This chapter (on pp. 4-80 of the dissertation) contains many new insights, largely due to the fact that hardly any real theory had been developed on the topic.

The theoretical research starts from the fundamental notion that extended techniques are not always actual techniques. A discussion on two perspectives from which to consider the topic – the technique and its effect – leads to the development of the concept of improper piano playing, from which the piano proper, the extended piano, and the individual extended techniques are determined.