Fundamentals of Piano Practice: 2nd Edition

354 Pages·2005·1.73 MB·English

Fundamentals of Piano Practice, 2nd Edition
byChuanC.Chang
November21,2004
ii
Copyright1994–2004;Nopartofthisdocumentshallbedownloadedorcopied
withoutincludingthenameoftheauthor:ChuanC.Chang,andthiscopyrightstate-
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Request Tothosewhohavefoundthismaterialuseful,pleasemakeanefforttolet
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beinformedofthissite.
Iamlookingforvolunteerstotranslatethisbookintoanylanguage. See“Notes
forTranslators”[email protected]
thismatter.
ThisbookisnowavailableinGerman,Polish,ItalianandFrench.Iamverygrate-
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cantlyimprovedthequalityofthisbook.
Ifyoufeelthatyouhavebenefitedfromthisbookandwishtoexpressyourap-
preciation,pleasesendacontributionto:
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tor.Ifyousend$15ormore,Iwillsendyoumy1steditionbook(availableinEnglish
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willpayshippingandhandling(1stclassinUS,airmailforoverseas).
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ForlearningPiano Forlearningpiano,usethisbookasasupplementarytextbook
ifyouhaveateacher.Ifyoudon’thaveateacher,pickanypieceofmusicyouwantto
learn(thatiswithinyourtechnicalskilllevel)andstartpracticingitusingthemeth-
ods described here; the methods are arranged roughly in the order in which you
iii
willneedthemasyoustartlearninganewpiece. Ineithercase(withorwithouta
teacher),readtheentirebookquicklythefirsttime,startingwiththePrefacewhich
givesyouaquickoverview. Skipanysectionthatyouthinkisnotrelevantoristoo
detailed; donottrytounderstandeveryconceptortorememberanything–read
itlikeasciencefictionnovel,mainlyforfun–youjustwanttogetacquaintedwith
thebookandgetsomeideaofwherecertaintopicsarediscussed. Finally,readas
muchoftheTestimonialsectionasyoufindinteresting. Thenre-startfromwhere
youthinkthebookgivesmaterialthatyouneed;mostpeoplewillneedtoreadall
of1.1and1.2. Thenyoucanskiparoundtospecifictopicsthatapplytothecom-
position you are learning. If you don’t have a clear idea of what compositions to
learn,thisbookcitesmanyexamples,frombeginnermaterial(1.3.18)tointermedi-
ate;therefore,inyourfirstreading,lookforwheretheseexamples/suggestionsare
iv
v
ThisbookisdedicatedtomywifeMerry,
whoselove,support,andboundlessenergy
iswhatenabledmetodevotesomuchtimetothisproject.
vi
Testimonials
Thesetestimonialsillustratethehopes,trials,tribulations,andtriumphs,ofpianists Updated:
andpianoteachers. Thetestimonialsarenotjustacollectionofflatteringendorse- June28,2004
mentsbutareopen,frankdiscussionsofwhatitmeanstolearnpiano. Iamheart-
enedbythenumberofteacherswhoprovidedtestimonialsandbytheirindication
thattheyarehavingmoresuccesswiththeirstudentsbyusingthesetypesofmeth-
ods. It seems inescapable that teachers who conduct research and improve their
teaching methods are more successful. Numerous pianists mentioned that they
weretaughtallwrongbypreviousteachers. Many,wholikedtheirteachers,noted
thattheseteachersusedmethodssimilartothoseinthisbook.Thereisalmostuni-
formagreementonwhatisrightandwhatiswrong;therefore,whenyoufollowthe
scientificapproach,youdon’tgetintothesituationinwhichpeoplecannotagreeon
whatisright.Iwasimpressedbyhowquicklysomepeoplepickedupthesemethods.
The excerpts have been edited minimally, but irrelevant details have been ex-
cisedsoasnottowastethereaders’time. Entriesin[...] aremycomments. Itake
thisopportunitytothankeveryonewhowrote;theyhavehelpedmetoimprovethe
book. Ican’tgetoverthefactthatreadersofmybookkeepwritingthebookforme
(i.e.,Icouldinserttheirremarksinmybook,andtheywouldfitperfectly!).Inthefol-
lowing,Ihavenotselectedjusttheflatteringremarks;Ichosematerialthatseemed
significant(educational),whetherpositiveorcritical.
1. [FromaChristianMinister]
This book is the Piano Bible. I have made such tremendous progress since
purchasingit[1steditionbook].Icontinuetorecommendittoothers.
2. [InJan.,2003,Ireceivedthisemail](withpermission)
MynameisMarc,andIam17yearsold.Ijuststartedplayingthepianoabout
amonthagoandhavebeenreadingyourbook,TheFundamentalsofPiano
Practice...Idonothaveaninstructoryet,butamintheprocessoflookingfor
one...[followedbyaseriesofprecociousquestionsforayoungpersonwith
solittlepianoexperience.IansweredhisquestionsaswellasIcould;then]
3. [inMay,2004,Ireceivedthisastoundingemail]
Idon’tquiteexpectyoutorememberme,butIsentyouanemailalittlemore
thanayearago...Iwouldliketoletyouknowhowpianohasbeencoming
alongformeusingyourmethod. IbeganplayingthepianoaboutChristmas
vii
viii
of2002,usingyourmethodfromthebeginning.Mid-Marchof2003,Ientered
myhighschool’sconcertocompetitionforfunandexperience—notinthe
hopesofwinningtheir$500scholarship.Iunexpectedlywonfirstplace,com-
petingagainstmoreseasonedpianistsofupto10yrs. Itdidshockthejudges
whenItoldthemIhadbeenplayingfor3months. Afewdaysago,Iwonthis
year’scompetition, aswell. Inotherwords, progresshascomeveryquickly.
Suchprogressisoneofthegreatestmotivators(asidefromthegeneralloveof
music),soIcannowseemyselfplaying—andimprovingin—thepianofor
therestofmylife. And,thoughImustgivemyteacherscreditaswell,your
methodismyfoundationuponwhichtheybuild,andIbelieveitisthemain
reasonformyprogress.However,Istillconsidermyselfabeginner...Myweb-
site(http://www.mtm-piano.tk)asalloftherecordingswhichIhavemade
todate(18)...recently,Ihavebeenre-recordingChopin’s“Raindrop”prelude,
Scarlatti’sK.466,andBach’sInventioninFmajor...Mynextrecordingwillbe
Bach’s Sinfonia in E minor, and I plan to have that done by the end of next
week. Yourbookisfarmorethananyloverofmusicandthepianocouldex-
pect,andIcannotthankyouenoughforthehelpyouhavegiventomeandso
manyotheraspiringpianists...[Gotothewebsiteandlistentothoseamazing
recordings!!Youcanevenfindhimatthehttp://music.download.comweb
site(searchMarcMcCarthy).
4. [Fromarespected,experiencedpianoteacher.]
I just skimmed your new section [on parallel set exercises] and thought I’d
sharemyinitialreaction.AstheQueenRegentofExercise-Haters,I’velobbied
loudandstrongforthecriminalizationofHanonetal,andwasatfirstaghast
tothinkyoumayhavejoinedthedowntroddenmassesofthepseudo-voodoo-
esquepractitioners,hopelessly,helplessly,repeating,repeating,.... Anyway,
to get to the point, I do see a point of merit in your approach, IF IF IF the
studentfollowsyourCOMPLETEdirectionsandusesthedescribedkeycom-
binationsasadiagnostictool—NOTtorepeateachandeverycombinationas
adailyroutine.Asadiagnostictoolandsubsequentremedy,you’vesucceeded
marvelously! There was something familiar about your exercises, so I dug
aroundatthestudiotodayandfoundtheTechnischeStudienbyLouisPlaidy,
EditionPeters,firstprintingca1850.AlthoughPlaidy’sphilosophyconcerning
theuseofhisexercisesismuchdifferentfromyours,theactualnotesprinted
onthepagefollownearlytotheletter(tee,hee,Ishouldsaytothenote)what
youhavedescribedinyourexercisechapter.Plaidy’sexerciseswerehighlyre-
spectedinEuropethroughoutthelate1800’sandwereusedduringthattime
attheConservatoryinLeipzig.Plaidyhimselfwasquiteasought-afterinstruc-
tor,withseveralofhisprotegeacceptedintoLiszt’sinnercircleand/orhaving
somesortofsuccessontheconcertstage.You’reinthecompanyofgreatness!
5. IamcurioustoknowifyouknowoftheworkofGuyMaier.Doeshisapproach
with“impulse”practiceof5fingerpatternsgoalongwiththe“parallelsets”
youmention? Maierdoesusetheprincipleofrepeatingonenotewitheach
fingerastheothersareheldquietlyatthekeysurfaceasoneofthe5finger
ix
exercises.ThinkingFingerswasoneofthebooksofexercisesMaierwrotewith
HerbertBradshawintheearly1940s. Oneofhisfirst5fingerexercisesthat
seems to mirror what you have said about “quads” repetitions on one note
usingonefingerisasfollows:
(a) Singlefingersinrepeatednoteimpulsesof1,2,3,4,8,and16.
(b) Practiceeachfingerseparately,depressotherkeyslightlyorholdfingers
silentlyatkeytopposition.
(c) UsingCDEFGinrighthand, place5fingersonthesenotesoneoctave
abovemiddleC,righthandthumbonC.
(d) Similarlywithlefthand,oneoctavebelowmiddleC,withfifthfingeron
C.
(e) Exercisehandsseparately;startingwithrighthandthumbplayoneim-
pulseC,thenrelease,thentwoimpulses,etc.,upto16.Repeatwitheach
finger,thendothelefthand.
[SeemyExercisesection1.3.7.2;itisamazinghowweindependentlyar-
rived at groups of “quads” (four repetitions), up to 4 quads (16 repeti-
tions)forthisexercisewhichisalmostidenticaltomyExercise#1.]
(f) Beginnerswillhavetodotheimpulsesslowly,workinguptofullspeed
(andhereIthinkyour“quads”comeintoplay—somanyrepetitionsper
secondisthegoal).
Maiermentions16ashislimit. Hegivesagreatmanypatternsforusingthis
approachto5fingerimpulseexercises,inBook1andBook2ofThinkingFin-
gerspublishedbyBelwinMillsInc.,NY,NYin1948.IthinkMaierwasstriving
tohelpstudentsgetthefacilitytheyneededwithouttheendlessrepetitionsof
Hanon,Pischna,etal.
6. Pleasesendmeyourbook—I’vebeenapianoteacherforover50years,still
eagertolearn.
7. [Thistestimonialisaneyeopener: itteachesusaboutoneof themostfre-
quentlymisdiagnosedproblemsthatstopsusfromplayingfast.]
Atayoungage,Istarted,andthenquitpiano. Thenasateenager,Iwenttoa
[famous]conservatoryandtriedforyearstoacquiretechniquebutfailedmis-
erablyandendedupwithanengineeringcareer. Yearslater,Ihavereturned
topiano(Clavinova)andamtryingtodowhatIfailedtodoyearsago. One
ofthereasonsIstoppedpracticingisthatmywifeandsonwouldgetirritated
whentheyheardmerepeatpassagesoverandover;theClavinovaallowsme
topracticeguiltlesslyatanyhour. Ireadyourwebpageandwasfascinated.
WishIhadthoughtofsomeofyourideasyearsago. IhaveaquestionandI
can’tseemtogetananswerthatmakesanysense,yetitissuchabasicques-
tion. Iwastaughtthatwhenyouplaypiano,yousupporttheweightofyour
armoneachfingerthatplays. Gravity. Youneverpushdown, youmustbe
relaxed. SoIaskedmyteachershowtoplaypianissimo. Theanswerwasthat
x
youplayclosertothekeys.Thisdoesnotworkforme.[Longdiscussionofvar-
iousmethodsoftryingtoplaypianissimowitharmweightandwhytheydon’t
work. Seemshecanplaypianissimoonlybyconsciouslyliftinghishandsoff
the keys. Also, since everything tends come out forte, speed is a problem.]
Wouldyoukindlyanswerthisquestionforme? Whatdoesonedowithones
armweightwhenoneplayspianissimo? Ihavereadmanybooksaboutplay-
ing the piano and have spoken with many accomplished pianists. It is one
thingtoknowhowtoplayanythinganditisquiteanothertobeabletoteach
someonehowtoplay.[Icouldnothavesaidthisanybetter!]Yourwritingsare
brilliantandinmanywaysrevolutionary,Iknewinstinctivelythatifanyone
couldhelpmeyoucould.
[Aftersuchacompliment,Ihadtodosomething,soIreadtheaccountofhis
difficultiescarefullyandcametotheconclusionthathemust,aftersomany
yearsoftrying,beunwittinglypushingdownonthepiano,almostasifhewere
hypnotized.Itoldhimtofindawaytoseeifhewasactuallypushingdown—
notaneasytask.Thencamethisreply.]
Thankyouforyourresponse. Truthisbestexaminedthroughextremes. Your
suggestiongavemetheideathatmaybeIshouldALWAYSplaylikeIplayMY
pianissimo—byliftingmyhandsoffthekeys.IrushedtomyHanon,andYES!
I canplaymuchfaster! Iquicklyrushed totheBachPreludeII that Icould
neverplaytospeed(144)andIalwayshadtroublesgettingthefingerstoland
togetherwhenplayingfast,andatspeedsabove120thefingerswerelanding
likeonenotetogether. Nofumbles,nostrain. Notonlythat,Icanplaypiano
orforteasfastasIwant. ItfeelssoincrediblyEASY!Justdiscovereditnow! I
can’tbelievethis.[Longdiscussionofhow,throughtheyears,hehadcometo
equatearmweightwithpushingdown,mainlycausedbyafearofnotunder-
standingtheteacherwhowasastrict,armweightdisciplinarian.Thisisactu-
allysomethingIhavebeenverysuspiciousof,aboutthearmweightmethod:
thatsomuchemphasisonarmweightandoverlystrictdisciplinemightcause
sometypeofneurosisormisunderstanding—perhapsevensometypeofhyp-
nosis.]Ahugewalljustcrumbledandnowaftersomanyyearsofthoughtand
hours of practice (I practiced up to 10 hours a day at the conservatory and
stillonlymemorizedmusicwithouteverimprovingmytechnique)andnowI
canseebeyond. IdiscoveredthatIhavetheabilitytoplayfasterthanIever
dreamedIcould(justtriedtheCmajorscaleandIwasshockedthatthiswas
meplaying)withfullrangeofsoundthatIwantWITHOUTTENSION.[Along
descriptionofallthenewthingsheisnowdoingandcomparingthemtohis
previousyearsofstrugglesandcriticismsfromothers.]Ihaveyoutothankfor
this. YourswastheonlybookIhaveeverreadthatofferedenoughvariation
fromthemainlinetogetmetofinallyfreemymindfromahugemisconcep-
tion. Iwaspushingdown,notlettinggo. Myarmssimplydon’tweighaton,
buttheyarefree. BecauseIwasafraidofmyteacherandwasobsessedwith
the weight of my arms, I was subconsciously bearing down. I never dared
playpppforher. Iknewhow,butIwascertainitwasthewrongtechnique. [I
amafraidthishappensfrequentlywithyoungsters;theydon’tunderstandthe