The Complete Pianist
Book Reviews
“An encyclopaedic masterpiece of pianistic wisdom. I highly recommend The Complete Pianist for every undergraduate and graduate piano major, dedicated piano teacher and any other pianist with a keen desire to improve.”
The Piano Magazine, USA
“This is an extraordinary, universal book which covers virtually everything to do with healthy piano playing, technique and development in less than 600 pages.”
Piano Journal
“The Complete Pianist will become a standard text for years to come.”
Music Teacher
“I have found The Complete Pianist to be an amazingly inspiring treasure, a veritable trove which one will need to dip into often and consistently throughout the teaching year. I do not hesitate to recommend The Complete Pianist to every piano teacher, whether they are just venturing on a career or have been performing that task for a long time.”
Victoria Whittam, EPTA Ireland
The Complete Pianist Index
A thorough index of all topics, techniques, composers and titles of pieces for The Complete Pianist is now available.
The Complete Pianist:
from healthy technique to natural artistry
Winner of the Presto Music Best New Publication Award 2020, The Complete Pianist covers all aspects of piano technique including posture, finger touch and tone production, chords, octaves, rotation, lateral movements. Also included are sections on mental preparation, effective practice, sight reading, memorizing; phrasing, rhythm, articulation, sound, pedalling, injury prevention and performance anxiety.
Guide to The Complete Pianist Online Course
Over eight monthly webinars, Penelope Roskell will guide you through all the most important concepts and exercises in The Complete Pianist. For pianists joining the course live, there are also regular bookclub gatherings in which pianists can raise questions and discuss any issues as they arise. Participants also have the option of working towards Advanced Certification alongside this course.
The topics covered over the eight-month course include:
- 13 September 2026 – Fundamentals: Warming Up, Sitting Posture & Alignment
- 11 October 2026 – The Parachute Touch
- 8 November 2026 – Finger Touch & Finger Strengthening
- 6 December 2026 – Scales & Arpeggios
- 10 January 2027 – Staccato and Detached playing
- 7 February 2027 – Chords
- 14 March 2027 – Lateral Movements & Rotation
- 16 May 2027 – Pedalling
Purchase The Complete Pianist
The print version of The Complete Pianist is available from music shops and online
The eBook is available in multiple formats, including ePub and Kindle. It features improved access to video (embedded or online), numerous internal links, a detailed index and is text-searchable, making it easier to navigate and access the content.
Premium members of the Roskell Academy can access discounts on digital and print copies of The Complete Pianist. See the Members Discounts on the Roskell Academy platform.