Бесплатный фрагмент - Piano Performance Technique

CHAPTER 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF MUSICAL PERFORMANCE THINKING AND
SELF-REGULATION

Traditional methods of teaching piano techniques, used when working with children, are not suitable for the university use, at least for the reason that they are based on practicing a significant number of etudes and require time consuming instrumental practice. Existing collections of piano technique exercises (Gannon, M. Long, A. Corto, etc.) are also time consuming and repetition of special technical formulas (scales, arpeggio, etc.) gives just a limited effect.

Therefore, a different approach to the training of piano techniques is proposed. This approach is based on the development of a student’s auditory and motoric conceptions and it uses the following aspects of adult education, such as developed thinking ability, a steady focus, a strong will power, to the best advantage. This method, unlike the traditional one, significantly reduces the process of basic skill training, which allows to consider this method to be a shortcut one. In addition, consciously forming one’s performance abilities, a student learns to operate them, which indicates a certain level of creativity in the instrumental performance.

§1. Notion of musical performance thinking and self-regulation

Musical thinking is a conscious management of sound images, while musical performance thinking is a simultaneous operation of sound images and motoric presentation of the performance process. A performer’s idea is enclosed in the image-presentation of a musical piece. Consequently, it can be claimed that musical performance thinking is a conscious operation of the image-presentation of a musical piece.

A performer’s image-presentation is formed on the basis of sensations, arising during a piano play, as well as during a mental performance (without a piano). Richness, brightness and clarity of the presentation depend on the level of the development and diversity of a performer’s auditory and motoric sensations.

While the formation of the image-presentation, from the very beginning it is important to establish a strong link between auditory and motoric senses. Otherwise, the gap between a performer’s auditory and motoric senses can lead to muscular overstrain or, even worse, auditory senses will participate only in the process of «listening» to what mechanical work of the fingers will produce.

In order to self-assess the development of musical performance thinking, you need to mentally «perform» (without looking into the notes) a musical work, learned by heart, and to try to understand how clearly you hear and feel the entire texture of the composition as if it were actually performed. The result might be as follows:

a) The sound appears to be vague, without any accuracy as regards the pitch of the sound, frequent thought pauses, «dark spots». In such case, musical performance thinking seems to be at its infancy stage;

b) The melody is clearly performed, perhaps the harmony is also performed, but side voices and the whole musical texture, both, sound as if they were a blurry background. This level of musical performance thinking is better than the previous one, but there is still a lack of development of the latter;

c) The whole texture of the composition is heard; all the voices are clearly presented and a student can stop anywhere and name all the notes. This state of performance should be aspired to, and only this level is an indicator of developed musical performance thinking.

The distinctive feature of the proposed method is that it not only helps to train the fingers, but also teaches one to think about the music through the movements (or more precisely — through the sensations) of the hands, i.e. it teaches self-regulation and management of one’s psycho-physical states and actions.

§2. Sound and thought

Few students are interested in the mechanism of piano sound production, and yet, from the point of piano performance psychology, it is extremely important. One thing is to imagine sound and try to reproduce it on the piano through practice and mistakes, and what is absolutely different is to consciously combine the moment of sound creation with the moment of a hammer touching a string. What is the difference here?

First, the clearer the purpose of the action is understood, the easier it is to manage this action. Secondly, the performer, who does not comprehend the ultimate goal of his physical action, concentrates all the efforts on the keyboard and many performers even might have a perception that the sound is born at the bottom of the keyboard, although in fact it is not. The sound comes from the hammer touching the string. Feeling this moment, the performer protects his muscles from the excessive overstrain (the muscles instinctively relax when the goal of the action is achieved). Besides, listeners get rid of discordant side sounds made by keys hitting against the bottom of the keyboard.

One should try to make sure that you understand the difference between the two ways of sound production, and you immediately notice the naturalness of the performance of not «touching the keys», but of «the key hammers touching the strings». Before you extract the sound, you not only need to hear what it will be like (pitch, timbre, speed of a sound attack), but also to physically feel, as if you were touching the keyboard, driving it into the motion, and the hammer were hitting the string. It’s essential to mentally visualize the whole process of sound extraction. The clearer the presentation is, the easier it will be to achieve the desired sound. In order to establish flexible connections between the auditory and motoric sensations, it is necessary to present sounds of different pitches, timbre tones, dynamics, to change the sound attack character, to play the piano alternating the right hand and the left hand and to note changes in motoric sensations in respect to changes in auditory sensations.

§3. The principle of enlarging of controlled frames

Some questions might arise: is it possible to pre-hear and anticipate every sound played at a fast pace? Can control of each sound be compatible with the creation of a complete musical form?

These seeming contradictions can be resolved by using the principle of enlarging of controlled frames. This principle is the basis of the consistent and purposeful formation of an expressive shape of a musical piece, besides it is an organic transition from control over each sound to control over the whole musical form, by which a holistic sound frame in conceivable space is meant. Musical rhythm, in its broad sense, as the organization of sounds in time, plays the main role in this process. In addition, a rhythmic feeling has a muscular nature, thanks to which it, in a way, links auditory and motoric sensations.

Everything stated above, brings us to the conclusion that the rhythmic pulsation is the starting point of controlled frames. The following example helps us to understand the application of the principle of enlarging controlled frames.

The following procedure is recommended:

1. Initially, the smallest unit is chosen for the control, for example, the sixteenth note. You should play it at a slow pace, controlling every sound. What does it mean to control the sound in this case? First of all, before you perform the sound, you need to clearly visualize the sound as well as all the accompanying motoric sensations (the main ones are as follows: the activity of back muscles, hand tactile sense alongside with muscular-articular sensations and feeling of the piano key elasticity). Second of all, after producing a real sound, it is necessary to monitor the removal of excessive muscle tension. All the mental work is done in accordance with the following pulse count:

Thus, it turns out that at the count of «and» one visualizes the sound and the action, and at the count of «two» or «three», etc. — the sound is extracted and, while listening to it, you check and release the muscle tension. After mastering the right visualization approach, you can speed up and play with the following count:

2. The next unit of movement is the eighth note. Now? Before you start, you visualize and control only the sound that fits into the pulsation, while the remaining sounds are performed subconsciously. Count as below:

Notes marked with circles are the ones to be controlled: having played note «C», you should visualize «B», then «G», then «E» and so on.

3. Further, a quarter note is taken as a unit. Now you control every first out of four sounds.

After you have managed to control sound «C», you need to mentally visualize «G», then the next «C», and so on. All other sounds are performed subconsciously, since they have already been fixed in the performer’s consciousness.

4. Finally, the fastest tempo, with focus on a half note. Only notes «C» are controlled.

5. At the next stage, all sounds are combined into a complete structure. In this case, a phrase is considered to be a frame. It is necessary to mentally perform a passage (pulse on halves) and to try to keep in memory its first sound till the end of the passage. It is necessary to mentally structure a musical gamma. If successful, the passage would be comprehended as a unified whole.

With the correct mental combination of the phrase, there will be no unnecessary accents.

In this simplest example, the form coincides with the phrase. When working at the etude (as with any musical work), the effect of this principle extends further to the unification of single parts into a whole. Here, new problems might arise, the ones related to polyphonic and harmonic thinking. Some of these problems will be looked into in the analysis of etudes. Below the scheme of action based on the principle of enlarging of controlled musical frames is presented.

For practice, it is recommended to apply the principle of controlled frames when studying several major and minor scales with one and two hands together.

§4. Work model for etudes

The main goal in mastering the technique of playing the piano is to create harmony between a performer’s auditory and motoric conceptions. The sound conception should always be together with the movement conception. Thus, while working on the etude, certain motoric tasks should correspond with sound tasks. Based on these premises, the following working scheme clarifies the stages of the work at the etude.

The work at an etude is divided into three stages and includes the preparatory stage as well:

Preparatory stage — familiarization with the text;

Stage I — practice with each hand separately;

Stage II — coordination of the movement of the hands;

Stage III — work on the artistic shape of the etude.

Each stage contains specific auditory and motoric tasks, their mutual interactions and interdependence are indicated with arrows. Further, the manual covers some relation patterns of auditory and motoric sensations, and some practical rules are put forward.

Preparatory stage

Having practiced the etude several times and having got familiar with the text, the performer determines a desired sound character, being guided by his artistic goals and his own taste. When choosing the appropriate approach to sound production, you need to abide by a certain correlation between movements and sound quality. Below are the simplest of the rules:

1. The more vibrant and sharp you need the sound to be, the more energetically the tip of your finger should «grasp» the piano key; the softer sound needs to be, the more you need to straighten your finger, as if you were gently touching the piano key.

2. The more complete and richer you want the instrument to sound, the more the performer should use the weight of his hand. In this case, there should be a feeling of a heavy and relaxed hand, and it will be held by back muscles. And the other way around, for the more «transparent» you need the sound to be, the more muscle support of the hand you need. In this case the hand is held in the air being supported by its own muscles from below.

3. Different combinations of active touch (clause 1) and muscular-articular sensations of the hand (clause 2) create the motoric basis for the whole variety of piano sounds.

Stage I

Without tonal comprehension any performance, even a very fast and loud one with 100% accuracy of piano keys hit, will turn out to be just noise, which is far from being music. No wonder there is a saying, which states that a performer’s mastership is determined by the polyphonic nature of his performance, which is a performer’s ability to expressively play each sound in any musical texture equally well and to uncover concealed voices and tones. Therefore, at the first stage, we scrupulously concentrate on studying the motive structure of a composition, the phrase and sentence structure in each of the voices. The search for the most expressive intonation boils down to the selection of necessary articulations and specification of methods of sound production in each voice. This stage is guided by the following rules:

1. In order for each voice to have its own character and an individual timbre, you should try to perform different voices with different articulations (or at least with various types of articulation). In Czerny’s etudes, one hand usually plays the sixteenths, performed by legato, and the other hand plays chord accompaniment, performed by non-legato. The sound difference of these articulations corresponds to the motoric differences: in legato, the fingers do the work (the hand is calm), in non-legato, the hand works on each sound (as if conducting).

2. If one hand produces two or more voices with one articulation (for example, in chords), then different touches of the hammer against the string are used to diversify timbres. The performer determines, for example, which voice he would like to hear more distinctly, and which one more moderately and, accordingly, one hammer presses more tightly against the string, and the other one slightly touches the string.

Stage II

While working with both hands, the main sound task is to maintain individual voices and their harmonious combination. Thus, the motoric task is to learn to feel the separate work of each performing hand. For a successful completion of these tasks, you need to remember that one hand should always be a supporting one, as if It were lying all the time on the keyboard, and the other one should be more active and it should be slightly less immersed into the keyboard. As a rule, in etudes such active and conducting hand should be the one performing the accompaniment, but even with the parallel movement of both hands, it is always necessary to determine which one should play deeper, and which one plays in a somewhat softer manner. The choice is determined by the auditory control and motoric comfort.

Stage III

When creating a holistic composition, which is a unified and complete image-representation, one should not forget that all sensations throughout the process are interrelated. It is the same as it is the case with auditory representation all attention is focused on the continuity of the musical thought from the first sound to the last, in motoric representations attention should be focused on a unifying movement. Such movement will be the muscle energy directed into the strings.

In order to feel this, you need to «turn on» the back (the muscles under the shoulder blades are the source of energy for both hands), put your hands on the keyboard, lean on your palms and imagine how the energy is transferred to the strings. This is the feeling you should strive for during the play, as if music is being brought into life by the power of your representation. The rule of the third stage is as follows: when performing a composition, think neither about individual movements, nor about individual sounds. You need to imagine the music, to keep your back straight and to «lean» onto the strings, and the rest is a matter of work, not performance. Otherwise, there is a risk of destroying the artistic form of the composition.

An analysis of etudes is given below. Not all of them are described in detail, in some cases only certain points are specified. A detailed analysis can be done independently, using a step-by-step work model for etudes.

CHAPTER 2: BASIC APPROACHES TO PIANO TECHNIQUE

C. Czerny (ed. G. Hermer). Selected piano etudes

§1. Positional and gamma movement. Etude No. 1 p. I

Preparatory stage

SOUND CHARACTER AND SOUND EXTRACTION

You should look at the text and try to imagine how it will sound, then you should play the sequence at a calm pace. If it is necessary, play the etude several times. Then try to determine what temper of sound will best reveal the content of this music. Which manner would be more interesting: an easy and funny manner, an energetic and assertive, a soft and playful or a strong and confident one? The selected option is not necessarily the only right one; it is possible that during practice the representation will change. The most important part is to know the pattern of connection between auditory and motoric sensations.

If you choose the option of an energetic, but light and ringing sound, you need to play with a very fast sound attack, so the tips of your fingers are actively «grasping» the piano key. The weight of the hand will only be used partially (the hand is «supported» from below by its own muscles).

Stage I

INTONATION AND MOTION STRUCTURES

The form of the etude can be seen as a sentence, consisting of 5 phrases. In respect of determination of motives, the following variant would be the best:

But it is better to perform the last gamma in the following way:

For this purpose, it is better to show the general upward line and to separate the jump downward.

What should be used as a guiding compass in the analysis of the motive structure? First, you need to determine the rhythmic pulsation, the unit of motion (in this case it is a quarter). The pulsation will show tonal and semantic accents (but not dynamic ones!). Next, you need to think as you do in terms of speech (one motive, same as one word, usually has one stress). When choosing the best variant of the motive structure, it is necessary to try to understand which of the intonation moments are emphasized, which ones are smoothed out by one or another division. For example, comparing the given variant of gamma performance at the end of the etude with the following one:

There is legato articulation in the right-hand part. The structure of the motions for this articulation is as follows: the fingers perform the work, the hand is rested and only moves along the keyboard, the wrist support remains. You can practice the movement on the lid of the piano. Place the palm down, move it from the left side to the right, simultaneously waving fingers in rhythm.

All the time the left hand part repeats the same motive (dominant with resolution). The texture is of two or three voice-parts, so it is important to find a timbre for each of them. The second rule of stage I indicates how to achieve it. Articulation legato is alternated with non-legato. Mind that the hand should be raising from the shoulder after the tie, but be sure to perform legato by fingers. During the pause, the hand should calmly lie on the next position.

You should work with the right and the left hands according to the principle of enlarging of controlled frames.

Stage II

VOICE CORRELATION AND WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION

The task of the second stage is to maintain independence of voice articulation and timbre, by creating their harmonious combination. In respect to a motoric task, a solution to this problem depends on the ability to separately feel the work of each hand. You need to remember the rule of the second stage and to choose the supporting arm — for example, the right one. If it is difficult to play different articulations with both hands immediately, you should reproduce the movement on the piano lid first. You should put the right hand palm down and rhythmically practice with fingers, while the left hand should be lifted from the shoulder. When working on the combination of the right and left hand parties, you should apply the principle of enlarging of controlled frames.

Stage III

UNIFICATION OF SOUND AND MOTIONS

First, we need to memorize the execution of the etude from the beginning to the end by heart and visualize it. If there is no difficulty with the text (at this point there shouldn’t be any), you can focus all the attention on the artistic side of your performance. You should play the etude in the tempo, you can imagine it in. Dynamics is also determined by the integrity of a visualized image.

A unifying movement will be the direction of energy into the strings, while the hands do not seem to move. In the present manual the attention has been drawn to the activity of the back muscles during the performance and to the importance of maintaining support in the palm. Sensations combined with the mental continuation of each move towards the string create a desired feeling of one common movement from the beginning to the end of the etude. All other movements, having passed through the stage of understanding and mastering, become subconscious. You need to work through this stage in different tempos.

Suggested:

1. While performing gammas, maintain the support in the palm of your hand when putting the first finger and shifting the third and the fourth. The first finger should be put immediately, as soon as it leaves the previous key. The hand should move evenly and horizontally.

2. In case of pauses or changing positions, it is necessary to check the easing of the hand at the next position.

3. Before you produce the sound, try to feel the key with your fingertip. This will help you avoid unnecessary pulsatile overtones.

4. To develop finger dexterity, work on the sixteenth not only with the direct move of the fingertip to the key (without the swing), but also with a high swinging of straight fingers, pulling the palm muscles inside, from the wrist to the fingertips.

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§2. Rotary motion. Etude No. 4 p.I