Piano Playing Part 11

Should the Gavotte in A, of Gluck-Brahms, be played without the soft pedal? Does a liberal use of the soft pedal tend to make the student lazy in using a light touch?

Your first question is too general, as there is no piece of music that should be played entirely with or without the soft pedal; it is used only when a certain change of colouring is proposed. A too frequent use of the soft pedal does tend to a neglect of the _pianissimo_ touch, and it should, therefore, be discouraged.

[Sidenote: _Once More the "Soft" Pedal_]

My piano has a rather loud tone to which my people object, and urge me to play with the soft pedal. I use it most of the time, but am afraid now to play without it. What would you advise?

If a soft touch and sound are liked, have the mechanism of your piano changed at the factory. I found myself in the bad condition at one time that I could not play certain pa.s.sages independently of the position of my foot on the soft pedal. Such is the strength of a.s.sociation that very soon a constant use of the soft pedal produces physical inability to play unless the foot is pressing the pedal.

PRACTICE

[Sidenote: _The Morning Practice On the Piano_]

In resuming my studies in the morning what should I play first?

Begin with your technical work. Scales in all tonalities, each at least twice well rendered. First slowly, one after another, then somewhat quicker, but never very quickly as long as you are not absolutely sure that both hands are perfectly even, and that neither false notes nor wrong fingerings occur. To play the scales wrong is just as much a matter of habit as to play them right--only easier. You can get very firmly settled in the habit of striking a certain note wrong every time it occurs unless you take the trouble of counteracting the formation of such a habit. After these scales play them in octaves from the wrist, slowly and without tiring it by lifting the hand to a needless height.

After this play either Czerny or Cramer, then Bach, and finally Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, and so on. If you have the time to do it, play one hour in the morning on technical studies and use one hour for the difficult places in the works you are studying. In the afternoon play another hour, and this hour you devote to interpretation. I mean by this that you should now apply aesthetically what you have technically gained in the morning by uniting your mechanical advantages with the ideal conception which you have formed in your mind of the work you are studying.

[Sidenote: _Morning Is the Best Time to Practise_]

How much time should I spend on clearly technical study? I am practising three hours a day; how long should I practise at a time?

Purely technical work--that is, work of the fingers without the partic.i.p.ation of mind and heart--you should do little or none, for it kills your musical spirit. If, as you say, you practise three hours a day I should recommend two hours in succession in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. The morning is always the best time for work.

Make no long pauses in your work, for they would break your contact with the piano and it would take considerable time to reestablish it. In the afternoon, after the major portion of your daily task is done, you may move with greater freedom, though even this freedom should be kept within proper bounds.

[Sidenote: _Time to Devote to Technical Exercises_]

Should I practise studies in general for my progress or should I confine myself strictly to my technical exercises?

Your strictly technical exercises should occupy one-quarter of the entire time you can give to your work. Two quarters you should use for the technical preparation of the difficult pa.s.sages you encounter in the pieces you are studying, and during the last quarter these pa.s.sages which have been thus prepared should be ranged into their proper places in the pieces, in order that you may not lose your view of the totality of the pieces while studying or practising details.

[Sidenote: _The Only Kind of Practice Worth While_]

In purely technical, _i. e._, mechanical, practice may I have a book or a magazine on the music-stand and read?

This question will appear grotesque to any one who has not thought of it, yet it is legitimate; for I know positively that this crime upon themselves has been committed by many. I cannot warn students too strongly against this pernicious habit. It is far better to practise only half as long, but with concentrated attention. Even purely mechanical matter must be transmitted to the motor-centres of the brain through the agencies of the ear and eye in order to bring beneficial technical results. If the brain is otherwise occupied it becomes insensible to the impression of the work in hand, and practise thus done is a complete waste of time. Not only should we not read, but also not think of anything else but the work before us, if we expect results.

Concentration is the first letter in the alphabet of success.

[Sidenote: _Practising Eight Hours Instead of Four_]

Will I advance quicker by practising eight hours instead of four, as I do now?

Playing too much in one day has often a deteriorating effect upon one's studies, because work is profitable, after all, only if done with full mental concentration, which can be sustained only for a certain length of time. Some exhaust their power of concentration quicker than others; but, however long it may have lasted, once it is exhausted all further work is like unrolling a scroll which we have laboriously rolled up.

Practise self-examination, and if you notice that your interest is waning--stop. Remember that in studying the matter of quant.i.ty is of moment only when coupled with quality. Attention, concentration, devotion, will make unnecessary any inquiries as to how much you ought to practise.

[Sidenote: _Playing With Cold Hands_]

Shall I, when my hands are cold and stiff, play at once difficult and fatiguing things in order to limber them up?

In forcing things with cold hands you always run the danger of overstraining, while with a gradual limbering you may safely try the same tasks with impunity. Handle the piano lightly while the hands are cold, and increase both force and speed only when the hands have gained their normal temperature and elasticity. This may take half or even three-quarters of an hour. It may be accelerated by putting the hands in hot water before playing, but this should not be done too often, because it is apt to weaken the nerves of the hands.

[Sidenote: _Counting Out Loud_]

Is counting aloud injurious to a pupil's playing--that is, does not the sound of the voice confuse the pupil in getting the correct tone of the note struck?

Loud counting can hardly ever be injurious--especially not while the pupil is dealing with time and rhythm. This part mastered or fully understood, the audible counting may be lessened and finally abandoned.

During practice loud counting is of inestimable value, for it develops and strengthens rhythmic feeling better than anything else will, and, besides, it is an infallible guide to find the points of stress in a phrase.

[Sidenote: _The Study of Scales Is very Important_]

Must all study of the piano absolutely begin with the study of scales?

Scales should not be attempted until a good finger-touch has been formed and the very important action of the thumb in the scale has been fully prepared. After that, however, I consider the practising of scales important, not only for the fingers, but also for the discipline of the ear with regard to the feeling of tonality (key), understanding of intervals, and the comprehension of the total compa.s.s of the piano.

[Sidenote: _The Study of the Scales_]

Do you approve of the study of all the fifteen major scales by piano students, or is the practice of the enharmonic ones unnecessary?

One should learn everything in that line in order to select from one's store of learning that which the occasion calls for. Study or practise all scales as they are written, and later also in thirds, sixths, and octaves.

[Sidenote: _When Reading Over a New Piece_]

When studying a new composition, which is preferable: to practise first with separate hands or together?

When first looking over a new composition both hands should be employed, if possible, for this is necessary to obtain, approximately, at least, a mental picture of it. If the player's technique is too insufficient for this the deciphering must, of course, be done for each hand separately.

[Sidenote: _Practising the Two Parts Separately_]

When I am learning a new piece should the hands practise their parts separately?

Provided you have formed a general idea of the piece, it is well to practise the hands separately, because you can, in this way, concentrate your attention upon the work of each hand. As soon, however, as each hand knows its work the hands should play together in order now to pursue the musical purpose for which the separate practice was only a technical preparation.

[Sidenote: _Four Ways to Study a Piano Piece_]

Should a composition be studied away from the piano?

There are four ways to study a composition:

1. On the piano with the music.

2. Away from the piano with the music.

3. On the piano without the music.

4. Away from the piano without the music.

2 and 4 are mentally the most taxing and fatiguing ways, no doubt; but they also serve best to develop the memory and what we mean by "scope,"

which is a faculty of great importance.