Most piano students become DIS-connected when asked to play staccato. Their full blown trepidation wedded to DETACHMENT is so conspicuously on display during scale and arpeggio playing that a teacher must first devise mental cues to bring the student down to earth, in a comfortably secure traction with the keys.
It's no surprise then, that LEGATO playing (smooth, note-to-note connection) may be the paradoxical entryway to staccato journeys across the 88s. In an octave-by-octave transit that essentially draws on a pianist's ability to hug the keys, if not drag notes using touch-sensitive weight transfer, a resultant grooved, grounded, and gravitational centering will become the psychological and physical model for subsequent crisp releases. (It's a natural transition that feeds relaxed and well-shaped staccato playing.)
In the following videos, two adult students respond positively to "horizontal" framings of their arpeggios and scales. They also make nice playing transfers from legato to well-contoured staccato.
Diminished 7th Arpeggio
(In slow and incrementally quicker tempos–Note that a slow-paced staccato rendering retains a horizontal dimension with teacher prompts.)
F#-minor Scale (Melodic form)
Original Content: A Fear-less, Horizontal Approach to Staccato playing
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