Virtuoso pianist Vincenzo Scaramuzza (1885–1968) developed a rational system for learning piano that went far beyond mechanical finger exercises.

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His method was based on the insight that hand, finger, and arm movements work as a unified system of levers that either follow or resist gravity. Scaramuzza identified five key types of touch: arm touch, forearm touch, wrist touch, finger articulation, and finger snap. These techniques are applied directly to repertoire, because for Scaramuzza, technique was never the goal — it was always in service of musical expression.

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The only mechanical exercise he ever wrote was a finger-numbering chart called La tavola, designed to work exclusively on relaxation, endurance, and finger independence.

One of his final students, M.R. Oubina De Castro, documented a summary of his method using lesson notes, published in 1973 as "Enseñanzas de un gran maestro: Vicente Scaramuzza".