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"7 i The Elements Ban oTechnique O Meson. Gne* $ Price 1.25 net Copyrighted 1907 by Ernest Hutcheson. English Copyright Secured. Kranz Music G.Fred. C?, 303 N. Charles Street, BALTIMORE, MD. 3 PREFACE Many of the exercises contained in this little work The "Notes to the Teacher"' perhaps require some are purely preparatory in nature. Others are for occasion- apology. I have given them for the sake of the many al or special use. Only about twenty are permanently teachers who, not claiming to be accomplished perform- essential. All are necessary at some stages of study or ers, gladly recognise the value of occasional hints from to some pupils,but the teacher should not hesitate to a practical pianist. These notes, it is hoped, will also omit 'as many as can be spared in each individual case. be of benefit to advanced students. Preparatory exercises, for instance, such as Exs. 1,2, 11, It is not for a moment pretended that this short treat- 16, 20 - 26, etc., may be discarded (except to correct re- ise is in any respect startlingly original. No particu- lapses) when once they have thoroughly served their lar "method" is advanced or defended. I have merely en purpose. deavored to bring the best ideas contained in a larg-e my Tt has been aim to reduce the exercises to the number of modern works into a small compass, discarding greatest possible simplicity and to give the most ex- everything unessential and repetitive. Some of thebooks _ act directions for practising them properly. The form which have been consulted are: of an exercise, however, may often be modified with ad- Zwintschcr, Technical Exercises. vantage to suit peculiar needs. Kullak, School of Octaves, Book /. 'Advanced'' technique is altogether excluded, because Maria von Unschuld, Die Hand des Piantsten I disbelieve in the necessity or expediency of spending Malwine Bree, The Groundwork of the Lcschetizky time on it. To the pupil who has really mastered the Method. elements of technique, the studies of Czerny and other Moszkowski, Ecolc des Doubles Notes. composers supply all that remains lacking in mechan- Schmidt, Das Pedal des Pianoforte's. ical equipment. Busoni,.Afrfe.? on Bach's"Well-Tempered Clavichord!' G FK 1 GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR PRACTICE. 1. Sit before the middle of the keyboard, About so high merely to repeat it mechanically. that the elbows are on a level with the keys, and /kn 6. Nearly all the exercises in this book are written out ward in your chair. The chair must not be too near for the right hand only. The left hand isto be played the keyboard. an octave or two octaves lower, as the teacher directs. 2. Do not stoop. The upper part of the body, indeed, 7. Nearly all the exercises are meant to be transposed may lean slightly forward but the shoulders should into different keys, keeping the same fingering. Those not be rounded. Do not mtke faces. not intended for transposition are marked C. It is a 3. Watch your fingers as you practise. good plan to choose a new key every week, or every 4. Listen to every note you play, and judge whether it three days if preferred. sounds well or not. 8. Practise slowly, and usually with only one hand at a 5. Try to improve whatever you are studying, not time, at least until you know the exercise thoroughly. - SECTION I. Hand-position, Finger-action, and Touch Exercises. Exercise 3. Exercise 1. Place the fingers on the notes: s 1 4 * 3 4 5 * «fc v«t i — Directions: Curve the fingers so that they touch the noteswith 1. — the tips. Hold the nail- joint of the fingers firm, Directions: and in vertical position. 1. Lift and drop the fingers with the greatest pre- 2. Keep the wrist low and slightly outward fromthe cision (see end of Note 4), counting "1 and 2 and body. 3 and 4 and". Keep the fingers well curved. 3. Keep the knuckles rather high and firm, so that 2. Hand-position as before. Read again the direc- the hand will be slightly arched. tions for Ex. 1. 4. Do not let the hand slope downward toward the 3. Avoid stiffness. The wrist may occasionally be little finger. raised or lowered to ensure relaxation, but not 5. Hold wrist and arm loose, and let the weight of with regularity as in Ex. 2. the arm rest on the finger-tips, keeping the notes A correct performance of Exs. 3 and 4 is often so steadily down. difficult to beginners, especially to children, that it Separate the fingers from each other. Hold the ft. may be necessary to use the following preparatory thumb well away from the hand, turning only the — exercise: tip inward. This may be called the Normal Hand-position. Exercise 3. A. ^ Exercise 2. r^ J J J oJ J J 4 $~°l?°f r r ^J J J g[a ,J < J ^pxy £ • i îrr 3=gg :£* g r r r — Directions: 1. Lower the wrist at n, raise it at V: (these signs will be used in the same sense throughout the Exercise 3. B volume). Exaggerate the wrist-movements at first: ^^ afterwards moderate them. 2. Keep the weight of the arm on the keys,holding them down steadily with the fingers. 3. Hand-position as before. ^TTT^gg J This exercise is meant to combine looseness of wrist m i m ;x J J J with correct hand -position. 6 F. K 1 6 3. There must be a great deal of weight in the touch. The tone should be strong but sweet: listen to it carefully. Exercise 6. These exercises should be discarded as soon as Ex. 3.can be played without stiffness. Otber good methods of avoiding excessive difficulty at the outset are.— 1. Omitting the thumb in Exs. 1 and 2. 2. Practising Exs. 1-4 very lightly at first gradually increasing the weight of the touch Exercise 4 i krfrrtrrrrtrrffi£ ^ fcrrriyrrfrrrrre — Directions: 1. The same as for Ex.5, but take care that all three (or four) notes of each chord are equally strong. ') Play vigorously. rrrrrrirfrrrr^-wW § f 2. Hand -position as usual. 3. Practise first with each hand separately. Observe m the fingering.which is the same for ail keys. d) 3ft w=w I Exercise 7. 122 33445 13 2 3 m HP — a> 3=Z Directions: *¥ *=3 1. Hold dftwn all the fingers except the one about to play. Keep them Curved, and watch them. gpff Q 1 Z t i ppi 2. Play legato. Practise slowly. Begin softly, lat- b) er, increase the tone, always avoiding stiffness. i ' 3. Lift the fingers with precision. The fourth' and fifth fingers may be lifted more than the others, — but the thumb should be raised very little. Directions: Drop the arm on the first note of each bar lift it 5 after the second note, but do not shorten the second Exercise 5. (Portamento.) note more than necessary. ^m mt1ntz r3\-4 m&5 Exercise ? is a combination of portamento and legato, w_ J*Ij*I jMjI and is particularly instructive (though far from difficult),because it contains the germ ofproper phrasing. / — Directions: Exercise 8. 'Legato.) 1. Drop the whole arm (not merely the fore-arm) on each note: raise it at the rests. Be sure to let the elbow rise and fall. 2. The wrist must be very loose and yielding. The fingers should move very little, always staying quite near the keys. a fk i 5 4 S S 4. Practise slowly. Only d) should ever be played fast. m3 ? This is a. most important exercise, and it should be p g P i practised daily with, the greatest care. *tfc. 3 4 6 3 4 5 8123 4 2123 4 Exercise 9. (Hand- staccato.; 1 2 33 8 m fl » frjjJJ# m 2 9 d > d d • iii p m m ^ffi ' a) ik:.dt 5 43?3 4 L m3 2 g » g> P_ g £ F_F F Jgfr. pttt\tit} iirntril\tiiri\<\ 4§ \ 3 211223 433 445 *p1 g 2 MmNmtittigte^ fl JJJ JjjJJJjJ JjiWjJJJ^JJ-r^ I 3454 iiii __ * { t \ 1 iJU r jLt^rrrr F« r r r r *?&*. 12846 12 3 4 6 - Directions: 1. Use the whole hand, letting it fall sharply and rebound rapidly. Make the notes as short as pos- ppi-frmg sible. Practise lightly, without weight. 2. Hold the wrist and elbow a trifle higher than usual. They must be perfectly loose. 3. The fingers should hardly move. 4. Practise a) in octaves also. In b) and c) the two notes must be exactly together and equal in tone ^ B§ c^ JJl^ g j c£tf ! cjir.r i a . Exercise 10. (Finger-staccato.) h JW JW JS JVrrgT i».i..J^ Directions-.— The binding must be perfect. Observe the differ- 1. e ~»*^ ent fingerings and use them all in turn. v.jt^ 2. Attend carefully to hand - position and finger - : p j 1 j g j p- action. Watch the fingers to see that they lift and — Directions: curve properly. When the curve is sufficient, the Keep the hand quiet. Use the same finger-action as player cannot see his finger - nails. in Ex. 3, but short and sharp. Lift the fingers more 3. The tone should be pure and singing.Gradually than usual. increase the strength,always avoiding stiffness. SECTION II. Exercises for the Use of the Wrist in Legato Playing \ Exercise 11. Metronome 6-. 100. q r V pi V nj n 1 ^" VLnUV 'n V n V $ n V n V r V n V In PV jjlj^§d c) f rrm I g) f* Szzi Sat *#/ Vn Vn Vn Vn Vn y n V n \ n ^JTjJJ .. fri^mm && Ttt OS &^[? ' GFK 1 — JJJJJ JJJ Directions: J = etc. I ' Lower the wrist at the sign n, raise it at V. Do not make the movements jerkily. Preserve the legatocare- ^ fully, and try to produce a full,round, singing tone. It may also be used in the following variations:— The fingers need not be lifted very high. S Exercise 11 has two objects, looseness of wrist and production of singing tone. All legato melodies are m^ played with more or less of this up-and-down wrist •; J * i i d M * etc. motion,which maybe exaggerated forpurposesof study. The tone should be produced by the weight ofthe arm, the finger-tips resting firmly on the keys. Exercise 12. In all cases, observe the different fingerings, and do not forget transposition into other keys. Exercise 14. T M a * ? 1 — Directions: .1 I * • Continue as in Ex.11, but with less up-and-down motion, and add a slight outward movement of the wrisi*'at the points marked 3.The combination of the two motions imparts what may be called a "rolling" action to the wrist. Do not exaggerate this. * 8 I 4 3 2 Exercise 15. Exercise 13. Jit ^to4^ jw^ 4jy îJ' J fjEtffcto j'']j7j,i jji '* * 2 * 4 4 a 3 5 5 ,, '* flcircfri ik?ffrifargEr etc. to\ 5S O 1 5 4 3 2 The following variations of Exercise 15 (and others, if desired) may be used: — Exercise 13 should also be practised with different — accents, thus: j fl ^JjJJjJJjl 4||j dJ « J« t etc. m $m — In practising Exercises 12-15, do not forget what b) * etc. • j ' has already been learned. Keep a good hand-position; use proper finger-action, attending particularly to the * curve and lift of the fingers; hold the arm and wrist c) *=3*= 4 3* J mT mI~=-I=Î 1 etc. loose; and listen to the tone. Gradually develop strength +. and speed. l> That is to 9ay, turn it a little farther out from the body than usual. G.F.K.l - 9 We come now to a form of action which is often ments until the fingers hardly leave the keys and a great difficulty to beginners, viz., the Tremolo. the exercise is performed entirely by a slight but The following preparatory exercise is useful. rapid shaking of the arm. The fingers need not be so much curved as usual Exercise 16. 4 & "T" TiY Exercise 18. T T T vT T T r r f r r t f- & J^^g » $ j\V JIV Jn, . Ji¥ j>» J)» 1 — Directions: At a), raise the thumb as high as possible after each note by turning the hand and wrist bod- Up, holding the little finger down as a pivot. At b), $M raise the little finger in a similar manner, holding the thumb down as a pivot. Jp h) Jjp jj/ flfi Exercise 17. Directions:— ^Jjpjrpjipjrpu^ Practise until great velocity and complete ease are «; attained. Small hands may substitute the following:- 4JTJ7Paj i-*iW^ etc. Exercise 19. 12 18 18 162 8 4 4 4 — — rrp _l • 5 • -J If -a • — Directions: In Ex. 17, when playing slowly, combine themotions This very "stupid" exercise is included because it of Ex. 16. a) and b). The whole armwill turn slight- shows a form of Tremolo-action very common in Mo- ly to and fro on its own axis: it must be perfect- zart's and Beethoven's works and often troublesome to ly loose. Increase the speed and diminishthe move- inexperienced hands. SECTION III. SCALES. Exercise 20. C.*> The peculiar difficulty of scale-playing is the put- 4 8 3 ting of the thumb under the hand and of the hand over the thumb. This difficulty may best be attacked by means of the preparatory exercises Nos. 20 - 26. *) Exercises marked C are not to be transposed 0.FK.I ) 10 2 ^ 3 a=y them in position exactly over their proper notes. 4 >t<^f\fe^ff , Preserve looseness and good, even tone. r^) Directions.— Exercise 23. C. i. The wrist must be held well outward from the Count 4 body, and must preserve this position in all the a) i scale-exercises and in playing scales. The hand must not move during this exercise, but it must ^ not be in the least. d*»ar«A stiff. cW) • s JmZll aa) o o 2. Count four. In Ex. 20 a), play C at the first beat; i place the thumb on F, touching the note, at the 2 2 2 2 second beat; play P at the third beat; and let the thumb 3 43 43 3 return to C, touching the note, at the fourth beat. — Treat Ex. 20 b\ c), and d) similarly. Directions: 3. Do not lift the thumb from the keys; let it glide from 4. In this exercise the thumb is immovable. note to note. The motion must be very rapidandpre- 2. In Ex. 23 a), play g at the first beat; move the cise. 4 Keep the fingers properly curved hand to its second poeition (the fingers over Aj> 5 The small crosses indicate the moment at wnich B G the thumb must move; they will always be used in at the second beat; play A at the third beat; and G this sense in future exercises. return the hand to its first position (fingersover 6. Play each repeat many times. g) at the fourth beat. Treat 23 b\ c), and d) Exercise "21. C. similarly. ^m 4 3 3. The movement of the hand must not be made by | hifEeg j twisting it to and fro, but the wristmustbeheld as far outward in the second position of the hand 2 * 2 1 l 't as in the first. Observe this point most carefully, for the correct movement is not easy. The thumb must yield readily as the hand passes over it. 4. The moment at which the hand should move to its next position is shown in this and the suc- Directions:— ceeding exercises by a small circle (o). The same as for Ex. 20. The thumb must always prepare its next note at the sign x. Exercise 24. C. m9) m v Exercise 22. C. -»- ft 1122 33 1133 22 1 123 4 t 4 3 2 3E -O- j r r r r 11 JJ • irr - r 11 I a ^ C) 8 m 8 0- p HI 1=1 J J ;| i 1 2 3 4 4 3 2 l=rrr -M Directions:— r In each section of the exercise,keep the thumb immovable over its note. Avoid twisting the hand, and Directions: — move it promptly at the sign o. Let all the fingers As above. Be sure to retain the outward position keep proper positions over the notes next to be of the wrist throughout. Curve the fingers and hold played. G F K 1 — II Exercise 25. C. Exercise 27 B 45 4s Sa» a).*"' A a 2 2 2 3 1 2 3 4^13 2 3 4 i g 3 2 14 3 43i 41 £ f1 r1$»a1 * # ***?t t_*i 1 £ £ rr^frori 'ct^ ^ ^ —•*—-••—-* *• #J 3 2; 1 3. 2 1 £JTJ I 2 3 12 3 4 3 « 1 3 2 « 8 '4 1 * 3 2 1 '4 3 2 — The student should now proceed to practise major, Directions: melodic minor, and harmonic minor scales in all keys, As above. Keep the fingers curved and the wrist at first slowly, in two octaves only, andwith eachhand loose, always well outward. Play with good, even separately. tone./Do not raise the thumb. The next exercise combines the hand and thumb The fingering of the thirty- six different scales is movements. No new directions are required,but all those usually a source of much distress to the bejriiMi<;r. And given for Exercises 20-25 must be remembered. yet it should not be very difficult, providod tiiut scale- formation is understood. To begin with, do not think about the thumbs or where they come in the scalt;. Exercise 26. C. If you only remember where the fourth finger falls 1231 2341 2132 Mfg 2 14 3 you know the whole scale, for the fourth finger is FFP? used but once in each octave. o x The easiest rules for Scale -fingerings are, curi- ously enough, little known among teachers and stud- Q 33 11 &3 §3, 44 11 22 3 J, 3 2 1 4 3 2 i ftrj J J j Îrr^ £ i -»- ents. In fact, I have never seen them given in print X) ~ O X o x except in Carl Faeltehs "Rhythmical Scales."They are as follows: £ o x 5 W=¥W rrf Right Hand. M p 18 i 13 1. In scales beginning on a white key (except the 3 1 2 3 '4a 1 4 3 2 2 scales of F) take the fourth finger on the seventh de- ox *=F ° x -*>- gree of the scale. 3123r~i^r1*'2*'3 i j18J •21^ 4 3 2 1 J 2. Ionf sFc)alteaskeb"etghiennfionugrtohnfainbglerackonkeByb ((aorndJt#he)s.cWahleesn there is no Bl> (or A#) in the scale, takethe fourth The complete scale may now be attempted. By this finger on the second degree. time it should present little or no difficulty. Left Hand. Exercise 27. C. 1. In scales beginning on a white key(except the scales of B) take the fourth finger on the second degree A 12 31 2*41 23 l£J#fA Ig l j 2 1 48. *132 of the scale. f -#• o x o x o ôix ToC or* *5T^ 2. In scales beginning on a black„key (and the scales of B) take the fourth finger on F% (or G\>).When O X O x o there is no F# (or QtV) in the scale, take the fourth finger on the fourth degree. These rules are compressed by Mr. Faelten into a 3 4c 4 3* clear and simple formula, of which I give a slight — variation : Below is shown, by means of small notes, the exact position of every finger of the right hand throughout the scale. v •) Quofed (with a slight alteration) from Miss von Unschulds book. "Die Hand des Pianisten." G. F K 1