Frank Daykin, Piano Teacher, Vocal Coach

Since when is it an ‘insult’ to be called an ‘intellectual pianist?’ ..; Alfred Brendel

I wish that very quality for all my students, COUPLED WITH the emotional accessibility needed for all music to speak to the heart also.

Head/Heart ratio, ideally: 100/100% Yes, you read right. That’s 200% we need to give, at least!

Lessons with me are fun AND informative.

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[email protected]
267-629-9526

Pianists: Lesrning to play legato is the great challenge of the instrument. The sound decays the moment the hammer strikes the string(s) and falls back. One must listen to the continuation of the tone and ‘match’ the next note to it, passing tne weight from fingertip to fingertip smoothly, without clenching in the under-forearm. Of course, if you carry this to its illogical conclusion, every single phrase would get softer and softer! Come have a lesson and find out how to outsmart that phenomenon…

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[email protected]
267-629-9526

A great deal of my teaching analysis begins with the bass, which is the BASE/BASIS, of everything going on above it. Polyphony too…

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[email protected]
267-629-9526

All performers: remember, everything you do ‘reads’ on stage, before you’ve even sung or played a single note.,The way you come out from the wings, fast or slow?, confident?, smiling?, concentrated?, how are you dressed?, how’s your bow?, do you fiddle with the bench too much?. So many things!

[email protected]
[email protected]
267-629-9526

Pianists, cling to each note as though your life depends on it…

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[email protected]
267-629-9526

Practice away from the piano is as important as practice at the piano…

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[email protected]
267-629-9526

Singers! Come have a coaching and find out what Robert Shaw called ‘the ecstasy of enunciation’! Diction as spiritual manifestation…

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[email protected]
267-629-9526

Nothing can truly be done artistically at the piano without the ‘INNER CONCEPTION OF THE TONE,’ before the fingers/hands are placed on the keys!

I am happy to announce that, due to the generous advocacy of pianist Marianna Prjevalskaya, I have been asked to give not one but TWO masterclasses at East Tennessee State University (Johnson City, TN) on April 21/22. The first is on French art song, and the second is a piano masterclass.

Are any of my talented friends within a comfortable drive of Johnson City? A reunion would be great. It’s close to Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina (Asheville), and even Alabama…

I had the pleasure of taking a piano lesson with Frank Daykin in preparation for an upcoming performance. In the past, I’ve also had the privilege to have observed Frank in many masterclass sessions working with singers and pianists in a very detailed and compassionate manner, and that was certainly extended to me in our session together.

Frank could not have been more enthusiastic about the repertoire, peppering the coaching with insightful anecdotes that demonstrated the great depth of knowledge that can only be acquired after careful years of dedicated study of the music and composer, as well as a deep comparative study on how a composer’s works relate to other composers. I came away with a greater appreciation and understanding of the music as well as an awareness of a few tricks of the trade which helped me to deliver a more polished performance of the piece. I’m eternally grateful to have a pianist like Frank on my team of mentors to whom I can turn to when I delve into the rich repertoire of music composers.

Blair Boone-Migura, Piano

Come take a lesson!
[email protected]
[email protected]
267-629-9526

Today’s ‘piano checklist’:

Don’t sit too close

Firm fingertips/light arm
the arm swings freely, from shoulder to fingertip is a ‘suspension bridge’

Buoyant feeling in the underarm

The ARM carries the hand (hence, fingers) to where it needs to be

Every single note is played from the SURFACE of the note, not from high in the air

Come and have a lesson!
[email protected]
[email protected]
267-629-9526