Originally written to be read in conjunction with Matthay's "The Child's
First Steps", this book aims to offer young children and beginner piano
players a series of exercises that will prove invaluable to their
playing and allow them to proficiently play their first pieces of music.
Tobias Augustus Matthay (1858 - 1945) was an English pianist, composer,
and teacher. He was taught composition while at the Royal Academy of
Music by Arthur Sullivan and Sir William Sterndale Bennett, and he was
instructed in the piano by William Dorrell and Walter Macfarren. Other
notable works by this author include: "The Act Of Touch In All Its
Diversity" (1903), "The First Principles of Pianoforte Playing (1905)"
and "Relaxation Studies" (1908). Contents include: "Weight-Touch with
Arm Sideways", "Weight-Touch with First Turned Over, Knuckles Up",
"Weight-Touch with Fingers Closed Together", "Weight-Touch with Fingers
Opened Out", "Rotatory Exertions and Relaxations at Alternate Sides of
the Hand", etc. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce
and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this
volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with
a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.