.

You bring out a good point; "musical" can mean so many different things to different people; maybe I should be more specific.

[hardy_practice]

  Can you imagine going through school without a textbook?  Some classes, like gym have no textbooks, but something as complex as piano, needs one, just as other complex fields, such as Quantum Mechanics, has one. Piano pedagogy got away without textbooks for 200 years (Thompson, Beyer, Czerny, etc., are really not textbooks for practice methods, which is what students need most and can not find) because it was based on talent instead of knowledge; in the future, I am sure it will be based on knowledge instead of talent, so that everybody will be able to learn piano, not just the "talented".  Nobody knows how to define talented, anyway, except to say that he can learn quickly or is musical, but those are not workable definitions.  I've seen smart kids fail in piano, while less smart ones, through sheer effort, or with luck, getting the right teacher, become "talented" pianists.  Under a very good teacher, practically every student becomes a talented musician, and under the wrong teacher, practically everyone is a failure.

What was CPE Bach's Essay if not a textbook?  Going through school without one? I taught school music for over 20 years without one!  Meanwhile the Geography Dept. taught pages 1 to 2 week 1, pages 3 to 4 week 2, pages 5 to 6 week 3 etc - call that education?  The whole textbook thing is a Prussian/American bag anyway and mostly to be discouraged.

I think what you've done is quite laudable but the real answer we need, as you're beginning to intimate, is to how do we create talent?  How do we level the playing field so that all our students start with the same physical attributes as the most talented?  When does that book come out?  The technical stuff should be nothing.  As Gould said he could teach you how to play the piano in 45 minutes.

[dcstudio]

What was CPE Bach's Essay if not a textbook?  Going through school without one? I taught school music for over 20 years without one!  Meanwhile the Geography Dept. taught pages 1 to 2 week 1, pages 3 to 4 week 2, pages 5 to 6 week 3 etc - call that education?  The whole textbook thing is a Prussian/American bag anyway and mostly to be discouraged.

I think what you've done is quite laudable but the real answer we need, as you're beginning to intimate, is to how do we create talent?  How do we level the playing field so that all our students start with the same physical attributes as the most talented?  When does that book come out?  The technical stuff should be nothing.  As Gould said he could teach you how to play the piano in 45 minutes.

  what... you have actually taught music?... hey me too...20 years.  You actually went to music school, too?  hey ME TOO... wow.  What's that? you have devoted your entire life to the piano and music?  ...unbelievable... ME TOO!!! you have all that AND oodles of professional  performance experience, not only as a soloist, but as an accompanist, as well?...  OMG... ME TOO

.... but what do we know... lol  

[hardy_practice]

Would that be a rant? 

[dcstudio]

Would that be a rant? 

never sign into PS before you have your first cup of coffee... 

lol.

[adodd81802]

never sign into PS before you have your first cup of coffee... 

On the contrary this is when I tend to be most "insightful" responding to other's opinions.

[timothy42b]

On the contrary this is when I tend to be most "insightful" responding to other's opinions.

and best to log off before the next beer

[keypeg]

Thank you, Dr. Chang, for responding to my post, and in such detail.  I'm happy for the dialogue. 

I'm glad to see you express the shared concern about your book being used as a cookbook so that it can be read here, and give pause for thought.  The important thing for any teaching device is for it to be used as intended, and often it is not.  Ofc we can bring this right down to the not so humble lesson, where we have a good teacher, but will what has been taught be taken as intended?  But here a teacher can observe and correct.  But a book that is launched takes on a life of its own in the hands of its readers.

That actually brings me to this:

Most teachers do not have the ability to put down their teaching method in writing -- they have no training for it. 

In my own quest and also studies, I have explored these things with a few excellent teachers who are probably not the average that you are thinking of - two such teachers in particular.  Both are quite capable of putting down their teaching approaches in writing, and both decided against it, because as soon as something is written down it becomes dogma.  It becomes dogma in the hands of junior teachers, and it becomes dogma in the hands of older students and parents.  A thing that should be fluid and responsive becomes frozen.  The very character of the teaching can be harmed when it is committed to writing.

In regards to training for it: I do have that training.  I don't have the experience of teaching music behind me, which is the other half.  My first professional training is as a teacher.  There is a methodology to planning lessons and lesson units, setting out goals, subgoals, method of introduction and reinforcement which is the counterpart of "scientific". To explain you must take apart what you are doing, what seems to fluid and whole in practice.  A caveat to this is that one-on-one instruction in private lessons is much more flexible and responsive than classroom lessons, and what works in the latter would be overplanning in the former.  But a good teacher has an underlying map which is not unlike the skills you have set out in your book, and teaches toward that map.

Keypeg: THX; very helpful, especially because it shows that what I tried to write is not what the reader reads.  So I need to be more careful -- a very difficult job, but that's MY job. The material that disappeared, referred to earlier, was a response to your comments.

My book is definitely not a cookbook (not intentionally), it's actually a rebellion against dogmatic cookbook type teachings which some teachers use because they know no other way.  What I am trying to do is to encourage pianists to mature as a human and as musician, to become independent and self-sufficient by providing all the tools needed to solve problems; otherwise, they become career students always looking for instructions because they were never trained any other way.  I have heard this criticism before, to the effect that my book sounds authoritarian and dogmatic. My explanation is that it sounds that way because I provide explanations of why it works and why other common methods don't. This might sound authoritarian because you aren't given any other alternatives. That misses my point, because in reality, explanations of why what works and what doesn't work lead to an UNDERSTANDING of the process.  Once you understand it, you become free to alter it, and adapt it to your specific needs, you become totally free.  It is when you don't understand something that you have to follow instructions exactly.

You are addressing a common problem.  Many people who took piano lessons for years were brought through a rather mindless ritual driven by tradition, where Hanon, Czerny, and pieces in a particular order are assigned, and the student is supposed to get skills by "going through" them.  As I understand it, the education of your daughters was an eye opener, because it was a different, enlightened way of teaching, and you tried to grasp the essence of what was going on and set it down for others - am I correct?  Some teachers of that kind exist.  Each may differ in his or her approach and yet the substance is the same - to get at the essence of skills.

My intention is that my book is not a teaching method but an assembly of ideas for solving problems.

I like "assembly of ideas" and also of "solving problems".  I see it as a jump starter for more ideas, wherever they can be found, and jump starter for THINKING - is that your idea?

You are right; my instruction on day 1, 2, 3, etc., (section 44) is not meant to be a recipe; I just wanted to provide one detailed, concrete example, which is the best way to illustrate the principles.

That is how it should be read. 

The comments on parents; my point is exactly the same as yours, but somehow, you read it the opposite way! I'll see if I can't write it more clearly.

Well, the unknown is what kind of teacher the parents will end up having for their child.  Do they need to be preemptive because something will be missing in the instruction, or is the instruction well planned including for how to practice at home, in which case the parents needs to give way to that.

I guess everyone has different ideas of what a textbook is.  My view of textbooks is they are the depositories of basic, correct information on a subject, like an algebra or physics textbook.  It is not a teaching lesson for a specific type of teaching method.

In my teaching experience and also training, a textbook is one of a number of resources.  Every textbook constitutes a limited interpretation of the subject, and a specific approach toward the subject.  It is best to use a variety of resources and almost warn the student against reliance on any one resource.  The teacher definitely must be cautious about them.  Meanwhile, music is not like physics, which is a precise science.  There can be various things that are all "correct" in different circumstances, and one needs to have a broad, multidimensional view.  That is why I like the idea of your book as a resource and jump starter, but not taken by anyone as an absolute.  I have a feeling you would agree with that.

.... because it was based on talent instead of knowledge; in the future, I am sure it will be based on knowledge instead of talent, so that everybody will be able to learn piano, not just the "talented".  Nobody knows how to define talented, anyway, except to say that he can learn quickly or is musical, but those are not workable definitions. 

I don't know much about that part. The teachers I talk to define certain sets of abilities, and you draw out weak areas to make them strong, and use the strong ones.  In fact, "talent" can be a handicap if it causes a student to skip some essential part that he or she will need later.

You bring out a good point; "musical" can mean so many different things to different people; maybe I should be more specific.

My interest in this thread involves how you used it in your book for an element of practice.  We did indeed have two possible meanings as I read on.  One of them is like the lyrical emotional sway that carries away the listener and similar; the other is a specific thing like listening to every note you play to check for even or rich volume, or whatever.  Perhaps you'd like to elucidate on that part?

[hardy_practice]

Give up all hope those who enter there!

[lorcar]

which are the main differences between the new third edition and the previous one?
which are the new additions/sections? any correction?
I had already printed out the previous edition, and was planning to start to read it, then I found this post. Just wondering...

thanks in advance

[CC]

It is already available for download from my web page (below); I believe it is greatly improved partly because of all the constructive criticisms I've received here and elsewhere.  It is nearly finished; my plans are to finish it this year. I deleted as much irrelevant material as possible, removed redundancies, and organized it better. Also some new materials -- I've been working on it for more than two years, almost every day! I panicked and devoted all my time to it before I got too old to write.

But writing it was exciting, especially because of my discoveries; now, for the first time, we know why there are two Bach Invention #1's. I also hypothesized that LVB's Appassionata is a piano version of his 5th symphony -- no one has ever come even close to that interpretation, but if you listen to his 5th, starting from the second mvmnt, you can hear the appassionata melodies in every following movement. That makes it so much easier to figure out how to interpret the Appassionata. etc., etc., many more.

[mike71]

It is already available for download from my web page (below); I believe it is greatly improved partly because of all the constructive criticisms I've received here and elsewhere.  It is nearly finished; my plans are to finish it this year. I deleted as much irrelevant material as possible, removed redundancies, and organized it better. Also some new materials -- I've been working on it for more than two years, almost every day! I panicked and devoted all my time to it before I got too old to write.

I am asking to add a little thing if possible. The description of the thumb over/thumb under technique is quite difficult to understand. I know that is not so easy to insert drawings on a LaTeX document, but I think that a drawing of the sequence of thumb over and thumb under movements will be useful, especially for beginners.

[stoyo]

Stopped playing 10 years ago after 3 years of training. Recently tried to start again and i am searching about beginners general stuff. I found the book very helpful-interesting from a quick read i did. It has pretty compressed knowledge but as a basic line i find it excellent. Cant thank you enough for the effort and also for providing it for free!

Off-topic, at first i was surprised by responses of some members here, not in a good way unfortunately. Flawed logic.

[coolpianoman]

Not read this book but for me the definitive authority on piano practice is Graham Fitch.  I strongly recommend his eBooks and he writes a free blog every week too plus he has lots of videos on YouTube. https://www.practisingthepiano.com/  Sound practical advice which anyone can adopt at any level.

[CC]

Thanks, everybody, for all your suggestions; will look over my TO section to see what I can do.  But the book is basically finished, for free download on my web page, also for print (paperback, Amazon), and ebook (Kindle) -- links on my web site. I am still accepting suggestions for improvements because, unlike the days of old, I can easily update not only my download book, but also the paperback and ebook.

[xdjuicebox]

I took what I could from this book, which was a lot, particularly the stuff about memory, bad practice habits and absolute pitch.

The most important takeaway from the book, in my opinion, was the idea of "mental play" (though I had been doing it somewhat already, but I was really able to hone it). I couldn't imagine playing without it anymore, and it's really a lifesaver when it comes to the five minutes before a performance.

There are a couple things I disagree with, but for the most part it's a pretty solid book. It's written in the manner of your typical science textbook you'd find at the undergraduate level (though much more interesting), probably because of Mr. Chang's background as an engineer lol, but it's not that bad to get through.

I do suggest, however, that if you ever write a 4th edition, a ton of pictures and diagrams would be nice. Though the text is quite descriptive, the pictures/diagrams would do much more than what the words ever could, as there is always that doubt of "did I interpret this correctly?" In particular, the cartwheel motion and the flat finger positions were kind of complicated to comprehend. (I first read this book when I was 18, but it makes perfect sense now)

[pianoworthy]

Just chiming in to say discovering Chuan Chang's book has transformed my life when I first discovered it some 10 years ago, and his methods have not only improved my piano playing dramatically, but also altered my teaching methods dramatically and my students have since become great pianists as well. The only barrier to teaching the ideas and methods in the book is the persons (usually adults) willingness to accept them. I think the negativity from the methods clearly stems from the same source just like anything that's radically different from the status quo. I can't speak on anyone else's experience except that this book was absolutely eye opening to me, and the methods have been with me ever sense.

So I'm excited to know that the man himself actually speaks on this forum and that I can thank him directly. So thank you very much Chuan Chang for your work and dedication!

Thank you so much CC for your years of dedication.