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+ margin: 0 0 0 4px; /* left margin to keep out from body */} + +.floatcaptl {float: left; + clear: left; + text-align: center; font-weight: bold; + border: 0px solid black; + padding-bottom: 10px; + margin: 0 4px 0 0; /* right margin to keep out from body */} + +/* Transcriber Notes */ +.notes {background-color: #eeeeee; color: #000; + padding-top: .5em; padding-bottom: .5em; + padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; + margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;} + +.err {border-bottom: thin dotted red;} + + hr.full { width: 100%; + margin-top: 3em; + margin-bottom: 0em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + height: 4px; + border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ + border-style: solid; + border-color: #000000; + clear: both; } + pre {font-size: 85%;} + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Piano Playing, by Josef Hofmann</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Piano Playing</p> +<p> With Piano Questions Answered</p> +<p>Author: Josef Hofmann</p> +<p>Release Date: March 20, 2012 [eBook #39211]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PIANO PLAYING***</p> +<p> </p> +<h3>E-text prepared by<br /> + Colin Bell, Johanna, Stephen Hutcheson,<br /> + and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> + (http://www.pgdp.net)</h3> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p> </p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><a name="Josef_Hofmann" id="Josef_Hofmann"><img src="images/jpg0001a.jpg" alt=""/></a></div> + +<h1><i>Josef Hofmann</i></h1> + + +<h1><a href="#Piano_Playing">PIANO PLAYING</a></h1> + +<h2>WITH</h2> + +<h2><a href="#Piano_Questions_Answered">PIANO QUESTIONS ANSWERED</a></h2> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<p>Copyright © 1909 by Doubleday, Page and Company; +renewed 1937 by J. Hofmann.</p> + +<p>© 1908 by McClure Company; renewed 1936 +by J. Hofmann.</p> + +<p>© 1920 by Theodore Presser Company; renewed +1947 by Josef Hofmann.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h1><i><a name="Piano_Playing" id="Piano_Playing">Piano Playing</a></i></h1> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h4>TO MY DEAR FRIEND<br /> +<br /> + +CONSTANTIN VON STERNBERG</h4> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h3> + +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="CONTENTS"> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right"><b>PAGE</b></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"><a href="#A_FOREWORD"><span class="smcap">A Foreword</span></a></td> + <td align="right">xv</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"><a href="#THE_PIANO_AND_ITS_PLAYER"><span class="smcap">The Piano and Its Player</span></a></td> + <td align="right">3</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"><a href="#GENERAL_RULES"><span class="smcap">General Rules</span></a></td> + <td align="right">19</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"><a href="#CORRECT_TOUCH_AND_TECHNIC"><span class="smcap">Correct Touch and Technic</span></a></td> + <td align="right">34</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"><a href="#THE_USE_OF_THE_PEDAL"><span class="smcap">The Use of the Pedal</span></a></td> + <td align="right">41</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"><a href="#PLAYING_IN_STYLE"><span class="smcap">Playing "In Style"</span></a></td> + <td align="right">49</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"><a href="#HOW_RUBINSTEIN_TAUGHT"><span class="smcap">How Rubinstein Taught Me to Play</span></a></td> + <td align="right">57</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"><a href="#Indispensables_in_Pianistic"><span class="smcap">Indispensables in Pianistic Success</span></a></td> + <td align="right">70</td> + </tr> + +</table> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h3> + +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="ILLUSTRATIONS"> + + <tr> + <td align="left"><a href="#Josef_Hofmann"><i>Josef Hofmann</i></a></td> + <td align="right"><i>Frontispiece</i></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right">FACING<br/>PAGE</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"><a href="#image_2"><i>The Position of the Hand</i></a></td> + <td align="right">20</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"><a href="#image_3"><i>Incorrect Way to Play an Octave</i></a></td> + <td align="right">28</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left"><a href="#image_3"><i>Correct Way to Play an Octave</i></a></td> + <td align="right">28</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#image_4"><i>Incorrect Position of the Little Finger</i></a></td> + <td align="right">29</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#image_4"><i>Correct Position of the Little Finger</i></a></td> + <td align="right">29</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#image_5"><i>Incorrect Position of Thumb</i></a></td> + <td align="right">38</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#image_5"><i>Correct Position of Thumb</i></a></td> + <td align="right">38</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#image_6"><i>Incorrect Position of the Feet</i></a></td> + <td align="right">42</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#image_7"><i>Correct Position of the Feet on the Pedal</i></a></td> + <td align="right">43</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#image_8"><i>Anton Rubinstein</i></a></td> + <td align="right">58</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#image_9"><i>How Rubinstein Taught Me to Play</i></a></td> + <td align="right">59</td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xva" id="Page_xva">Pg xv</a></span></p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h3><a name="A_FOREWORD" id="A_FOREWORD"></a>A FOREWORD</h3> + + +<p>This little book purposes to present a general view of artistic +piano-playing and to offer to young students the results of such +observations as I have made in the years of my own studies, as well as +of the experiences which my public activity has brought me.</p> + +<p>It is, of course, only the concrete, the material side of piano-playing +that can be dealt with here—that part of it which aims to +reproduce in tones what is plainly stated in the printed lines of a +composition. The other, very much subtler part of piano-playing, draws +upon and, indeed, depends upon imagination, refinement of sensibility, +and spiritual vision, and endeavours to convey to an audience what the +composer has, consciously or unconsciously, hidden <i>between</i> the lines. +That almost entirely psychic side of piano-playing eludes treatment in +literary form and must, therefore, not be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvia" id="Page_xvia">Pg xvi</a></span> looked for in this +little volume. It may not be amiss, however, to dwell a moment upon +these elusive matters of æsthetics and conception, though it be only to +show how far apart they are from technic.</p> + +<p>When the material part, the technic, has been completely acquired by the +piano student, he will see a limitless vista opening up before him, +disclosing the vast field of artistic interpretation. In this field the +work is largely of an analytical nature and requires that intelligence, +spirit, and sentiment, supported by knowledge and æsthetic perception, +form a felicitous union to produce results of value and dignity. It is +in this field that the student must learn to perceive the invisible +something which unifies the seemingly separate notes, groups, periods, +sections, and parts into an organic whole. The spiritual eye for this +invisible something is what musicians have in mind when they speak of +"reading between the lines"—which is at once the most fascinating +and most difficult task of the interpretative artist; for, it is just +between the lines where, in literature as in music, the soul of a work +of art lies hid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xviia" id="Page_xviia">Pg xvii</a></span>den. To play its notes, even to play them +correctly, is still very far from doing justice to the life and soul of +an artistic composition.</p> + +<p>I should like to reiterate at this point two words which I used in the +second paragraph: the words "consciously or unconsciously." A brief +comment upon this alternative may lead to observations which may throw a +light upon the matter of reading between the lines, especially as I am +rather strongly inclining toward the belief in the "unconscious" side of +the alternative.</p> + +<p>I believe that every composer of talent (not to speak of genius) in his +moments of creative fever has given birth to thoughts, ideas, designs +that lay altogether beyond the reach of his conscious will and control. +In speaking of the products of such periods we have hit upon exactly the +right word when we say that the composer "has surpassed himself." For, +in saying this we recognise that the act of surpassing one's self +precludes the control of the self. A critical, sober overseeing of one's +work during the period of creation is unthinkable, for it is the fancy +and the imagination that carries one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xviiia" id="Page_xviiia">Pg xviii</a></span> on and on, will-lessly, +driftingly, until the totality of the tonal apparition is completed and +mentally as well as physically absorbed.</p> + +<p>Now, inasmuch as the composer's conscious will takes little or no part +in the creating of the work, it seems to follow that he is not, +necessarily, an absolute authority as to the "only correct way" of +rendering it. Pedantic adherence to the composer's own conception is, to +my mind, not an unassailable maxim. The composer's way of rendering his +composition may not be free from certain predilections, biases, +mannerisms, and his rendition may also suffer from a paucity of +pianistic experience. It seems, therefore, that to do justice to the +work itself is of far greater importance than a slavish adherence to the +composer's conception.</p> + +<p>Now, to discover what it is, intellectually or emotionally, that hides +itself between the lines; how to conceive and how to interpret +it—that must ever rest with the reproductive artist, provided that +he possesses not only the spiritual vision which entitles him to an +individual conception, but also the technical skill to express what this +individual conception (aided by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xixa" id="Page_xixa">Pg xix</a></span> imagination and analysis) has +whispered to him. Taking these two conditions for granted, his +interpretations—however punctiliously he adhere to the +text—will and must be a reflex of his breeding, education, +temperament, disposition; in short, of all the faculties and qualities +that go to make up his personality. And as these personal qualities +differ between players, their interpretations must, necessarily, differ +in the same measure.</p> + +<p>In some respects the performance of a piece of music resembles the +reading of a book aloud to some one. If a book should be read to us by a +person who does not understand it, would it impress us as true, +convincing, or even credible? Can a dull person, by reading them to us, +convey bright thoughts intelligibly? Even if such a person were drilled +to read with outward correctness that of which he cannot fathom the +meaning, the reading could not seriously engage our attention, because +the reader's want of understanding would be sure to effect a lack of +interest in us. Whatever is said to an audience, be the speech literary +or musical, must be a free and individual expres<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxa" id="Page_xxa">Pg xx</a></span>sion, governed +only by general or is it æsthetic laws or rules; it must be free to be +artistic, and it must be individual to have vital force. Traditional +conceptions of works of art are "canned goods," unless the individual +happens to concur with the traditional conception, which, at best, is +very rarely the case and does not speak well for the mental calibre of +the easily contented treader of the beaten path.</p> + +<p>We know how precious a thing is freedom. But in modern times it is not +only precious, it is also costly; it is based upon certain possessions. +This holds as good in life as in art. To move comfortably with freedom +in life requires money; freedom in art requires a sovereign mastery of +technic. The pianist's artistic bank-account upon which he can draw at +any moment is his technic. We do not gauge him by it as an artist, to be +sure, but rather by the use he makes of it; just as we respect the +wealthy according to the way in which they use their money. And as there +are wealthy people that are vulgar, so there may be pianists who, +despite the greatest technic, are not artists. Still, while money is to +a gentleman perhaps no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxia" id="Page_xxia">Pg xxi</a></span> +more than a rather agreeable adjunct, +technic is to the pianist's equipment an indispensable necessity.</p> + +<p>To assist young students in acquiring this necessity, the following +articles were written for <i>The Ladies' Home Journal</i>, and for this form +I have gone over them and corrected and amplified. I sincerely hope that +they will help my young colleagues to become free as piano-playing +musicians first, and that this, in its turn and with the help of good +fortune in their career, will bring them the means to make them equally +free in their daily life.</p> + +<p> <span class="smcap">Josef Hofmann.</span><br /> </p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3a" id="Page_3a">Pg 3</a></span></p> + +<h1><i>Piano Playing</i></h1> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h3><a name="THE_PIANO_AND_ITS_PLAYER" id="THE_PIANO_AND_ITS_PLAYER"></a>THE PIANO AND ITS PLAYER</h3> + + +<p>The first requisite for one who wishes to become a musicianly and +artistic pianist is a precise knowledge of the possibilities and +limitations of the piano as an instrument. Having properly recognised +them both, having thus staked off a stretch of ground for his activity, +he must explore it to discover all the resources for tonal expression +that are hidden within its pale. With these resources, however, he must +be contented. He must, above all, never strive to rival the orchestra. +For there is no necessity to attempt anything so foolish and so futile, +since the gamut of expressions inherent to the piano is quite extensive +enough to vouchsafe artistic results of the very highest order, +provided, of course, that this gamut is used in an artistic +manner.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4a" id="Page_4a">Pg 4</a></span></p> + + +<h5>THE PIANO AND THE ORCHESTRA</h5> + +<p>From one point of view the piano can claim to be the equal of the +orchestra; namely, in so far as it is—no less than the +orchestra—the exponent of a specific branch of music which, +complete by itself, reposes upon a literature exclusively its own and of +a type so distinguished that only the orchestra can claim to possess its +peer. The great superiority of the literature of the piano over that of +any other single instrument has, to my knowledge, never been disputed. I +think it is equally certain that the piano grants to its players a +greater freedom of expression than any other instrument; +greater—in certain respects—than even the orchestra, and +very much greater than the organ, which, after all, lacks the intimate, +personal element of "touch" and the immediateness of its variegated +results.</p> + +<p>In dynamic and colouristic qualities, on the other hand, the piano +cannot bear comparison with the orchestra; for in these qualities it is +very limited indeed. The prudent player will not go beyond these limits. +The utmost that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5a" id="Page_5a">Pg 5</a></span> +the pianist can achieve in the way of colour may +be likened to what the painters call "monochrome." For in reality the +piano, like any other instrument, has only one colour; but the artistic +player can subdivide the colour into an infinite number and variety of +shades. The virtue of a specific charm, too, attaches as much to the +piano as to other instruments, though, perhaps, in a lesser degree of +sensuousness than to some others. Is it because of this lesser sensuous +charm that the art of the piano is considered the chastest of all +instruments? I am rather inclined to think that it is, partly at least, +due to this chastity that it "wears" best, that we can listen longer to +a piano than to other instruments, and that this chastity may have had a +reflex action upon the character of its unparagoned literature.</p> + +<p>For this literature, though, we have to thank the pianists themselves, +or, speaking more precisely, we are indebted to the circumstance that +the piano is the only single instrument capable of conveying the +complete entity of a composition. That melody, bass, harmony, +figuration, polyphony, and the most intricate contrapuntal +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6a" id="Page_6a">Pg 6</a></span> +devices can—by skilful hands—be rendered simultaneously and +(to all intents and purposes) completely on the piano has probably been +the inducement which persuaded the great masters of music to choose it +as their favourite instrument.</p> + +<p>It may be mentioned at this point that the piano did not have the effect +of impairing the orchestration of the great composers—as some +musical wiseacres assert from time to time—for they have written +just as fine works for a variety of other instruments, not to speak of +their symphonies. Thus has, for instance, the most substantial part of +the violin literature been contributed by piano-players (Bach, Mozart, +Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bruch, Saint-Saëns, Tschaikowski, and +many others). As to the literature of the orchestra, it came almost +exclusively from those masters whose only, or chiefest, medium of +musical utterance was the piano. Highly organised natures, as they were, +they liked to dress their thoughts, sometimes, in the colour splendour +of the orchestra. Looking at the depth of their piano works, however, at +their sterling merit, at their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7a" id="Page_7a">Pg 7</a></span> +poetry, I feel that even a refined +musical nature may find lifelong contentment in the piano—despite +its limitations—if, as I said before, the artist keeps within its +boundaries and commands its possibilities. For it is, after all, not so +very little that the piano has to offer. It is both governed and +manipulated by one and the same mind and person; its mechanism is so +fine and yet so simple as to make its tone response quite as direct as +that of any other stringed instrument; it admits of the thoroughly +personal element of touch; it requires no auxiliary instruments (for +even in the Concerto the orchestra is not a mere accompanist but an +equal partner, as the name "Concerto" implies); its limitations are not +as bad as those of some other instruments or of the voice; it outweighs +these limitations very fairly by the vast wealth of its dynamic and +touch varieties. Considering all these and many other points of merit, I +think that a musician may be pretty well satisfied with being a pianist. +His realm is in more than one respect smaller than that of the +conductor, to be sure, but on the other hand the conductor loses many +lovely moments<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8a" id="Page_8a">Pg 8</a></span> +of sweet intimacy which are granted to the pianist +when, world-oblivious and alone with his instrument he can commune with +his innermost and best self. Consecrated moments, these, which he would +exchange with no musician of any other type and which wealth can neither +buy nor power compel.</p> + +<h5>THE PIANO AND THE PLAYER</h5> + +<p>Music makers are, like the rest of mankind, not free from sin. On the +whole, however, I think that the transgressions of pianists against the +canons of art are less grave and less frequent than those of other music +makers; perhaps, because they are—usually—better grounded as +musicians than are singers and such players of other instruments as the +public places on a par with the pianists I have in mind. But, while +their sins may be less in number and gravity—let it be well +understood that the pianists are no saints. Alas, no! It is rather +strange, though, that their worst misdeeds are induced by that very +virtue of the piano of requiring no auxiliary instruments, of being +independent. If it were not so; if the pianist +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9a" id="Page_9a">Pg 9</a></span> were compelled +always to play in company with other musicians, these other players +might at times differ with him as to conception, tempo, etc., and their +views and wishes should have to be reckoned with, for the sake of both +equilibrium and—sweet peace.</p> + +<p>Left entirely to himself, however, as the pianist usually is in his +performances, he sometimes yields to a tendency to move altogether too +freely, to forget the deference due to the composition and its creator, +and to allow his much-beloved "individuality" to glitter with a false +and presumptuous brightness. Such a pianist does not only fail in his +mission as an interpreter but he also misjudges the possibilities of the +piano. He will, for instance, try to produce six <i>forte-s</i> when the +piano has not more than three to give, all told, except at a sacrifice +of its dignity and its specific charm.</p> + +<p>The extremest contrasts, the greatest <i>forte</i> and the finest <i>piano</i>, +are given factors determined by the individual piano, by the player's +skill of touch, and by the acoustic properties of the hall. These given +factors the pianist must bear in mind, as well as the limitations of +the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10a" id="Page_10a">Pg 10</a></span> +piano as to colour, if he means to keep clear of +dilettanteism and charlatanry. A nice appreciation of the realm over +which he rules, as to its boundaries and possibilities, must be the +supreme endeavour of every sovereign—hence also of every sovereign +musician.</p> + +<p>Now, I hear it so often said of this and that pianist that "he plays +with <i>so</i> much feeling" that I cannot help wondering if he does not, +sometimes at least, play with "<i>so</i> much feeling" where it is not in the +least called for and where "<i>so</i> much feeling" constitutes a decided +trespass against the æsthetic boundaries of the composition. My +apprehension is usually well founded, for the pianist that plays +<i>everything</i> "with so much feeling" is an artist in name only, but in +reality a sentimentalist, if not a vulgar sensationalist or a ranter +upon the keyboard. What sane pianist would, for instance, attempt to +play a cantilena with the same appealing sensuousness as the most +mediocre 'cellist can do with the greatest ease? Yet many pianists +attempt it; but since they are fully aware that they can never attain +such ends by legitimate, artistic means, they make either the<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page11" id="Page11">Pg 11</a></span> accompaniment or the rhythm, if not +the phrasing, bear the brunt of their palpable dilettanteism. Of such +illusory endeavours I cannot warn too strongly, for they are bound to +destroy the organic relation of the melody to its auxiliaries and to +change the musical "physiognomy" of a piece into a—"grimace:" This +fault reveals that the pianist's spirit—of adventure—is too +willing, but the flesh—of the fingers and their technic—too +weak.</p> + +<p>The artistic and the dilettantic manners of expression must be sharply +differentiated. They differ, principally, as follows: the artist knows +and feels how far the responsiveness of his instrument, at any +particular part of his piece, will allow him to go without violating +æsthetics, and without stepping outside of the nature of his instrument. +He shapes his rendition of the piece accordingly and practises wise +economy in the use of force and in the display of feeling. As to +feeling, <i>per se</i>, it is the ripe product of a multitude of æsthetic +processes which the moment creates and develops; but the artist will +keep this product from asserting itself until he has complied with every +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page12" id="Page12">Pg 12</a></span> +requirement of artistic <i>workmanship</i>; until he has, so to +speak, provided a cleanly covered and fully set table upon which these +matters of "feeling" appear as finishing, decorative touches, say, as +flowers.</p> + +<p>The dilettante, on the other hand, does not consume any time by thinking +and planning; he simply "goes for" his piece and, without bothering +about workmanship or squirming around it as best he may, he rambles off +into—"feeling," which in his case consists of naught but vague, +formless, aimless, and purely sensuous sentimentality. His accompaniment +drowns the melody, his rhythm goes on a sympathetic strike, dynamic and +other artistic properties become hysterical; no matter, +he—"feels"! He builds a house in which the cellar is under the +roof and the garret in the basement.</p> + +<p>Let it be said in extenuation of such a player that he is not always and +seldom wholly to blame for his wrong-doing. Very often he strays from +the path of musical rectitude because of his misplaced trust in the +judgment of others, which causes him to accept and follow advice<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page13" id="Page13">Pg 13</a></span> in good faith, instead of duly +considering its source. For, under certain conditions, the advice of +even a connoisseur may be wrong. Many professional and well-equipped +critics, for instance, fall into the bad habit of expecting that a +pianist should tell all he knows in every piece he plays, whether the +piano does or does not furnish the opportunities for displaying all his +qualities. They expect him to show strength, temperament, passion, +poise, sentiment, repose, depth, and so forth, in the first piece on his +programme. He must tell his whole story, present himself at once as a +"giant" or "Titan" of the piano, though the piece may call for naught +but tenderness. With this demand, or the alternative of a "roasting," +public artists are confronted rather frequently. Nor is this, perhaps, +as much the fault of the critic as of the conditions under which they +must write. From my own experience and that of others I know that the +critics in large cities are so overburdened with work during the season +that they have seldom time to listen to more than one piece out of a +whole recital programme. After such a mere sample they form<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page14" id="Page14">Pg 14</a></span> their opinions—so momentous +for the career of a young pianist—and if this one piece happened +to offer no opportunities to the pianist to show himself as the "great" +So-and-so, why, then he is simply put down as one of the +"littlefellows." It is no wonder that such conditions tempt many young +aspirants to public renown to resort to æsthetic violence in order to +make sure of "good notices"; to use power where it is not called for; to +make "feeling" ooze from every pore; to double, treble the tempo or +vacillate it out of all rhythm; to violate the boundaries of both the +composition and the instrument—and all this for no other purpose +than to show as quickly as possible that the various qualities are "all +there." These conditions produce what may be called the pianistic +nouveau-riche or parvenu, who practises the vices of the dilettante +without, however, the mitigating excuse of ignorance or a lack of +training.</p> + +<h5>THE PIANIST AND THE COMPOSITION</h5> + +<p>As the piano, so has also every composition its limitations as to the +range of its emotions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page15" id="Page15">Pg 15</a></span> +and their artistic expression. The hints +in this direction I threw out before may now be amplified by discussing +a very common error which underlies the matter of conception. It is the +error of inferring the conception of a composition <i>from the name of its +composer</i>; of thinking that Beethoven has to be played thus and Chopin +thus. No error could be greater!</p> + +<p>True, every great composer has his own style, his habitual mode of +thought development, his personality revealing lines. But it is equally +true that the imagination of all great composers was strong enough to +absorb them as completely in their own creation as the late Pygmalion +was absorbed in his Galatea, and to lure them, for the time being, +completely away from their habits of thought and expression; they become +the willing servants of the new creature of their own fancy. Thus we +find some of Beethoven's works as romantic and fanciful as any of +Schumann's or Chopin's could be, while some of the latter's works show +at times a good deal of Beethovenish classicity. It is, therefore, +utterly wrong to approach<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page16" id="Page16">Pg 16</a></span> +every work of Beethoven with the +preconceived idea that it must be "deep" and "majestic," or, if the work +be Chopin's, that it must run over with sensuousness and "feeling." How +would such a style of rendition do, for instance, for the Polonaise op. +53, or even for the little one in A, op. 40, No. 1? On the other hand, +how would the stereotype, academic manner of playing Beethoven suit his +Concerto in G—that poetic presage of Chopin?</p> + +<p>Every great master has written some works that are, and some that are +not, typical of himself. In the latter cases the master's identity +reveals itself only to an eye that is experienced enough to detect it in +the smaller, more minute traits of his style. Such delicate features, +however, must be left in their discreet nooks and niches; they must not +be clumsily dragged into the foreground for the sake of a traditional +rendition of the piece. That sort of "reverence" is bound to obliterate +all the peculiarities of the particular, non-typical composition. It is +not reverence, but fetichism. Justice to the composer means justice to +his works; to every work in particular. And this justice we cannot<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page17" id="Page17">Pg 17</a></span> learn from the reading of his +biography, but by regarding every one of his works as a separate and +complete entity; as a perfect, organic whole of which we must study the +general character, the special features, the form, the manner of design, +the emotional course, and the trend of thought. Much more than by his +biography we will be helped, in forming our conception, by comparing the +work in hand with others of the same master, though the comparison may +disclose just as many differences of style as it may show similarities.</p> + +<p>The worship of names, the unquestioning acquiescence in traditional +conceptions—those are not the principles which will lead an artist +to come into his own. It is rather a close examination of every popular +notion, a severe testing of every tradition by the touchstone of +self-thinking that will help an artist to find himself and to see, what +he does see, with his own eyes.</p> + +<p>Thus we find that—in a certain constructive meaning—even the +reverence for the composer is not without boundaries; though these +boundary lines are drawn here only to secure the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page18" id="Page18">Pg 18</a></span> widest possible +freedom for their work. Goethe's great word expresses most tersely what +I mean:</p> + +<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Outwardly limited,</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">Boundless to inward.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page19" id="Page19">Pg 19</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h3><a name="GENERAL_RULES" id="GENERAL_RULES"></a>GENERAL RULES</h3> + +<p>Successful piano-playing, if it cannot be entirely acquired by some very +simple rules, can, at least, be very much helped by what will seem to +some as contributing causes so slight as to be hardly worth notice. +Still, they are immensely valuable, and I will endeavour to set down a +few.</p> + +<p><i>The Value of the Morning Hour</i> above any other time is not generally +appreciated. The mental freshness gained from sleep is a tremendous +help. I go so far as to say play away for an hour, or a half hour even, +before breakfast. But before you touch the piano let me suggest one very +prosaic little hint: wash the keyboard as clean as you did your hands. +Eating always tastes best from a clean table. Just so with the piano: +you cannot do clean work on an unclean keyboard.</p> + +<p><i>Now, as to Practice</i>: Let me suggest that you never practise more than +an hour, or, at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page20" id="Page20">Pg 20</a></span> the most, two hours, at a +stretch—according to your condition and strength. Then go out and +take a walk, and think no more of music. This method of mental +unhitching, so to speak, is absolutely necessary in order that the newly +acquired results of your work may—unconsciously to +yourself—mature in your mind and get, as it were, into your flesh +and blood. That which you have newly learned must become affixed to your +entire organism, very much like the picture on a photographic plate is +developed and affixed by the silver bath. If you allow Nature no time +for this work the result of your previous efforts will vanish and you +will have to begin all over again with your—photographing. Yes, +photographing! For every acoustic or tone picture is, through the agency +of the ear, photographed in the brain, and the whole occupation of the +pianist consists in the reproduction of the previously received +impressions through the fingers, which, with the help of the instrument, +retranslate the pictures into audible tones.</p> + +<p>After every half hour make a pause until you feel rested. Five minutes +will often be <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page21" id="Page21">Pg 21</a></span> +sufficient. Follow the example of the painter, +who closes his eyes for a few moments in order to obtain upon reopening +them a fresh color impression.</p> + +<p><i>A Valuable Little Hint Here</i>, if you will allow me: Watch well that you +actually hear every tone you mean to produce. Every missing tone will +mean a blotch upon your photographic plate in the brain. Each note must +be, not mentally but physically, heard, and to this imperative +requirement your speed must ever subordinate itself. It is not at all +necessary to practise loudly in order to foster the permanence of +impressions. Rather let an inward tension take the place of external +force. It will engage, sympathetically, your hearing just as well.</p> + +<p><i>As to the Theory</i>—great energy, great results—I prefer my +amended version: great energy, restrained power and moderate +manifestation of it. Prepare the finger for great force, imagine the +tone as being strong, and yet strike moderately. Continuous loud playing +makes our playing coarse. On the other hand, continuous soft playing +will blur the tone picture in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page22" id="Page22">Pg 22</a></span> +our mind and cause us soon to play +insecurely and wrongly. From time to time we should, of course, practise +loudly so as to develop physical endurance. But for the greater part of +practice I recommend playing with restrained power. And, incidentally, +your neighbours will thank you for it, too.</p> + +<p><i>Do Not Practise Systematically</i>, or "methodically," as it is sometimes +called. Systematism is the death of spontaneousness, and spontaneousness +is the very soul of art. If you play every day at the same time the same +sequence of the same studies and the same pieces, you may acquire a +certain degree of skill, perhaps, but the spontaneity of your rendition +will surely be lost. Art belongs to the realm of emotional +manifestations, and it stands to reason that a systematic exploiting of +our emotional nature must blunt it.</p> + +<p><i>With Regard to Finger Exercises</i>: Do not let them be too frequent or +too long—at the most a half hour a day. A half hour daily, kept up +for a year, is enough for any one to learn to play one's exercises. And +if one can play them why should one keep everlastingly on<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page23" id="Page23">Pg 23</a></span> playing them? Can anybody explain, +without reflecting upon one's sanity, why one should persist in playing +them? I suggest to use these exercises as "preliminary warmers" (as +practised in engines). As soon as the hands have become warm and +elastic, or pliable—"played in," as we pianists say—drop the +exercises and repeat them for the same purpose the next morning, if you +will. They can be successfully substituted, however. As compositions +they are but lukewarm water. If you will dip your hands, instead, for +five minutes into hot water you will follow my own method and find it +just as efficacious.</p> + +<p><i>A Rule for Memory Exercises</i>: If you wish to strengthen the receptivity +and retentiveness of your memory you will find the following plan +practical: Start with a short piece. Analyse the form and manner of its +texture. Play the piece a number of times very exactly with the music +before you. Then stop playing for several hours and try to trace the +course of ideas mentally in the piece. Try to hear the piece inwardly. +If you have retained some parts refill the missing places by repeated +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page24" id="Page24">Pg 24</a></span> +reading of the piece, away from the piano. When next you go to +the piano—after several hours, remember—try to play the +piece. Should you still get "stuck" at a certain place take the sheet +music, but play only that place (several times, if necessary), and then +begin the piece over again, as a test, if you have better luck this time +with those elusive places. If you still fail resume your silent reading +of the piece away from the piano. Under no circumstances skip the unsafe +place for the time being, and proceed with the rest of the piece. By +such forcing of the memory you lose the logical development of your +piece, tangle up your memory and injure its receptivity. Another +observation in connection with memorising may find a place here. When we +study a piece we—unconsciously—associate in our mind a +multitude of things with it which bear not the slightest relation upon +it. By these "things" I mean not only the action of the piano, light or +heavy, as it may be, but also the colour of its wood, the colour of the +wall paper, discoloration of the ivory on some key of the piano, the +pictures on the walls, the angle at which the piano stands<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page25" id="Page25">Pg 25</a></span> to the architectural lines of the +room, in short, all sorts of things. And we remain utterly unconscious +of having associated them with the piece we are studying—until we +try to play the well-learned piece in a different place, in the house of +a friend or, if we are inexperienced enough to commit such a blunder, in +the concert hall. Then we find that our memory fails us most +unexpectedly, and we blame our memory for its unreliableness. But the +fact is rather that our memory was only too good, too exact, for the +absence of or difference from our accustomed surroundings disturbed our +too precise memory. Hence, to make absolutely sure of our memory we +should try our piece in a number of different places before relying upon +our memory; this will dissociate the wonted environment from the piece +in our memory.</p> + +<p><i>With Regard to Technical Work</i>: Play good compositions and construe out +of them your own technical exercises. In nearly every piece you play you +will find a place or two of which your conscience tells you that they +are not up to your own wishes; that they can be improved upon either +from a rhythmical, dynamical +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page26" id="Page26">Pg 26</a></span>or precisional point of view. Give +these places the preference for a while, but do not fail to play from +time to time again the whole piece in order to put the erstwhile +defective and now repaired part into proper relation to its context. +Remember that a difficult part may "go" pretty well when severed from +its context and yet fail utterly when attempted in its proper place. You +must follow the mechanic in this. If a part of a machine is perfected in +the shop it must still go through the process of being +"mounted"—that is, being brought into proper relation to the +machine itself—and this often requires additional packing or +filing, as the case may be. This "mounting" of a repaired part is done +best by playing it in conjunction with one preceding and one following +measure; then put two measures on each side, three, four, etc., until +you feel your ground safely under your fingers. Not until then have you +achieved your purpose of technical practice. The mere mastering of a +difficulty <i>per se</i> is no guarantee of success whatever. Many students +play certain compositions for years, and yet when they are asked to play +them the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page27" id="Page27">Pg 27</a></span> +evidences of imperfection are so palpable that they +cannot have finished the learning of them. The strong probability is +that they never will finish the "study" of them, because they do not +study right.</p> + +<p><i>As to the Number of Pieces</i>: The larger the number of good compositions +you are able to play in a finished manner, the better grow your +opportunities to develop your versatility of style; for in almost every +good composition you will find some traits peculiar to itself only which +demand an equally special treatment. To keep as many pieces as possible +in your memory and in good technical condition, play them a few times +each week. Do not play them, however, in consecutive repetitions. Take +one after the other. After the last piece is played the first one will +appear fresh again to your mind. This process I have tested and found +very helpful in maintaining a large repertory.</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><a name="image_2" id="image_2"><img src="images/jpg0002a.jpg" alt="The Position of the Hand"/></a></div> + +<p><i>Play Always with the Fingers</i>—that is, move your arms as little +as possible and hold them—and the shoulder muscles—quite +loosely. The hands should be nearly horizontal, with a slight +inclination from the elbows toward the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page28" id="Page28">Pg 28</a></span> +keys. Bend the fingers +gently and endeavour to touch the keys in their centre and with the tips +of the fingers. This will tend toward sureness and give eyes to your +fingers, so to speak.</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><a name="image_3" id="image_3"><img src="images/jpg0003a.jpg" alt="Incorrect Way to Play an Octave, Correct Way to Play an Octave"/></a></div> + +<p><i>The Practice of Finger Octaves</i>: Play octaves first as if you were +playing single notes with one finger of each hand. Lift the thumb and +fifth finger rather high and let them fall upon the keys without using +the wrist. Later let the wrist come to your aid, sometimes even the arm +and shoulder muscles, though the latter should both be reserved for +places requiring great power.</p> + +<p>Where powerful octaves occur in long continuation it is best to +distribute the work over the joints and muscles of the fingers, wrists, +and shoulders. With a rational distribution each of the joints will +avoid over-fatigue and the player will gain in endurance. This applies, +of course, only to bravura passages. In places where musical +characteristics predominate the player does best to choose whichever of +these sources of touch seems most appropriate. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page29" id="Page29">Pg 29</a></span> +</p> + +<p><i>About Using the Pedal</i>: Beware of too frequent and—above +all—of long-continued use of the pedal. It is the mortal enemy of +clarity. Judiciously, however, you should use it when you study a new +work, for if you accustom yourself to play a work without the pedal the +habit of non-pedalling will grow upon you, and you will be surprised to +find later how your feet can be in the way of your fingers. Do not delay +the use of the pedal as if it were the dessert after a repast.</p> + +<p><i>Never Play with a Metronome</i>: You may use a metronome for a little +passage as a test of your ability to play the passage in strict time. +When you see the result, positive or negative, stop the machine at once. +For according to the metronome a really musical rhythm is +unrhythmical—and, on the other hand, the keeping of absolutely +strict time is thoroughly unmusical and deadlike.</p> + +<p>You should endeavour to reproduce the sum-total of the time which a +musical thought occupies. Within its scope, however, you must vary your +beats in accordance with their musical significance. This constitutes in +musical interpretation what I call the individual pulse-beat which +imparts life to the dead, black notes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page30" id="Page30">Pg 30</a></span> Beware, however, of being +too "individual"! Avoid exaggeration, or else your patient will grow +feverish and all æsthetic interpretation goes to the happy hunting +grounds!</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><a name="image_4" id="image_4"><img src="images/jpg0004a.jpg" alt="Incorrect Position of Little Finger, Correct Position of Little Finger"/></a></div> + +<p><i>The Correct Posture at the Piano</i>: Sit straight before the piano but +not stiff. Have both feet upon the pedals, so as to be at any moment +ready to use them. All other manners to keep the feet are—bad +manners. Let your hand fall with the arm upon the keyboard when you +start a phrase, and observe a certain roundness in all the motions of +your arms and hands. Avoid angles and sharp bends, for they produce +strong frictions in the joints, which means a waste of force and is +bound to cause premature fatigue.</p> + +<p><i>Do Not Attend Poor Concerts.</i> Do not believe that you can learn correct +vision from the blind, nor that you can really profit by hearing how a +piece should <i>not</i> be played, and then trying the reverse. The danger of +getting accustomed to poor playing is very great. What would you think +of a parent who deliberately sent his child into bad company in order +that such child should learn how <i>not</i> to behave? +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page31" id="Page31">Pg 31</a></span> Such +experiments are dangerous. By attending poor concerts you encourage the +bungler to continue in his crimes against good taste and artistic +decency, and you become his accomplice. Besides, you help to lower the +standard of appreciation in your community, which may sink so low that +good concerts will cease to be patronised. If you desire that good +concerts should be given in your city the least you can do is to +withhold your patronage from bad ones. If you are doubtful as to the +merits of a proposed concert ask your own or your children's music +teacher. He will appreciate your confidence and be glad of the +opportunity to serve you for once in a musical matter that lies on a +higher plane than your own or your children's music lesson.</p> + +<p><i>To Those Who Play in Public</i> I should like to say this: Before you have +played a composition in public two or three times you must not expect +that every detail of it shall go according to your wishes. Do not be +surprised at little unexpected occurrences. Consider that the acoustic +properties of the various halls constitute a serious danger to the +musician. Bad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page32" id="Page32">Pg 32</a></span> +humor on your part, or a slight indisposition, +even a clamlike audience, Puritanically austere or cool from +diffidence—all these things can be overcome; but the acoustic +properties remain the same from the beginning of your programme to its +end, and if they are not a kindly counsellor they turn into a fiendish +demon who sneers to death your every effort to produce noble-toned +pictures. Therefore, try to ascertain, as early as possible, what sort +of an architectural stomach your musical feast is to fill, and +then—well, do the best you can. Approach the picture you hold in +your mind as nearly as circumstances permit.</p> + +<p><i>When I Find Bad Acoustics in a Hall.</i> An important medium of rectifying +the acoustic misbehaviour of a hall I have found in the pedal. In some +halls my piano has sounded as if I had planted my feet on the pedal for +good and ever; in such cases I practised the greatest abstention from +pedalling. It is a fact that we have to treat the pedal differently in +almost every hall to insure the same results. I know that a number of +books have been written on the use of the pedal, but they are theories +which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page33" id="Page33">Pg 33</a></span> +tumble down before the first adverse experience on the +legitimate concert stage. There you can lean on nothing but experience.</p> + +<p><i>About Reading Books on Music.</i> And speaking of books on music, let me +advise you to read them, but not to believe them unless they support +every statement with an argument, and unless this argument succeeds in +convincing you. In art we deal far oftener with exceptions than with +rules and laws. Every genius in art has demonstrated in his works the +forefeeling of new laws, and every succeeding one has done by his +precursors as his successors have in their turn done by him. Hence all +theorising in art must be problematic and precarious, while dogmatising +in art amounts to absurdity. Music is a language—the language of +the musical, whatever and wherever be their country. Let each one, then, +speak in his own way, as he thinks and feels, provided he is sincere. +Tolstoi put the whole thing so well when he said: "There are only three +things of real importance in the world. They are: Sincerity! Sincerity! +Sincerity!"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page34" id="Page34">Pg 34</a></span></p> + +<h3><a name="CORRECT_TOUCH_AND_TECHNIC" id="CORRECT_TOUCH_AND_TECHNIC"></a>CORRECT TOUCH AND TECHNIC</h3> + +<p>Great finger technic may be defined as extreme precision and great speed +in the action of the fingers. The latter quality, however, can never be +developed without the legato touch. I am convinced that the degree of +perfection of finger technic is exactly proportionate to the development +of the legato touch. The process of the non-legato touch, by showing +contrary results, will bear me out. To play a rapid run non-legato will +consume much more time than to play it legato because of the lifting of +the fingers between the tones. In playing legato the fingers are not +lifted off the keys, but—hardly losing contact with the +ivory—glide sideways to the right or the left as the notes may +call for it. This, naturally, saves both time and exertion, and thus +allows an increase of speed.</p> + +<p>How is the true legato accomplished? By the gliding motion just +mentioned, and by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page35" id="Page35">Pg 35</a></span> +touching the next following key before the +finger which played last has fully abandoned its key. To illustrate, let +me say that in a run of single notes two fingers are simultaneously at +work—the "played" and the "playing" one; in runs of double notes +(thirds, sixths, etc.) the number of simultaneously employed fingers is, +analogously, four. Only in this manner is a true legato touch to be +attained. While the fingers are in action the hand must not move lest it +produce gaps between the succeeding tones, causing not only a breaking +of the connection between them but also a lessening of speed. The +transfer of the hand should take place only when the finger is already +in touch with the key that is to follow—not at the time of +contact, still less before.</p> + +<p>The selection of a practical fingering is, of course, of paramount +importance for a good legato touch. In attempting a run without a good +fingering we will soon find ourselves "out of fingers." In that +emergency we should have to resort to "piecing on," and this means a +jerk at every instance—equal to a non-legato. A correct fingering +is one which permits the longest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page36" id="Page36">Pg 36</a></span> +natural sequel of fingers to be +used without a break. By earnest thinking every player can contrive the +fingering that will prove most convenient to him. But, admitting that +the great diversity of hands prohibits a universal fingering, all the +varieties of fingering ought to be based upon the principle of a natural +sequel. If a player be puzzled by certain configurations of notes and +keys as to the best fingering for them, he ought to consult a teacher, +who, if a good one, will gladly help him out.</p> + +<p>Precision, the other component part of finger technic, is intimately +related with the player's general sense of orderliness. As a matter of +fact, precision is orderliness in the technical execution of a musical +prescription. If the student will but look quite closely at the piece he +is learning; if he has the patience to repeat a difficult place in it a +hundred times if necessary—and correctly, of course—he will +soon acquire the trait of precision and he will experience the resultant +increase in his technical ability.</p> + +<p>Mental technic presupposes the ability to form a clear inward conception +of a run<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page37" id="Page37">Pg 37</a></span> +without resorting to the fingers at all. Since every +action of a finger has first to be determined upon by the mind, a run +should be completely prepared mentally before it is tried on the piano. +In other words, the student should strive to acquire the ability to form +the tonal picture in his mind, rather than the note picture.</p> + +<p>The tonal picture dwells in our imagination. This acts upon the +responsive portions of the brain, influences them according to its own +intensity, and this influence is then transferred to the motoric +nerve-centres which are concerned in music-making. As far as known this +is the course by which the musician converts his musical concept into a +tonal reality. Hence, when studying a new work, it is imperative that a +tonal picture of perfect clarity should be prepared in the mind before +the mechanical (or technical) practicing begins. In the earlier stages +of cultivating this trait it will be best to ask the teacher to play the +piece for us, and thus to help us in forming a correct tonal picture in +our mind.</p> + +<p>The blurring of the tonal picture produces a temporary (don't get +frightened!) <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page38" id="Page38">Pg 38</a></span> +paralysis of the motoric centres which control the +fingers. Every pianist knows—unfortunately—the sensation of +having his fingers begin to "stick" as if the keys were covered with +flypaper, and he knows, also, that this sensation is but a warning that +the fingers are going on a general and even "sympathetic" +strike—sympathetic, because even the momentarily unconcerned +fingers participate in it. Now the cause of this sensation lies not in a +defective action of the fingers themselves, but solely in the mind. It +is there that some undesired change has taken place, a change which +impairs the action of the fingers. The process is like this: by quick +repetitions of complicated figures, slight errors, slips, flaws escape +our notice; the more quick repetitions we make the larger will be the +number of these tiny blots, and this must needs lead finally to a +completely distorted tonal picture. This distortion, however, is not the +worst feature. Inasmuch as we are very likely not to make the same +little blunders at every repetition the tonal picture becomes confused, +blurred. The nerve contacts which cause the fingers to act become +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page39" id="Page39">Pg 39</a></span> +undecided first, then they begin to fail more and more, until +they cease altogether and the fingers—stick! At such a juncture +the student should at once resort to slow practice. He should play the +defective place clearly, orderly, and, above all, slowly, and persist in +this course until the number of correct repetitions proves sufficient to +crowd the confused tonal picture out of the mind. This is not to be +regarded as mechanical practice, for it is intended for the +rehabilitation of a disarranged or disturbed mental concept. I trust +this will speak for the practice of what I called "mental technic." Make +the mental tonal picture sharp; the fingers must and will obey it.</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><a name="image_5" id="image_5"><img src="images/jpg0005a.jpg" alt="Incorrect Position of Thumb, Correct Position of Thumb"/></a></div> + +<p>We are sometimes affected by "thought-laziness"—I translate this +word literally from other languages, because it is a good compound for +which I can find no better equivalent in English. Whenever we find the +fingers going astray in the piece we play we might as well admit to +ourselves that the trouble is in the main office. The mysterious +controlling officer has been talking with a friend instead of attending +to business. The mind was not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page40" id="Page40">Pg 40</a></span> +keeping step with the fingers. We +have relied on our automatism; we allowed the fingers to run on and the +mind lagged behind, instead of being, as it should be, ahead of the +fingers, preparing their work.</p> + +<p>Quick musical thinking, the importance of which is thus apparent, cannot +be developed by any direct course. It is one of the by-products of the +general widening of one's musical horizon. It is ever proportionate to +the growth of one's other musical faculties. It is the result of +elasticity of the mind acquired or developed by constant, never-failing, +unremitting employment whenever we are at the piano. A procedure tending +directly toward developing quick musical thinking is, therefore, not +necessary.</p> + +<p>The musical will has its roots in the natural craving for musical +utterance. It is the director-in-chief of all that is musical in us. +Hence I recognise in the purely technical processes of piano-playing no +less a manifestation of the musical will. But a technic without a +musical will is a faculty without a purpose, and when it becomes a +purpose in itself it can never serve art. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page41" id="Page41">Pg 41</a></span></p> + +<h3><a name="THE_USE_OF_THE_PEDAL" id="THE_USE_OF_THE_PEDAL"></a>THE USE OF THE PEDAL</h3> + +<p>To speak in a concrete manner of the pedal is possible only on the basis +of a complete understanding of the fundamental principle underlying its +use. The reader must agree to the governing theory that the organ which +governs the employment of the pedal is—the ear! As the eye guides +the fingers when we read music, so must the ear be the guide—and +the "sole" guide—of the foot upon the pedal. The foot is merely +the servant, the executive agent, while the ear is the guide, the judge, +and the final criterion. If there is any phase in piano-playing where we +should remember particularly that music is for the ear it is in the +treatment of the pedal. Hence, whatever is said here in the following +lines with regard to the pedal must be understood as resting upon the +basis of this principle.</p> + +<p>As a general rule I recommend pressing the lever or treadle down with a +quick, definite, full motion and always immediately after—mark me, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page42" id="Page42">Pg 42</a></span>after—the +striking of the keys, never simultaneously with the stroke of the +fingers, as so many erroneously assume and do. To prevent a cacophonous +mixture of tones we should consider that we must stop the old tone +before we can give pedal to the new one, and that, in order to make the +stopping of the past tone perfect, we must allow the damper to press +upon the vibrating strings long enough to do its work. If, however, we +tread down exactly with the finger-stroke we simply inhibit this +stopping, because the damper in question is lifted again before it has +had time to fall down. (In speaking of the dampers as moving up and down +I have in mind the action of the "grand" piano; in the upright piano the +word "off" must be substituted for "up," and "on" for "down.") This rule +will work in a vast majority of cases, but like every +rule—especially in art—it will be found to admit of many +exceptions.</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><a name="image_6" id="image_6"><img src="images/jpg0006a.jpg" alt="Incorrect Position of the Feet"/></a></div> + +<div style="text-align: center"><a name="image_7" id="image_7"><img src="images/jpg0007a.jpg" alt="Correct Position of the Feet on the Pedal"/></a></div> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page43" id="Page43">Pg 43</a></span> + +<i>Harmonic Clarity in Pedalling is the Basis</i>, but it is only the basis; +it is not all that constitutes an artistic treatment of the pedal. In +spite of what I have just said above there are in many pieces moments +where a blending of tones, seemingly foreign to one another, is a means +of characterisation. This blending is especially permissible when the +passing (foreign) tones are more than one octave removed from the lowest +tone and from the harmony built upon it. In this connection it should be +remembered that the pedal is not merely a means of tone prolongation but +also a means of colouring—and pre-eminently that. What is +generally understood by the term piano-charm is to the greatest extent +produced by an artistic use of the pedal.</p> + +<p>For instance, great accent effects can be produced by the gradual +accumulating of tone-volume through the pedal and its sudden release on +the accented point. The effect is somewhat like that which we hear in +the orchestra when a crescendo is supported by a roll of the drum or +tympani making the last tap on the accented point. And, as I am +mentioning the orchestra, I may illustrate by the French horns another +use of the pedal: where the horns do not carry the melody (which they do +relatively seldom) they are employed to support +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page44" id="Page44">Pg 44</a></span>sustained +harmonies, and their effect is like a glazing, a binding, a unifying of +the various tone-colours of the other instruments. Just such a glazing +is produced by the judicious use of the pedal, and when, in the +orchestra, the horns cease and the strings proceed alone there ensues a +certain soberness of tone which we produce in the piano by the release +and non-use of the pedal. In the former instance, while the horns were +active they furnished the harmonic background upon which the thematic +development of the musical picture proceeded; in the latter case, when +the horns cease the background is taken away and the thematic +configurations stand out—so to speak—against the sky. Hence, +the pedal gives to the piano tone that unifying, glazing, that +finish—though this is not exactly the word here—which the +horns or softly played trombones give to the orchestra.</p> + +<p><i>But the Pedal Can Do More Than That.</i> At times we can produce strange, +glasslike effects by purposely mixing non-harmonic tones. I only need to +hint at some of the fine, embroidery-like cadenzas in Chopin's works, +like the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page45" id="Page45">Pg 45</a></span> +one in his E-minor Concerto (Andante, measures 101, +102, and 103). Such blendings are productive of a multitude of effects, +especially when we add the agency of dynamic gradation: effects +suggestive of winds from Zephyr to Boreas, of the splash and roar of +waves, of fountain-play, of rustling leaves, etc. This mode of blending +can be extended also to entire harmonies in many cases where one +fundamental chord is to predominate for some time while other chords may +pass in quicker succession while it lasts. In such cases it is by no +means imperative to abandon the pedal; we need only to establish various +dynamic levels and place the ruling harmony on a higher level than the +passing ones. In other words, the predominating chord must receive so +much force that it can outlast all those briefer ones which, though +audible, must die of their own weakness, and while the strong, ruling +chord was constantly disturbed by the weaker ones it also re-established +its supremacy with the death of every weaker one which it outlasted. +This use of the pedal has its limitations in the evanescent nature of +the tone of the piano.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page46" id="Page46">Pg 46</a></span> +That moment when the blending of +non-harmonic tones imperils the tonal beauty of the piece in hand can be +determined solely and exclusively by the player's own ear, and here we +are once more at the point from which this article started, namely: that +the ear is governor, and that it alone can decide whether or not there +is to be any pedal.</p> + +<p>It were absurd to assume that we can greatly please the ear of others by +our playing so long as our own ear is not completely satisfied. We +should, therefore, endeavour to train the susceptibility of our ear, and +we should ever make it more difficult to gain the assent of our own ear +than to gain that of our auditors. They may, apparently, not notice +defects in your playing, but at this juncture I wish to say a word of +serious warning: Do not confound unmindfulness with consent! To hear +ourselves play—that is, to listen to our own playing—is the +bed-rock basis of all music-making and also, of course, of the technic +of the pedal. Therefore, listen carefully, attentively to the tones you +produce. When you employ the pedal as a prolongation of the fingers (to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page47" id="Page47">Pg 47</a></span> +sustain tones beyond the reach of the fingers), see to it that +you catch, and hold, the fundamental tone of your chord, for this tone +must be always your chief consideration.</p> + +<p><i>Whether You Use the Pedal as a Means of Mere Prolongation</i> or as a +medium of colouring, under no circumstances use it as a cloak for +imperfection of execution. For, like charity, it is apt to be made to +cover a multitude of sins; but, again like charity, who wants to make +himself dependent upon it, when honest work can prevent it?</p> + +<p>Nor should the pedal be used to make up for a deficiency of force. To +produce a forte is the business of the fingers (with or without the aid +of the arm) but not of the pedal, and this holds true +also—<i>mutatis mutandis</i>—of the left pedal, for which the +Germans use a word (<i>Verschiebung</i>) denoting something like "shifting." +In a "grand" piano the treading of the left pedal shifts the hammers so +far to one side that instead of striking three strings they will strike +only two. (In the pianos of fifty and more years ago there were only two +strings to each tone, and when the hammers were shifted by<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page48" id="Page48">Pg 48</a></span> the treading of the left pedal they +struck only one string. From those days we have retained the term "<i>una +corda</i>"—one string.) In an upright piano the lessening of +tone-volume is produced by a lessening of the momentum of the hammer +stroke.</p> + +<p>Now, as the right pedal should not be used to cover a lack of force, so +should the left pedal not be regarded as a licence to neglect the +formation of a fine <i>pianissimo</i> touch. It should not cloak or screen a +defective <i>pianissimo</i>, but should serve exclusively as a means of +colouring where the softness of tone is coupled with what the jewellers +call "dull finish." For the left pedal does not soften the tone without +changing its character; it lessens the quantity of tone but at the same +time it also markedly affects the quality.</p> + +<p>To <i>Sum Up</i>: Train your ear and then use both pedals honestly! Use them +for what they were made. Remember that even screens are not used for +hiding things behind them, but for decorative purposes or for +protection. Those who do use them for hiding something must have +something which they prefer to hide! +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page49" id="Page49">Pg 49</a></span></p> + +<h3><a name="PLAYING_IN_STYLE" id="PLAYING_IN_STYLE"></a>PLAYING "IN STYLE"</h3> + +<p>By playing a piece of music "in style" is understood a rendition which +does absolute justice to its contents in regard to the manner of +expression. Now, the true manner of expression must be sought and found +for each piece individually, even though a number of different pieces +may be written by one and the same composer. Our first endeavour should +be to search out the peculiarity of the piece in hand rather than that +of the composer in general. If you have succeeded in playing one work by +Chopin in style, it does not follow, by any means, that you can play +equally well any other work from his pen. Though on general lines his +manner of writing may be the same in all his works, there will, +nevertheless, be marked differences between the various pieces.</p> + +<p>Only by careful study of each work by itself can we find the key to its +correct conception<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page50" id="Page50">Pg 50</a></span> +and rendition. We will never find it in books +about the composer, nor in such as treat of his works, but only in the +works themselves and in each one <i>per se</i>. People who study a lot of +things about a work of art may possibly enrich their general knowledge, +but they never can get that specific knowledge needful for the +interpretation of the particular work in hand. Its own contents alone +can furnish that knowledge. We know from frequent experience that +book-learned musicians (or, as they are now called, musicologists) +usually read everything in sight, and yet their playing rises hardly +ever above mediocre dilettanteism.</p> + +<p>Why should we look for a correct conception of a piece anywhere but in +the piece itself? Surely the composer has embodied in the piece all he +knew and felt when he wrote it. Why, then, not listen to his specific +language instead of losing our way in the terms of another art? +Literature is literature, and music is music. They may combine, as in +song, but one can never be substituted for the other.</p> + +<p><i>Many Students Never Learn</i> to understand a composer's specific language +because their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page51" id="Page51">Pg 51</a></span> +sole concern is to make the piece "effective" in +the sense of a clever stunt. This tendency is most deplorable; for there +really does exist a specifically musical language. By purely material +means: through notes, pauses, dynamic and other signs, through special +annotations, etc., the composer encloses in his work the whole world of +his imagination. The duty of the interpretative artist is to extract +from these material things the spiritual essence and to transmit it to +his hearers. To achieve this he must understand this musical language in +general and of each composition in particular.</p> + +<p>But—how is this language to be learned?</p> + +<p>By conning with careful attentiveness—and, of course, +absorbing—the purely material matter of a piece: the notes, +pauses, time values, dynamic indications, etc.</p> + +<p>If a player be scrupulously exact in his mere reading of a piece it +will, of itself, lead him to understand a goodly portion of the piece's +specific language. Nay, more! Through a really correct conning the +player is enabled to determine upon the points of repose as well as upon +the matter of climax, and thus to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page52" id="Page52">Pg 52</a></span> +create a basis for the +operations of his own imagination. After that, nothing remains but to +call forth into tonal life, through the fingers, what his musical +intelligence has grasped—which is a purely technical task. To +transform the purely technical and material processes into a thing that +lives, of course, rests with the natural, emotional, temperamental +endowments of the individual; it rests with those many and complex +qualities which are usually summarised by the term "talent," but this +must be presupposed with a player who aspires to artistic work.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, talent alone cannot lift the veil that hides the +spiritual content of a composition if its possessor neglects to examine +the latter carefully as to its purely material ingredients. He may +flatter the ear, sensuously speaking, but he can never play the piece in +style.</p> + +<p><i>Now How Can We Know</i> whether we are or are not approaching the +spiritual phase of a piece? By repetition under unremitting attention to +the written values. If, then, you should find how much there is still +left for you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page53" id="Page53">Pg 53</a></span> +to do, you have proved to yourself that you have +understood the piece spiritually and are on the right track to master +it. With every repetition you will discover some hitherto unnoticed +defect in your interpretation. Obviate these defects, one by one, and in +so doing you will come nearer and nearer to the spiritual essence of the +work in hand.</p> + +<p>As to the remaining "purely technical task" (as I said before), it must +not be underestimated! To transmit one's matured conception to one's +auditors requires a considerable degree of mechanical skill, and this +skill, in its turn, must be under absolute control of the will. Of +course—after the foregoing—this does not mean that everybody +who has a good and well-controlled technic can interpret a piece in +style. Remember that to possess wealth is one thing, to put it to good +use is quite another.</p> + +<p>It is sometimes said that the too objective study of a piece may impair +the "individuality" of its rendition. Have no fear of that! If ten +players study the same piece with the same high degree of exactness and +objectivity—depend<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page54" id="Page54">Pg 54</a></span> +upon it: each one will still play it +quite differently from the nine others, though each one may think his +rendition the only correct one. For each one will express what, +according to his lights, he has mentally and temperamentally absorbed. +Of the distinctive feature which constitutes the difference in the ten +conceptions each one will have been unconscious while it formed itself, +and perhaps also afterward. But it is just this unconsciously formed +feature which constitutes legitimate individuality and which alone will +admit of a real fusion of the composer's and the interpreter's thought. +A purposed, blatant parading of the player's dear self through wilful +additions of nuances, shadings, effects, and what not, is tantamount to +a falsification; at best it is "playing to the galleries," charlatanism. +The player should always feel convinced that he plays only what is +written. To the auditor, who with his own and different intelligence +follows the player's performance, the piece will appear in the light of +the player's individuality. The stronger this is the more it will colour +the performance, when unconsciously admixed. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page55" id="Page55">Pg 55</a></span></p> + +<p><i>Rubinstein Often Said to Me</i>: "Just play first exactly what is written; +if you have done full justice to it and then still feel like adding or +changing anything, why, do so." Mind well: after you have done full +justice to what is written! How few are those who fulfil this duty! I +venture to prove to any one who will play for me—if he be at all +worth listening to—that he does not play more than is written (as +he may think), but, in fact, a good deal less than the printed page +reveals. And this is one of the principal causes of misunderstanding the +esoteric portion, the inherent "style" of a piece—a +misunderstanding which is not always confined to amateurs—inexact +reading!</p> + +<p>The true interpretation of a piece of music results from a correct +understanding of it, and this, in turn, depends solely upon scrupulously +exact reading.</p> + +<p><i>Learn the Language of Music</i>, then, I repeat, through exact reading! +You will then soon fathom the musical meaning of a composition and +transmit it intelligibly to your listeners. Would you satisfy your +curiosity as to what manner of person the author is or was at<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page56" id="Page56">Pg 56</a></span> the time of writing, you may do so. +But—as I said in the "Foreword"—your chief interest should +centre in the "composition," not in the "composer," for only by studying +his work will you be enabled to play it in style. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page57" id="Page57">Pg 57</a></span></p> + +<h3><a name="HOW_RUBINSTEIN_TAUGHT" id="HOW_RUBINSTEIN_TAUGHT"></a>HOW RUBINSTEIN TAUGHT ME TO PLAY</h3> + +<p>Outside of the regular students of the Imperial Conservatory of Music at +St. Petersburg, Rubinstein accepted but one pupil. The advantage and +privilege to be that one pupil was mine.</p> + +<p>I came to Rubinstein when I was sixteen years old and left him at +eighteen. Since that time I have studied only by myself; for to whom +could I have gone after Rubinstein? His very manner of teaching was such +that it would have made any other teacher appear to me like a +schoolmaster. He chose the method of indirect instruction through +suggestive comparisons. He touched upon the strictly musical only upon +rare occasions. In this way he wished to awaken within me the concretely +musical as a parallel of his generalisations and thereby preserve my +musical individuality.</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><a name="image_8" id="image_8"><img src="images/jpg0008a.jpg" alt="Anton Rubinstein"/></a></div> + +<p>He never played for me. He only talked, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page58" id="Page58">Pg 58</a></span> and I, understanding +him, translated his meaning into music and musical utterances. +Sometimes, for instance, when I played the same phrase twice in +succession, and played it both times alike (say in a sequence), he would +say: "In fine weather you may play it as you did, but when it rains play +it differently."</p> + +<p>Rubinstein was much given to whims and moods, and he often grew +enthusiastic about a certain conception only to prefer a different one +the next day. Yet he was always logical in his art, and though he aimed +at hitting the nail from various points of view he always hit it on the +head. Thus he never permitted me to bring to him, as a lesson, any +composition more than once. He explained this to me once by saying that +he might forget in the next lesson what he told me in the previous one, +and by drawing an entirely new picture only confuse my mind. Nor did he +ever permit me to bring one of his own works, though he never explained +to me his reason for this singular attitude.</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><a name="image_9" id="image_9"><img src="images/jpg0009a.jpg" alt="How Rubinstein Taught Me to Play"/></a></div> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page59" id="Page59">Pg 59</a></span> + +Usually, when I came to him, arriving from Berlin, where I lived, I +found him seated at his writing-desk, smoking Russian cigarettes. He +lived at the Hôtel de l'Europe. After a kindly salute he would always +ask me the same question: "Well, what is new in the world?"</p> + +<p>I remember replying to him: "I know nothing new; that's why I came to +learn something new—from you."</p> + +<p>Rubinstein, understanding at once the musical meaning of my words, +smiled, and the lesson thus promised to be a fine one.</p> + +<p>I noticed he was usually not alone when I came, but had as visitors +several elderly ladies, sometimes very old ladies (mostly Russians), and +some young girls—seldom any men. With a wave of his hand he +directed me to the piano in the corner, a Bechstein, which was most of +the time shockingly out of tune; but to this condition of his piano he +was always serenely indifferent. He would remain at his desk studying +the notes of the work while I played. He always compelled me to bring +the pieces along, insisting that I should play everything just as it was +written! He would follow every note of my playing with his eyes riveted +on the printed pages. A pedant he certainly was, a stickler for<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page60" id="Page60">Pg 60</a></span> the letter—incredibly so, +especially when one considered the liberties he took when he played the +same works! Once I called his attention modestly to this seeming +paradox, and he answered: "When you are as old as I am now you may do as +I do—if you can."</p> + +<p>Once I played a Liszt Rhapsody pretty badly. After a few moments he +said: "The way you played this piece would be all right for auntie or +mamma." Then rising and coming toward me he would say: "Now let us see +how we play such things." Then I would begin all over again, but hardly +had I played a few measures when he would interrupt and say: "Did you +start? I thought I hadn't heard right——"</p> + +<p>"Yes, master, I certainly did," I would reply.</p> + +<p>"Oh," he would say vaguely. "I didn't notice."</p> + +<p>"How do you mean?" I would ask.</p> + +<p>"I mean this," he would answer: "Before your fingers touch the keys you +must begin the piece mentally—that is, you must have settled in +your mind the <i>tempo</i>, the manner of touch, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page61" id="Page61">Pg 61</a></span> and, above all, the +attack of the first notes, before your actual playing begins. And +by-the-bye, what is the character of this piece? Is it dramatic, tragic, +lyric, romantic, humourous, heroic, sublime, mystic—what? Well, +why don't you speak?"</p> + +<p>Generally I would mutter something after such a tirade, but usually I +said something stupid because of the awe with which he inspired me. +Finally, after trying several of his suggested designations I would hit +it right. Then he would say: "Well, there we are at last! Humourous, is +it? Very well! And rhapsodical, irregular—hey? You understand the +meaning?" I would answer, "Yes."</p> + +<p>"Very well, then," he would reply; "now prove it." And then I would +begin all over again.</p> + +<p>He would stand at my side, and whenever he wanted a special stress laid +upon a certain note his powerful fingers would press upon my left +shoulder with such force that I would stab the keys till the piano +fairly screamed for me. When this did not have the effect he was after +he would simply press his whole hand upon +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page62" id="Page62">Pg 62</a></span> mine, flattening it +out and spreading it like butter all over the keys, black and white +ones, creating a frightful cacophony. Then he would say, almost with +anger, "But cleaner, cleaner, cleaner," as if the discord had been of my +doing.</p> + +<p>Such occurrences did not lack a humourous side, but their turn into the +tragical always hung by a hair, especially if I had tried to explain or +to make excuses. So I generally kept silent, and I found, after some +experience, that was the only proper thing for me to do. For just as +quickly as he would flare up he would also calm down again, and when the +piece was ended I would hear his usual comment: "You are an excellent +young man!" And how quickly was all pain then forgotten!</p> + +<p>I remember on one occasion that I played Schubert-Liszt's "Erl-König." +When I came to the place in the composition where the Erl-King says to +the child, "Thou dear, sweet child, oh, come with me," and I had played +several false notes besides very poor arpeggios, Rubinstein asked me: +"Do you know the text at this place?" +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page63" id="Page63">Pg 63</a></span></p> + +<p>As a reply I quoted the words.</p> + +<p>"Very well, then," he said, "the Erl-King addresses the child; Erl-King +is a spirit, a ghost—so play this place in a spiritlike way, +ghostly, if you will, but not ghastly with false notes!"</p> + +<p>I had to laugh at his word-play and Rubinstein himself chimed in, and +the piece was saved, or rather the player. For when I repeated that +particular part it went very well, and he allowed me to continue without +further interruption.</p> + +<p>Once I asked him for the fingering of a rather complex passage.</p> + +<p>"Play it with your nose," he replied, "but make it sound well!"</p> + +<p>This remark puzzled me, and there I sat and wondered what he meant.</p> + +<p>As I understand it now he meant: Help yourself! The Lord helps those who +help themselves!</p> + + +<p>As I said before, Rubinstein never played for me the works I had to +study. He explained, analysed, elucidated everything that he wanted me +to know; but, this done, he left me to my +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page64" id="Page64">Pg 64</a></span> own judgment, for only +then, he would explain, would my achievement be my own and incontestable +property. I learned from Rubinstein in this way the valuable truth that +the conception of tone-pictures obtained through the playing of another +gives us only transient impressions; they come and go, while the +self-created conception will last and remain our own.</p> + +<p>Now, when I look back upon my study-days with Rubinstein, I can see that +he did not so much instruct me as that I learned from him. He was not a +pedagogue in the usual meaning of that word. He indicated to me an +altitude offering a fine view, but how I was to get up there was my +affair; he did not bother about it. "Play with your nose!" Yes—but +when I bumped it till it fairly bled where would I get the metaphorical +handkerchief? In my imagination! And he was right.</p> + +<p>To be sure, this method would not work with all pupils, but it is +nevertheless well calculated to develop a student's original thought and +bring out whatever acumen he may possess. If such a one succeeded by his +own study and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page65" id="Page65">Pg 65</a></span> +mental force to reach the desired point which the +great magician's wizardry had made him see, he had gained the reliance +in his own strength: he felt sure that he would always find that point +again—even though he should lose his way once or twice, as every +one with an honest aspiration is liable to do.</p> + +<p>I recall that Rubinstein once said to me: "Do you know why piano-playing +is so difficult? Because it is prone to be either affected or else +afflicted with mannerisms; and when these two pitfalls are luckily +avoided then it is liable to be—dry! The truth lies between those +three mischiefs!"</p> + +<p>When it was settled that I should make my Hamburg début under his baton +with his own D-minor Concerto, I thought the time had come at last to +study with him one of his own works. So I proposed it, but Rubinstein +disposed of it! I still see him, as if it were but yesterday, seated in +the greenroom of the Berlin Philharmonic during an intermission in his +concert (it was on a Saturday) and telling me: "We shall appear together +in Hamburg on Monday." The time was short, but I knew the<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page66" id="Page66">Pg 66</a></span> Concerto and hoped to go through it +with him some time in the remaining two days. I asked his permission to +play the Concerto for him, but he declined my urgent request, saying: +"It is not necessary; we understand each other!" And even in this +critical moment he left me to my own resources. After the last (and +only) rehearsal the great master embraced me before the whole orchestra, +and I—well, I was not in the seventh, but in the "eighth" heaven! +Everything was all right, I said to myself, for Rubinstein, Rubinstein +was satisfied! The public simply had to be! The concert went off +splendidly.</p> + +<p>After that memorable début in Hamburg, which was on March 14, 1894, I +went directly to see Rubinstein, little dreaming that my eyes would then +see him for the last time. I brought with me a large photograph of +himself, and, though fully aware of his unconquerable aversion to +autographing, my desire for the possession of his signature overruled my +reluctance and I made my request.</p> + +<p>He raised both fists and thundered, half-angry and half-laughing: "<i>Et +tu, Brute?</i>" +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page67" id="Page67">Pg 67</a></span></p> + +<p>But my wish was granted, and I reproduce the portrait in this article.</p> + +<p>Then I asked him when I should play for him again, and to my +consternation he answered: "Never!"</p> + +<p>In my despair I asked him: "Why not?"</p> + +<p>He, generous soul that he was, then said to me: "My dear boy, I have +told you all I know about legitimate piano-playing and +music-making"—and then changing his tone somewhat he added: "And +if you don't know it <i>yet</i>, why, go to the devil!"</p> + +<p>I saw only too well that while he smiled as he said it he meant it +seriously, and I left him.</p> + +<p>I never saw Rubinstein again. Soon after that he returned to his villa +in Peterhof, near St. Petersburg, and there he died on November 19, +1894.</p> + +<p>The effect that his death had upon me I shall never forget. The world +appeared suddenly entirely empty to me, devoid of any interest. My grief +made me realise how my heart had worshipped not only the artist in him +but also the man; how I loved him as if he were my father. I learned of +his death through the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page68" id="Page68">Pg 68</a></span> +English papers while I was <i>en route</i> from +London to Cheltenham, where I was booked for a recital on the twentieth. +The B-flat minor Sonata by Chopin happened to be on the programme, and +as I struck the first notes of the Funeral March the whole audience rose +from their seats as if by command and remained standing with bowed heads +during the whole piece—in honour of the great departed.</p> + +<p>A singular coincidence occurred at my concert on the preceding +day—the day of Rubinstein's death.</p> + +<p>On this day I played for the first time in public after my seven years' +retirement (excepting my Hamburg début). It was in London. In this +concert I played, as a novelty, a Polonaise in E-flat minor which +Rubinstein had but recently written in Dresden and dedicated to me. He +had included it in the set called "Souvenirs de Dresde." This piece has +throughout the character of a Funeral March in all but the +time-division. Little did I dream while I was playing it that day that I +was singing him into his eternal rest, for it was but a few hours later +that, in the far East of Europe,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page69" id="Page69">Pg 69</a></span> +my great master passed away, suddenly, of heart failure.</p> + +<p>Two years later I played this same Polonaise for the second and last +time. It was on the anniversary of his death, in St. Petersburg, where +in honour of his memory I gave a recital, the proceeds of which I +devoted to the Rubinstein Fund. Since then I have played this piece only +once, at home and to myself, excluding it entirely from my public +répertoire. For, though it was dedicated to me, the time and +circumstances of its initial performance always made me feel as if it +still belonged to my master, or, at best, as if it were something +personal and private between us two. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page70" id="Page70">Pg 70</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="Indispensables_in_Pianistic" id="Indispensables_in_Pianistic"></a>Indispensables in Pianistic Success</h2> + +<h4>I</h4> + +<p>"The Indispensables in Pianistic Success? Are not the indispensables in +all success very much the same? Nothing can take the place of real +worth. This is especially true of America, in which country I have lived +longer than in any other, and which I am glad to call my home. Americans +are probably the most traveled people of the world, and it is futile to +offer them anything but the best. Some years ago a conductor brought to +this country an orchestra of second-class character, with the idea that +the people would accept it just because it bore the name of a famous +European city which possessed one of the great orchestras of the world. +It was a good orchestra, but there were better orchestras in American +cities, and it took American audiences just two concerts to find this +out, resulting in a disastrous failure, which the conductor was man +enough to face and personally defray. The +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page71" id="Page71">Pg 71</a></span> American people know +the best, and will have nothing but the best. Therefore, if you would +make a list of the indispensables of pianistic success in this country +at this time you must put at the head of your list, REAL WORTH.</p> + +<p>"Naturally, one of the first indispensables would include what many term +'the musical gift.' However, this is often greatly misunderstood. We +are, happily, past the time when music was regarded as a special kind of +divine dispensation, which, by its very possession, robbed the musician +of any claim to possible excellence in other lines. In other words, +music was so special a gift that it was even thought by some misguided +people to isolate the musician from the world—to make him a thing +apart and different from other men and women of high aspirations and +attainments.</p> + +<p>"It is true that there have been famous prodigies in mathematics, and in +games such as chess, who have given evidence of astonishing prowess in +their chosen work, but who, at the same time, seem to have been +lamentably under-developed in many other ways. This is not the case in +music at this day at least, for, although a special love for music and a +special quickness in mastering musical +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page72" id="Page72">Pg 72</a></span>problems are +indispensable, yet the musicians are usually men and women of broad +cultural development if they desire it and are willing to work for it.</p> + +<p>"Nor can I concede that a very finely developed sense of hearing is in +all cases essential. The possession of what is known as absolute pitch, +which so many seem to think is a sure indication of musical genius, is +often a nuisance. Schumann did not possess it, and (unless I am +incorrectly informed) Wagner did not have absolute pitch. I have it, and +can, I believe, distinguish differences of an eighth of a tone. I find +it more disturbing than beneficial. My father had absolute pitch in +remarkable fashion. He seemed to have extremely acute ears. Indeed, it +was often impossible for him to identify a well-known composition if he +heard it played in a different key—it sounded so different to him. +Mozart had absolute pitch, but music, in his day, was far less +complicated. We now live in an age of melodic and contrapuntal +intricacy, and I do not believe that the so-called acute sense of +hearing, or highly developed sense of absolute pitch, has very much to +do with one's real musical ability. The physical hearing is<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page73" id="Page73">Pg 73</a></span> nothing; the spiritual +hearing—if one may say so—is what really counts. If, in +transposing, for instance, one has associated the contents of a piece so +closely with its corresponding tonality that it is hard to play in any +other tonality, this constitutes a difficulty—not an advantage.</p> + +<h4>II</h4> + +<p>"Too much cannot be said about the advantage of an early drill. The +impressions made during youth seem to be the most lasting. I am certain +that the pieces that I learned before I was ten years of age remain more +persistently in my memory than the compositions I studied after I was +thirty. The child who is destined for a musical career should receive as +much musical instruction in early life as is compatible with the child's +health and receptivity. To postpone the work too long is just as +dangerous to the child's career as it is dangerous to overload the pupil +with more work than his mind and body can absorb. Children learn far +more rapidly than adults—not merely because of the fact that the +work becomes more and more complicated as the student advances, but also +because the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page74" id="Page74">Pg 74</a></span> +child mind is so vastly more receptive. The child's +power of absorption in music study between the ages of eight and twelve +is simply enormous; it is less between twelve and twenty; still less +between twenty and thirty, and often lamentably small between thirty and +forty. It might be represented by some such diagram as:</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><a name="image_1b" id="image_1b"><img src="images/jpg001b.jpg" alt="Power of Absorption in Music Study, by Age"/></a></div> + +<p>"Of course, these lines are only comparative, and there are exceptional +cases of astonishing development late in life, due to enormous ambition +and industry. Yet the period of highest achievement is usually early in +life. This is especially true in the arts where digital skill is +concerned.</p> + +<p>"All teachers are aware of the need for the best possible drill early in +life. The idea one so often hears expressed in America: 'Since<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page75" id="Page75">Pg 75</a></span> my daughter is only beginning her +studies—any teacher will do,' has been the source of great laxity +in American musical education. If the father who has such an idea would +only transpose the same thought to the building of a house he would be +surprised to find himself saying: 'Since I am only laying a foundation, +any kind of trashy material will do. I will use inferior cement, +plaster, stone, bricks, decayed wood and cheap hardware, and employ the +cheapest labor I can procure. But when I get to the roof I shall engage +the finest roofmakers in the world!'</p> + +<p>"The beginning is of such tremendous importance that only the best is +good enough. By this I do not mean the most expensive teacher +obtainable, but someone who is thorough, painstaking, conscientious, +alert and experienced. The foundation is the part of the house in which +the greatest strength and thoroughness is required. Everything must be +solid, substantial, firm and secure, to stand the stress of use and the +test of time. Of course, there is such a thing as employing a teacher +with a big reputation and exceptional skill, who would make an excellent +teacher for an advanced student, but who might be +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page76" id="Page76">Pg 76</a></span>incapable of +laying a good foundation for the beginner. One wants strength at the +foundation—not gold ornaments and marble trimmings and beautiful +decorations, fretwork, carving. Just as in great cities one finds firms +which make a specialty of laying foundations for immense buildings, so +it is often wise to employ a teacher who specializes in instructing +beginners. In European music schools this has almost always been the +case. It is not virtuosity that is needed in the makeup of the teacher +of beginners, but rather sound musicianship, as well as the +comprehension of the child psychology. Drill, drill, and more drill, is +the secret of the early training of the mind and hand. This is indicated +quite as much in games such as tennis, billiards and golf. Think of the +remarkable records of some very young players in these games, and you +will see what may be accomplished in the early years of the young +player.</p> + +<p>"In all arts and sciences, as one advances, complications and obstacles +seem to multiply in complexity until the point of mastery is reached; +then the tendency seems to reverse itself, until a kind of circle +carries one round again to the point of simplicity. I have often liked +to picture this to myself in this way:</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><a name="image_2b" id="image_2b"><img src="images/jpg002b.jpg" alt="Point of Greatest Complexity"/></a></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page77" id="Page77">Pg 77</a></span></p> + +<p>"It is encouraging for the student to know that he must expect to be +confronted with ever-increasing difficulties, until he reaches the point +where all the intense and intricate problems seem to solve themselves, +dissolving gradually into the light of a clear understanding day. This +is to me a general principle underlying almost all lines of human +achievement, and it appears to me that the student should learn its +application, not only to his own but to other occupations and +attainments. This universal line of life, starting with birth, mounting +to its climax in middle life, and then passing on to greater and greater +simplicity of means, until at death the circle is almost completed, is a +kind of human program which all successful men would appear to follow. +Perhaps we can make this clearer by studying the evolution of the steam +engine.</p> + +<p>"The steam engine started with the most primitive kind of apparatus. At +the very first<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page78" id="Page78">Pg 78</a></span> +it was of the turbine type. Hero of Alexander +(Heron, in Greek) made the first steam engine, which was little more +than a toy. According to some historians, Heron lived in the second +century before Christ, and according to others his work was done in the +latter half of the first century. He was an ingenious mathematician who +often startled the people of this time with his mechanical contrivances. +It is difficult to show the principle of his engine in an exact drawing; +but the following indicates in a crude way the application of steam +force something after the manner in which Heron first applied it.</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><a name="image_3b" id="image_3b"><img src="images/jpg003b.jpg" alt="Drawing of Turbine Engine"/></a></div> + +<p>"A is a retort containing water, which is heated to steam, which issues +from the tube at B and is caught in the wheel in such a manner that the +wheel revolves. The principle is simplicity itself; and the noteworthy +fact is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page79" id="Page79">Pg 79</a></span> +that—primitive as it is—it has the +characteristic principle involved in the turbine engine of to-day. After +Heron many others attempted to use controlled steam to produce force, +until, in 1764, James Watt made discoveries which paved the way for the +modern steam engine, constituting him virtually the inventor of the +type. Thereafter, the machinery became more and more complicated and +enormous in size. Double, triple and quadruple expansion types were +introduced until, at the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, in 1876, +a giant engine was exhibited by Corliss—a marvelous engine, with +many elaborate details. Then, having reached the maximum curve of +complexity, engine construction became more and more simple, and now we +have turbine engines, such as the Parsons engines, which are all far +smaller and simpler than their grandfathers of the seventies, but at the +same time vastly more powerful and efficient.</p> + +<h4>III</h4> + +<p>"In the art of piano playing we have much the same line of curve. At +first there was childlike simplicity. Then, with the further development +of the art, we find the tendency +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page80" id="Page80">Pg 80</a></span> toward enormous technical +accomplishment and very great complexity. Fifty years ago technic was +everything. The art of piano playing was the art of the musical +speedometer—the art of playing the greatest number of notes in the +shortest possible time. Of course, there were a few outstanding giants, +Rubinsteins, Liszts and Chopins, who made their technic subordinate to +their message; but the public was dazzled with technic—one might +better say pyrotechnics. Now we find the circle drawing toward the point +of simplicity again. Great beauty, combined with adequate technic, is +demanded rather than enormous technic divorced from beauty.</p> + +<p>"Technic represents the material side of art, as money represents the +material side of life. By all means achieve a fine technic, but do not +dream that you will be artistically happy with this alone. +Thousands—millions—of people believe that money is the basis +of great happiness, only to find, when they have accumulated vast +fortunes, that money is only one of the extraneous details which +may—or may not—contribute to real content in life.</p> + +<p>"Technic is a chest of tools from which the skilled artisan draws what +he needs at the right<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page81" id="Page81">Pg 81</a></span> +time for the right purpose. The mere +possession of the tools means nothing; it is the instinct—the +artistic intuition as to when and how to use the tools—that +counts. It is like opening the drawer and finding what one needs at the +moment.</p> + +<p>"There is a technic which liberates and a technic which represses the +artistic self. All technic ought to be a means of expression. It is +perfectly possible to accumulate a technic that is next to useless. I +recall the case of a musician in Paris who studied counterpoint, harmony +and fugue for eight years, and at the end of that time he was incapable +of using any of his knowledge in practical musical composition. Why? +Because he had spent all of his time on the mere dry technic of +composition, and none in actual composition. He told me that he had been +years trying to link his technic to the artistic side of things—to +write compositions that embodied real music, and not merely the reflex +of uninspired technical exercises. I am a firm believer in having +technic go hand in hand with veritable musical development from the +start. Neither can be studied alone; one must balance the other. The +teacher who gives a pupil a long course in strict technic<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page82" id="Page82">Pg 82</a></span> unbroken by the intelligent study of +real music, is producing a musical mechanic—an artisan, not an +artist.</p> + +<p>"Please do not quote me as making a diatribe against technic. I believe +in technic to the fullest extent in its proper place. Rosenthal, who was +unquestionably one of the greatest technicians, once said to me: 'I have +found that the people who claim that technic is not an important thing +in piano playing simply do not possess it.' For instance, one hears now +and then that scales are unnecessary in piano practice. A well-played +scale is a truly beautiful thing, but few people play them well because +they do not practice them enough. Scales are among the most difficult +things in piano playing; and how the student who aspires to rise above +mediocrity can hope to succeed without a thorough and far-reaching drill +in all kinds of scales, I do not know. I do know, however, that I was +drilled unrelentingly in them, and that I have been grateful for this +all my life. Do not despise scales, but rather seek to make them +beautiful.</p> + +<p>"The clever teacher will always find some piece that will illustrate the +use and result of the technical means employed. There are<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page83" id="Page83">Pg 83</a></span> thousands of such pieces that +indicate the use of scales, chords, arpeggios, thirds, etc., and the +pupil is encouraged to find that what he has been working so hard to +acquire may be made the source of beautiful expression in a real piece +of music. This, to my mind, should be part of the regular program of the +student from the very start; and it is what I mean when I say that the +work of the pupil in technic and in musical appreciation should go hand +in hand from the beginning.</p> + +<h4>IV</h4> + +<p>"The use of the pedal is an art in itself. Unfortunately, with many it +is an expedient to shield deficiency—a cloak to cover up +inaccuracy and poor touch. It is employed as the veils that fading +dowagers adopt to obscure wrinkles. The pedal is even more than a medium +of coloring. It provides the background so indispensable in artistic +playing. Imagine a picture painted without any background and you may +have an inkling of what the effect of the properly used pedal is in +piano playing. It has always seemed to me that it does in piano playing +what the wind instruments do in the tonal mass of the orchestra. The +wind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page84" id="Page84">Pg 84</a></span> +instruments usually make a sort of background for the music +of the other instruments. One who has attended the rehearsal of a great +orchestra and has heard the violins rehearsed alone, and then together +with the wind instruments, will understand exactly what I mean.</p> + +<p>"How and when to introduce the pedal to provide certain effects is +almost the study of a lifetime. From the very start, where the student +is taught the bad effect of holding down the 'loud' pedal while two +unrelated chords are played, to the time when he is taught to use the +pedal for the accomplishment of atmospheric effects that are like +painting in the most subtle and delicate shades, the study of the pedal +is continuously a source of the most interesting experiment and +revelation.</p> + +<p>"There should be no hard-and-fast rules governing the use of the pedal. +It is the branch of pianoforte playing in which there must always be the +greatest latitude. For instance, in the playing of Bach's works on the +modern pianoforte there seems to have been a very great deal of +confusion as to the propriety of the use of the pedal. The Bach music, +which is played now on the keyboard of the modern piano, was, for the +most part, originally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page85" id="Page85">Pg 85</a></span> +written for either the clavier or for the +organ. The clavichord had a very short sound, resembling in a way the +staccato touch on the present-day piano, whereas the organ was and is +capable of a great volume of sound of sustained quality. Due to the +contradictory nature of these two instruments and the fact that many +people do not know whether a composition at hand was written for the +clavichord or for the organ, some of them try to imitate the organ sound +by holding the pedal all the time or most of the time, while others try +to imitate the clavichord and refrain from the use of the pedal +altogether. The extreme theories, as in the case of all extreme +theories, are undoubtedly wrong.</p> + +<p>"One may have the clavichord in mind in playing one piece and the organ +in mind in playing another. There can be nothing wrong about that, but +to transform the modern pianoforte, which has distinctly specific tonal +attributes, into a clavichord or into an organ must result in a tonal +abuse.</p> + +<p>"The pedal is just as much a part of the pianoforte as are the stops and +the couplers a part of the organ or the brass tangents a part of the +clavichord. It is artistically impossible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page86" id="Page86">Pg 86</a></span> +to so camouflage the +tone of the pianoforte as to make it sound like either the organ or the +clavichord. Even were this possible, the clavichord is an instrument +which is out of date, though the music of Bach is still a part and +parcel of the musical literature of to-day. The oldest known specimen of +the clavichord (dated 1537) is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New +York City. Should you happen to view this instrument you would realize +at once that its action is entirely different from that of the piano, +just as its tone was different. You cannot possibly make a piano sound +like a clavichord through any medium of touch or pedals. Therefore, why +not play the piano as a piano? Why try to do the impossible thing in +endeavoring to make the piano sound like another instrument of a +different mechanism? Why not make a piano sound like a piano? Must we +always endure listening to Wagner's music in a variety show and to +Strauss' waltzes in Carnegie Hall?</p> + +<h4>V</h4> + +<p>"If one were to ask me what is the indispensable thing in the education +of a pianist, I would say: 'First of all, a good guide.' By<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page87" id="Page87">Pg 87</a></span> this I do not mean merely a good +teacher, but rather a mentor, a pilot who can and who will oversee the +early steps of the career of a young person. In my own case, I was +fortunate in having a father, a professional musician, who realized my +musical possibilities, and from the very beginning was intensely +interested in my career, not merely as a father, but as an artist +guiding and piloting every day of my early life. Fate is such a peculiar +mystery, and the student, in his young life, can have but a slight idea +of what is before him in the future. Therefore, the need of a mentor is +essential. I am sure that my father was the author of a great deal of +the success that I have enjoyed. It was he who took me to Moszkowski and +Rubinstein. The critical advice—especially that of +Rubinstein—was invaluable to me. The student should have +unrelenting criticism from a master mind. Even when it is caustic, as +was von Bülow's, it may be very beneficial. I remember once in the home +of Moszkowski that I played for von Bülow. The taciturn, cynical +conductor-pianist simply crushed me with his criticism of my playing. +But, young though I was, I was not so conceited as to fail to realize +that he was right. I shook hands<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page88" id="Page88">Pg 88</a></span> +with him and thanked him for +his advice and criticism. Von Bülow laughed and said, 'Why do you thank +me? It is like the chicken thanking the one who had eaten it, for doing +so.' Von Bülow, on that same day played in such a jumbled manner with +his old, stiffened fingers, that I asked Moszkowski how in the world it +might be possible for von Bülow to keep a concert engagement which I +knew him to have a few days later in Berlin. Moszkowski replied: 'Let +von Bülow alone for that. You don't know him. If he sets out to do +something, he is going to do it.'</p> + +<p>"Von Bülow's playing, however, was almost always pedantic, although +unquestionably scholarly. There was none of the leonine spontaneity of +Rubinstein. Rubinstein was a very exacting schoolmaster at the piano +when he first undertook to train me; but he often said to me, 'The main +object is to make the music sound right, even though you have to play +with your nose!' With Rubinstein there was no <i>ignus fatuus</i> of mere +method. Any method that would lead to fine artistic results—to +beautiful and effective performance—was justifiable in his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Finally, to the student let me say: 'Always +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page89" id="Page89">Pg 89</a></span> work hard and +strive to do your best. Secure a reliable mentor if you can possibly do +so, and depend upon his advice as to your career. Even with the best +advice there is always the element of fate—the introduction of the +unknown—the strangeness of coincidence which would almost make one +believe in astrology and its dictum that our terrestrial course may be +guided by the stars. In 1887, when I played in Washington as a child of +eleven, I was introduced to a young lady, who was the daughter of +Senator James B. Eustis. Little did I dream that this young woman, of +all the hundreds and hundreds of girls introduced to me during my tours, +would some day be my wife. Fate plays its rôle—but do not be +tempted into the fallacious belief that success and everything else +depend upon fate, for the biggest factor is, after all, hard work and +intelligent guidance.'"</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">Pg iii</a></span></p> + +<h1><a name="Piano_Questions_Answered" id="Piano_Questions_Answered"></a><i>Piano Questions Answered</i></h1> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<table border="0" width="75%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="CONTENTS_Piano_Questions"> + <tr> + <td><b>TECHNIQUE</b></td> + <td align="right">PAGE</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#General">1. General</a></td> + <td align="right">3</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Position_of_the_body">2. Position of the Body</a></td> + <td align="right">4</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Position_of_the_hand">3. Position of the Hand</a></td> + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Position_of_the_fingers">4. Position of the Fingers</a></td> + <td align="right">6</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Action_of_the_wrist">5. Action of the Wrist</a></td> + <td align="right">9</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Action_of_the_arm">6. Action of the Arm</a></td> + <td align="right">11</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Stretching">7. Stretching</a></td> + <td align="right">12</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#The_Thumb">8. The Thumb</a></td> + <td align="right">14</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#The_other_fingers">9. The Other Fingers</a></td> + <td align="right">16</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Weak_Fingers">10. Weak Fingers, etc.</a></td> + <td align="right">18</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Staccato">11. Staccato</a></td> + <td align="right">21</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Legato">12. Legato</a></td> + <td align="right">22</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Precision">13. Precision</a></td> + <td align="right">25</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Piano_Touch">14. Piano Touch vs Organ Touch</a></td> + <td align="right">26</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Fingering">15. Fingering</a></td> + <td align="right">27</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Glissando">16. The Glissando</a></td> + <td align="right">29</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Octaves">17. Octaves</a></td> + <td align="right">29</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Repetition_Technique">18. Repetition Technique</a></td> + <td align="right">34</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Double_Notes">19. Double Notes</a></td> + <td align="right">35</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#The_Instrument">THE INSTRUMENT</a></td> + <td align="right">35</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#The_Pedals">THE PEDALS</a></td> + <td align="right">39</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Practice">PRACTICE</a></td> + <td align="right">45</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Marks_and_Nomenclature">MARKS AND NOMENCLATURE</a></td> + <td align="right">57</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#About_certain">ABOUT CERTAIN PIECES AND COMPOSERS</a></td> + <td align="right">75<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">Pg iv</a></span></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Bach">1. Bach</a></td> + <td align="right">80</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Beethoven">2. Beethoven</a></td> + <td align="right">83</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Mendelssohn">3. Mendelssohn</a></td> + <td align="right">85</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Chopin">4. Chopin</a></td> + <td align="right">86</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Exercises">EXERCISES AND STUDIES</a></td> + <td align="right">93</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Polyrhythms">POLYRHYTHMS</a></td> + <td align="right">96</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Phrasing">PHRASING</a></td> + <td align="right">98</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Rubato">RUBATO</a></td> + <td align="right">100</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Conception">CONCEPTION</a></td> + <td align="right">102</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Force_of_Example">FORCE OF EXAMPLE</a></td> + <td align="right">104</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Theory">THEORY</a></td> + <td align="right">104</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#The_Memory">THE MEMORY</a></td> + <td align="right">112</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Sight-Reading">SIGHT-READING</a></td> + <td align="right">117</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Accompanying">ACCOMPANYING</a></td> + <td align="right">117</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Transposing">TRANSPOSING</a></td> + <td align="right">119</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Playing_for_People">PLAYING FOR PEOPLE</a></td> + <td align="right">120</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#About_the_Piano">ABOUT THE PIANO PER SE</a></td> + <td align="right">127</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Bad_Music">BAD MUSIC</a></td> + <td align="right">133</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Ethical">ETHICAL</a></td> + <td align="right">135</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Pitch">PITCH AND KINDRED MATTERS</a></td> + <td align="right">136</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#The_Students_Age">THE STUDENT'S AGE</a></td> + <td align="right">138</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Teachers">TEACHERS, LESSONS AND METHODS</a></td> + <td align="right">140</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#Miscellaneous">MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS</a></td> + <td align="right">150</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#ALPHABETICAL_INDEX_OF">ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF QUESTIONS</a></td> + <td align="right">165</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#INDEX">INDEX</a></td> + <td align="right">175</td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">Pg v</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h2>A FOREWORD</h2> + + +<p>This little book is compiled from the questions and my answers to them, +as they have appeared during the past two years in the <i>Ladies' Home +Journal</i>. Since the questions came mostly from young piano students and +cover a large number of matters important to the study of the piano, it +was thought that this republication might be of interest to piano +students in general, and that, gathered into a little volume, they might +form a new and perhaps not unwelcome sort of reference book.</p> + +<p>To serve as such and to facilitate the reader's search for any +particular subject, I have grouped the questions, together with their +answers, under special headings.</p> + +<p>It is only natural, however, that a book of this character cannot +contain more than mere suggestions to stimulate the reader's individual +thinking. Positive facts, which can be found in books on musical history +and in kindred works,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">Pg vi</a></span> +are, therefore, stated only where they are +needful as a basis for the replies. Any rule or advice given to some +particular person cannot fit every other person unless it is passed +through the sieve of one's own individual intelligence and is, by this +process, so modified as to fit one's own particular case.</p> + +<p>There are, in addition to the questions presented and answered, one or +two points about piano-playing that would naturally not occur to the +average student. The opportunity to discuss those here is too favourable +to be allowed to pass, and as they hardly admit of precise +classification, I venture to offer them here as a brief foreword.</p> + +<p>To the hundreds of students who at various times have asked me: What is +the quickest way to become a great piano-player? I will say that such a +thing as a royal road, a secret trick, or a patent method to quickly +become a great artist, does not exist. As the world consists of atoms; +as it is the infinitely small things that have forced the microscope +into the scientist's hand, so does art contain numberless small, +seemingly insignificant things +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">Pg vii</a></span> which, if neglected entirely, +visit dire vengeance upon the student. Instead of prematurely concerning +himself with his inspiration, spirituality, genius, fancy, etc., and +neglecting on their account the material side of piano study, the +student should be willing to progress from atom to atom, slowly, +deliberately, but with absolute certainty that each problem has been +completely solved, each difficulty fully overcome, before he faces the +next one. Leaps, there are none!</p> + +<p>Unquestionably it does sometimes happen that an artist suddenly acquires +a wide renown. In such a case his leap was not into greatness, but +merely into the public's recognition of it; the greatness must have been +in him for some time before the public became aware of it. If there was +any leaping, it was not the artist, but the public that did it.</p> + +<p>Let us not close our eyes to the fact that there have been—and +probably always will be—artists that gain a wide renown <i>without</i> +being great; puffery, aided by some personal eccentricity, is quite able +to mislead the public, but these will, at best, do it only for a short +time, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">Pg viii</a></span> +the collapse of such a reputation, as collapse there +must be, is always sure, and sad to behold.</p> + +<p>The buoyancy of mind, its ability to soar, so necessary for both +creative and interpretative art, these are never impaired by close +attention to detail. If they should be destroyed by attention to detail, +it would not matter, for they cannot have been genuine; they can have +been but sentimental imaginings. Details are the very steps which, one +by one, lead to the summit of art; we should be careful not to lift one +foot before the other one rests quite securely upon its step. One +should—to illustrate—not be satisfied with the ability of +"getting through" some difficult passage "by the skin of the teeth" or +"without breaking down," but should strive to be able to play <i>with</i> it, +to toy with it, in order to have it at one's beck and call in any +variation of mood, so as to play it as it pleases the mind and not only +the fingers. One should acquire sovereignty over it.</p> + +<p>This sovereignty is technique. But—technique is not art. It is +only a means to achieve art, a paver of the path toward<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">Pg ix</a></span> it. The danger of confounding +technique with art itself is not inconsiderable, since it takes a long +time to develop a trustworthy technique; and this prolonged association +with one subject is apt to give it supremacy over all others in one's +mind. To guard against this serious danger the student should, above +all, never lose sight of the fact that music, as does any other art, +springs from our innate craving for individual expression. As +word-thought is transmitted from man to man by verbal language so are +feelings, emotions, moods—crystallized into +tone-thought—conveyed by music. The effects of music may, +therefore, be ennobling and refining; but they can as easily be +degrading and demoralizing. For the saints and sinners among +music-makers are probably in the same proportion as among the followers +of other professions. The ethical value of music depends, therefore, not +upon the musician's technique, but solely upon his moral tendencies. The +student should never strive to dazzle his auditor's ear with mere +technical brilliancy, but should endeavour to gladden his heart, to +refine his feelings and sensibilities, by transmitting noble +musical<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">Pg x</a></span> +thoughts to his mind. He should scorn all unnecessary, +charlatanish externalities and strive ever for the inwardness of the +composition he interprets; for, in being honest to the composition he +will also be honest to himself and thus, consciously or not, express his +own best self. If all musicians were sincere in this endeavour there +could be neither envy nor jealousy among them; advancing hand in hand +toward their common ideal they could not help being of mutual assistance +to each other.</p> + +<p>Art, not unlike religion, needs an altar around which its devotees may +congregate. Liszt, in his day, had erected such an altar in Weimar, and +as its high priest he stood, himself, before it—a luminous example +of devotion to art. Rubinstein did the same in St. Petersburg. Out of +these atmospheres, thanks to the inspiring influences of Liszt's and +Rubinstein's wonderful personalities, there have emerged a large number +of highly meritorious and some eminent artists. That many of them have +lacked the power in their later life to withstand the temptations of +quick material gain by descending to a lower +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">Pg xi</a></span> plane is to be +regretted, but—such is life. Many are called, but few are chosen. +Since those days several of these "many" have attempted to create +similar centres in Europe. They failed, because they were not serving +art, but rather made art serve their own worldly purposes.</p> + +<p>The artists of talent no longer group themselves around the man of +genius. Perhaps he is not to be found just now. Each little celebrity +among the pianists keeps nowadays a shop of his own and all to himself. +Many of these shops are "mints," and some of them produce counterfeits. +As a matter of course, this separative system precludes all unification +of artistic principles and is, therefore, very harmful to the present +generation of students. The honest student who will discriminate between +these, sometimes cleverly masked, counterfeit mints, and a real art +altar must be of a character in which high principles are natively +ingrained. It might help him somewhat to remember that when there is no +good to choose we can always reject the bad.</p> + +<p>What is true of teachers is just as true of compositions. The student +should not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">Pg xii</a></span> +listen to—should not, at least, repeat the +hearing of—bad compositions, though they may be called symphonies +or operas. And he can, in a considerable measure, rely upon his own +instincts in this matter. He may not—and probably will +not—fully fathom the depths of a new symphony at its first +hearing, but he must have received general impressions of sufficient +power and clearness to make him <i>wish</i> for another hearing. When this +wish is absent he should not hear the work again from a mere sense of +duty; it were far wiser to avoid another hearing, for habit is a strong +factor, and if we accustom our ear to hear cacophonous music we are apt +to lose our aversion to it, which is tantamount to a loss of good, +natural taste. It is with much of modern music as it is with opium, +morphine, and other deadly drugs. We should shun their very touch. These +musical opiates are sometimes manufactured by persons of considerable +renown; of such quickly gained renown as may be acquired nowadays by the +employment of commercialistic methods; a possibility for which the venal +portion of the public press must bear part of the blame. The +student<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">Pg xiii</a></span> +should not be deceived by names of which the general +familiarity is of too recent a date. I repeat that he should rather +consult his own feelings and by following them contribute his modest +share toward sending some of the present "moderns" back into their +deserved obscurity and insignificance.</p> + +<p>I use the term "moderns" advisedly, for the true masters—some of +whom died but recently—have never stooped to those methods of +self-aggrandisement at which I hinted. Their places of honour were +accorded to them by the world because they were theirs, by right of +their artistic power, their genius and the purity of their art. My +advice to the students and to all lovers of music is: Hold on with all +your might to the school of sincerity and chastity in music! It is saner +and, morally and æsthetically, safer than the entire pack of our present +nerve-tickling, aye, and nerve-racking "modernists." Music should always +elevate; it should always call forth what, according to the demands of +time and place, is best in us. When, instead of serving this divine +mission, it speculates upon, and arouses, our lowest instincts for no +better purpose than to fill +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">Pg xiv</a></span> the pockets of its perpetrator, it +should receive neither the help nor the encouraging attention of any +noble-thinking and clean-minded man or woman. Passive resistance can do +a good deal on these premises.</p> + +<p>The matter of abstention from a certain type of music recalls to my mind +another evil from which Americans should abstain; it is the curious and +out-of-date superstition that music can be studied abroad better than +here. While their number is not very large, I personally can name five +American teachers who have struggled here for many a year without +gaining that high recognition which they deserve. And now? Now they are +in the various capitals of Europe, receiving the highest fees that were +ever paid for instruction, and they receive these high fees from +American students that throng their studios. That the indifference of +their compatriots drove these men practically out of their country +proved to be of advantage to them; but how ought those to be regarded +who failed to keep them here? The wrong is irreparable in so far as +these men do not think of returning to America except as visitors. The +duty of American students and lovers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">Pg xv</a></span> +of good music is to see to +it that such capable teachers as <i>are</i> still here should <i>remain</i> here. +The mass of emigration to Europe of our music students should cease! If +a student has what is understood by "finished" his studies here and his +teacher sets him free, he may make a reconnoitring tour in Europe. The +change of views and customs will, no doubt, broaden his mind in certain +directions. But musically speaking, he will be sure to find that most of +the enchantment of Europe was due to its distance. Excepting the +excellent orchestras of Europe and speaking of the general music-making +there, it is at present not quite as good as it is here: neither is the +average music teacher in Europe a whit better than the man of equal +standing here.</p> + +<p>Americans should take cognizance of the fact that their country has not +stood still in music any more than in any other direction. Each year has +recorded an advancing step in its development. We must cease to compare +the Europe of to-day with the America of fifty years ago. At present +there is an astonishingly large number of clever and capable +musicians<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">Pg xvi</a></span> +in America, and, as with good physicians and lawyers, +their ability usually stands in inverse proportion to the amount of +their advertising. It is these worthy teachers for whose sake the +superstition of "studying abroad" should be foresworn. What Uncle Sam +has, in the field of music, not directly produced he has acquired by the +natural law of attraction; now that so many talented and learned +instructors, both native and foreign, are here they should be given a +fair opportunity to finish a pupil's development as far as a teacher can +do it, instead of seeing him, half-done, rush off "to Europe." If I were +not convinced that a change on this score is possible, I should not have +devoted so many words to it. It is merely a question of making a start. +Let me hope that each reader of this little book may start this change, +or, that, if already started, he will foster and help it. If his efforts +should be disparaged by some, he need not feel disheartened, but +remember that he belongs to the "land of limitless possibilities."</p> + +<p><span style="margin-left: 7.5em;"><span class="smcap">Josef Hofmann.</span></span><br /> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">Pg 3</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h2><a name="PIANO_QUESTIONS" id="PIANO_QUESTIONS"></a>PIANO QUESTIONS</h2> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h3><a name="TECHNIQUE" id="TECHNIQUE"></a>TECHNIQUE</h3> + +<h5><a name="General" id="General">1. GENERAL</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>What Does "Technique" Mean?</i></div> + +<p>What are the different techniques, and which one is most generally used? +What is the difference between them?</p> + +<p>Technique is a generic term, comprising scales, arpeggios, chords, +double notes, octaves, legato, and the various staccato touches as well +as the dynamic shadings. They are all necessary to make up a complete +technique.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The More Technique the More Practice</i></div> + +<p>Why do pianists who have more technique than many others practise more +than these others?</p> + +<p>Why have the Rothschilds more secretaries than I have? Because the +administration of a large fortune entails more work than that of a small +one. A pianist's technique is the material portion of his artistic +possessions; it is his capital. To keep a great technique in fine +working<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">Pg 4</a></span> trim is in itself a considerable and time-absorbing task. +And, besides, you know that the more we have the more we want. This +trait is not only human; it is also pianistic.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>How to Improve the Technique</i></div> + +<p>Should I endeavour to improve my technique by trying difficult pieces?</p> + +<p>You should not confine yourself to pieces that come easy to you, for +that would prevent all further technical progress. But beware of pieces +that are so difficult that you could not play them—in a slower +tempo—with absolute correctness. For this would lead to the ruin +of your technique and kill the joy in your studies. Play pieces that are +always a trifle harder than those you have completely mastered. Do not +emulate those who say: "I play already this or that," without asking +themselves "how" they play. Artistry depends ever upon the "how."</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Position_of_the_body" id="Position_of_the_body">2. POSITION OF THE BODY</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Do Not Raise the Piano-Stool Too High</i></div> + +<p>Are the best results at the piano attained by sitting high or low?</p> + +<p>As a general rule, I do not recommend a high seat at the piano, because +this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">Pg 5</a></span> induces the employment of the arm and shoulders rather than +of the fingers, and is, of course, very harmful to the technique. As to +the exact height of the seat, you will have to experiment for yourself +and find out at which height you can play longest with the least +fatigue.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Height of the Piano Seat</i></div> + +<p>Is my seat at the piano to be at the same height when I practise as when +I play for people?</p> + +<p>Yes! Height and distance (from the keyboard) of your chair—which +should never have arms—you should decide for yourself and once for +all time; for only then can you acquire a normal hand position, which, +in its turn, is a condition <i>sine qua non</i> for the development of your +technique. See also to it that both feet are in touch with their +respective pedals so as to be in place when their action is required. If +they stray away and you must grope for the pedals when you need them it +will lead to a break in your concentration, and this will cause you to +play less well than you really can. To let the feet stray<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_6" id="Page_6">Pg 6</a></span> from the pedals easily affects your +entire position. It is a bad habit. Alas, that bad habits are so much +easier acquired than good ones!</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Position_of_the_hand" id="Position_of_the_hand">3. POSITION OF THE HAND</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Tilt of The Hand in Playing Scales</i></div> + +<p>Should my hand in playing scales be tilted toward the thumb or toward +the little finger? I find that in the scales with black keys it is much +easier to play the latter way.</p> + +<p>I quite share your opinion, and extend it also to the scales without +black keys. I think the natural tendency of the hands is to lean toward +the little finger, and as soon as you have passed the stage of +preliminary training, as soon as you feel fairly certain that your +fingers act evenly, you may yield to their natural tendency, especially +when you strive more for speed than force; for speed does not suffer +tension, while force craves it.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Position_of_the_fingers" id="Position_of_the_fingers">4. POSITION OF THE FINGERS</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Results Count, Not the Methods</i></div> + +<p>Does it make any difference if my fingers are held very much curved or +only a little? I was told that Rubenstein used his fingers almost +flat.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">Pg 7</a></span></p> + +<p>Since you mention Rubinstein I may quote his saying: "Play with your +nose, if you will, but produce euphony (<i>Wohlklang</i>) and I will +recognize you as a master of your instrument." It is ever a question of +the result, whether you play this way or that way. If you should play +with very much curved fingers and the result should sound uneven and +pieced, change the curving little by little until you find out what +degree of curvature suits your hand best. Experiment for yourself. +Generally speaking, I recommend a free and easy position of hand and +fingers, for it is only in a position of greatest freedom that their +elasticity can be preserved, and elasticity is the chief point. By a +free and easy position I mean that natural position of hand and fingers +into which they fall when you drop your hand somewhat leisurely upon the +keyboard.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Cantabile Passages</i></div> + +<p>Should a cantabile passage be played with a high finger-stroke or by +using the weight of the arm?</p> + +<p>Certain characteristic moments in some pieces require the high +finger-stroke.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">Pg 8</a></span> +It may be used also in working up a climax, in +which case the raising of the fingers should increase proportionately to +the rise of the climax. Where, however, the strength of the fingers is +sufficient to obtain the climacteric result by pressure, instead of the +stroke, it is always preferable to use pressure. As a general principle, +I believe in the free-hanging, limp arm and recommend using its weight +in cantabile playing.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>An Incorrect Position of the Fingers</i></div> + +<p>Pray how can I correct the fault of bending out the first joints of the +fingers when their cushions are pressed down upon the keys?</p> + +<p>Your trouble comes under the head of faulty touch, which nothing will +correct but the constant supervision by a good teacher, assisted by a +strong exertion of your own will power and strictest attention whenever +you play. This bending out of the first joint is one of the hardest +pianistic ailments to cure, but it is curable. Do not be discouraged if +the cure is slow. The habit of years cannot be thrown off in a +day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">Pg 9</a></span></p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Action_of_the_wrist" id="Action_of_the_wrist">5. ACTION OF THE WRIST</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Don't Stiffen the Hands in Playing Scales</i></div> + +<p>Should the hands be kept perfectly still in playing scales and +arpeggios? Or, to lessen fatigue, is an occasional rise and fall of the +wrist permissible in a long passage of scale or arpeggio?</p> + +<p>The hands should, indeed, be kept still, but not stiff. Protracted +passages of scales or arpeggios easily induce a stiffening of the wrist. +Hence, an occasional motion of the wrist, upward and downward, will do +much to counteract this tendency. It will, besides, be a good test of +the looseness of the wrist.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Loose Wrist</i></div> + +<p>Is it not impossible to preserve a complete looseness of the wrist in +piano-playing because of the muscles that connect the forearm with the +hand?</p> + +<p>By no means. You should only see to it that you do not stiffen the wrist +<i>unconsciously</i>, as most players do. The arm should be held so that the +wrist is on a line with it, not bent, and by concentrated thinking you +should endeavour to transfer the display of force to the finger-tips +instead of holding the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">Pg 10</a></span> tension in your arm. For this produces +fatigue, while the way I suggest will lead you to develop considerable +force through the hand and fingers alone and leave the arm practically +limp and loose. It takes months of study under closest attention, +however, to acquire this looseness of the arm.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Position of the Wrist</i></div> + +<p>Do you favour a low or high position of the wrist for average type of work?</p> + +<p>For average work, I recommend an average position; neither high nor low. +Changes, upward or downward, must be made to meet the requirements of +special occasions.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Do Not Allow the Wrist to Get Stiff</i></div> + +<p>If one's wrist is stiff is there any set of exercises especially adapted +to acquiring a freer movement? Or is there any special method of +exercise?</p> + +<p>It depends on whether your wrist is stiff from non-use or from wrong +use. Assuming the latter, I should recommend studies in wrist octaves, +but you must watch your wrist while playing and rest at the slightest +indication of its stiffening.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">Pg 11</a></span></p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Action_of_the_arm" id="Action_of_the_arm">6. ACTION OF THE ARM</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>When Tremolo Proves Unduly Fatiguing</i></div> + +<p>I cannot play tremolo in the left hand for any length of time without +great fatigue. I have tried changing the position of the hand from high +to low, the sidewise motion, and the quiet hand. What is the correct +method, and may the difficulty be overcome by slow practice?</p> + +<p>The tremolo cannot be practised slowly, nor with a stiff or quiet hand. +The action must be distributed over the hand, wrist, underarm and, if +necessary, the elbow. The shoulder forms the pivot whence a vibratory +motion must proceed and engage all the points on the road to the +fingers. The division of labour cannot be done consciously, but should +better proceed from a feeling as if the whole arm was subjected to an +electric current while engaged in playing a tremolo.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Play Chords With a Loose Arm</i></div> + +<p>Should octave chords be played with rigid arms, the wrists and fingers +thereby increasing the tone volume, or should the arms be loose? My +teachers differ in their methods; so I turn to you for advice. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">Pg 12</a></span></p> + +<p>With few exceptions, dictated by certain characterizations, chords +should always be played with a loose arm. Let the arm pull the hand +above the keys and then let both fall heavily upon them, preparing the +fingers for their appropriate notes while still in the air and not, as +many do, after falling down. This mode of touch produces greater +tone-volume, is least fatiguing, and will have no bad after-effects.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Stretching" id="Stretching">7. STRETCHING</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Fatiguing the Hand by Stretching</i></div> + +<p>I stretch between my fingers—taking the second and third, for +instance, and trying to see how many keys I can get between them. It has +helped me, but shall I be doing wrong to continue?</p> + +<p>If, as you say, you feel benefited by your stretching exercises you may +continue them. But in your place I should beware of fatigue, for while +the hand may show an improvement in its stretch while you are practising +these exercises, if it is fatigued it will afterward contract so that +its stretch is liable to become narrower than it was before.<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_13" id="Page_13">Pg 13</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Do Not Injure the Hand by Stretching It</i></div> + +<p>Is there any way to increase the stretch of my very small hand?</p> + +<p>Any modern teacher, acquainted with stretching your hand, can devise +certain exercises that will be applicable to your particular hand. As +the lack of stretch, however, may be due to a number of different causes +I should advise you to desist from any stretch exercise that might be +recommended to you without a close examination of your hand, since the +wrong kind of exercise is not only apt, but bound, to injure it, perhaps +permanently.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>A Safe Way of Stretching the Small Hand</i></div> + +<p>Is there any exercise, on the piano or otherwise, that would tend to +stretch my hand so as to enable me to play octaves? My fingers are short +and stubby. My teacher has not given me anything definite on this score.</p> + +<p>The attempts to widen the natural stretch of the hand by artificial +means lead easily to disastrous results. It was by just such attempts +that Schumann rendered his hand useless for piano-playing. The best I +can recommend is that before playing you soak your hands in rather hot +water for several minutes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">Pg 14</a></span> +and then—while still in the +water—stretch the fingers of one hand with the other. By doing +this daily you will gain in stretch, provided you refrain from forcing +matters, and provided also that you are still young, and your hands are +flexible.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="The_Thumb" id="The_Thumb">8. THE THUMB</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote">"<i>What is the Matter With My Scales?</i>"</div> + +<p>What is the matter with my scales? I cannot play them without a +perceptible jerk when I use my thumb. How can I overcome the unevenness?</p> + +<p>In answering this question I am in the position of a physician who is +expected to prescribe a treatment for a patient whom he has neither +examined nor even seen. I can therefore advise only in a very general +way—as I have done with many questions to avoid the eventuality of +being confronted by an exceptional case. The cause of the hand's unrest +in the passing of the thumb lies usually in transferring the thumb too +late. The thumb waits usually until the very moment when it is needed +and then quickly jumps upon the proper key, instead of moving toward it +as soon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">Pg 15</a></span> +as the last key it touched can be released. This +belatedness causes a jerky motion of the arm and imparts it to the hand. +Another cause lies in a fault no less grave than the first. Since the +hand has only five fingers while the scale numbers many notes (according +to its length), the player must replenish his fingers by passing the +thumb under the hand so as to form a conjunction between the notes +played and those to be played. This passing of the thumb conditions a +change or shifting of the hand toward the keys to follow, but the +shifting of the hand must not coincide with the passing of the thumb or +the result will be a jerk. The position of the hand in relation to the +keyboard must not change. It must remain the same until the thumb has +struck its new key. Not until then must the shifting of the hand take +place. In this way the jumpiness or jerkiness of the scale can be +avoided, provided one can follow this precept punctiliously—which +is not an easy matter, especially in great speed. Alas, why are those +pesky scales so difficult, in fact,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">Pg 16</a></span> +the most difficult thing to do on the piano?</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>How to Hold the Thumb</i></div> + +<p>What is the correct position for the thumb? Should it be curved well +under the hand while playing?</p> + +<p>In scale-playing the thumb should be slightly curved and kept near the +index finger in order to be ready when needed. In pieces this position +of the thumb cannot, of course, always be observed.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Which Fingers Demand Most Attention?</i></div> + +<p>Should one pay special attention to the training of the thumb?</p> + +<p>It may be said that the thumb and the middle finger are the two +arch-conspirators against a precise finger technique. They crave your +greatest attention. Above all, you must see to it that, in touching the +keys with these fingers, you do not move the whole hand, still less the +arm.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="The_other_fingers" id="The_other_fingers">9. THE OTHER FINGERS</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Fourth and Fifth Fingers</i></div> + +<p>What exercise would you recommend for the training of the fourth and the +fifth fingers?</p> + +<p>Any collection of Etudes is sure to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">Pg 17</a></span> +contain some that are +devoted to the training of those two fingers. In the Cramer Etudes +(Bulow's selection) you will find Nos. 9, 10, 11, 14, 19, 20 adapted to +your case, but do not pin your faith to the print! In all matters of art +the "how" is of far more consequence than the "what." Play what you +will, but bear your weak points in mind while you play. This is the real +remedy. Keep hand and arm as loose as you can while training the fourth +and fifth fingers.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Action of the Little Finger</i></div> + +<p>In making wide skips in which the little finger strikes a single note, +as, for instance, in left-hand waltz accompaniments, should one strike +on the end of the little finger or on its side; and should the finger be +curved or held more or less flat?</p> + +<p>The little finger should never strike with its side. It should always be +held in its normally curved condition, and straighten at the stroke only +on such occasions when its own force proves insufficient and requires +the assistance of the wrist and arm muscles. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">Pg 18</a></span></p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Weak_Fingers" id="Weak_Fingers">10. WEAK FINGERS, ETC.</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>To Strengthen the Weak Finger Use It</i></div> + +<p>How can I strengthen the little finger of my right hand? I avoid it in +playing, using the next finger instead.</p> + +<p>By employing your little finger as much as possible and at once quitting +the habit of substituting another finger for it.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Weak Fingers of the Left Hand</i></div> + +<p>What exercise would you recommend for the training of the fourth and +fifth fingers of the left hand?</p> + +<p>Slow trill with various touches, with highly lifted fingers producing +strength through their fall and with a lesser lift of the fingers +combined with pressure touch, watching closely that the little finger +strikes with the tip and not with the side. Rhythmic evenness should +also be punctiliously observed.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>When the Fingers Seem Weak</i></div> + +<p>What kind of technical work would you advise me to take to make my +fingers strong in the shortest time consistent with good work?</p> + +<p>If your fingers are unusually weak it may be assumed that your muscular +constitution in general is not strong.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">Pg 19</a></span> +The training of the fingers alone will, in that case, lead to no decisive results. You will +have to strive for a general strengthening of your muscular fibre. At +this point, however, begins the province of your physician and mine +ends. If you consider your constitution normal, four or five hours' +daily work at the piano will develop the necessary digital force, if +that time is judiciously used.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>No Necessity to Watch the Fingers</i></div> + +<p>Is it always necessary to watch the fingers with the eye?</p> + +<p>In places where the fingers slide, and do not jump from one note to +another at a distance, there is no need of keeping the eye on them.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Biting the Finger-Nails Spoils the Touch</i></div> + +<p>Is biting the finger-nails injurious to the piano touch?</p> + +<p>Certainly; biting the nails or any other injury to the finger-tips and +hand will spoil your touch. Extreme cleanliness and care in cutting the +nails the proper length are necessary to keep your hands in condition +for playing the piano.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">Pg 20</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>To Prevent Sore Finger-Tips After Playing</i></div> + +<p>How can I prevent my finger-tips, after prolonged playing, from feeling +sore the next day?</p> + +<p>Experience teaches that in such cases, as in many others, cleanliness is +the best remedy. After playing wash your fingers at once in warm water, +with soap and brush, and then rub them well with either cold cream or +some similar fatty substance. In the development of speed on the piano, +the rigidity of the skin on the fingers is a great hindrance; it makes +us feel as if we played with gloves on the fingers.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Broad-Tipped Fingers Not a Disadvantage</i></div> + +<p>Are broad-tipped fingers considered a detriment to a man student of +piano; for instance, if the finger grazes the black keys on each side +when playing between them?</p> + +<p>Unless broad-tipped fingers are of an unusual thickness I do not +consider them an obstacle in the way of good piano-playing; the less so, +as the white keys—whatever shape the fingers may have—should +never be struck between the black ones, but only in the midst of the +open space. Altogether, I hold that the shape<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">Pg 21</a></span> +of the hand is of +far greater importance to the pianist than the shape of his fingers; for +it furnishes the fingers with a base of operations and with a source of +strength, besides holding the entire control over them. Studying the +hands and fingers of celebrated pianists you will find a great variety +of finger shapes, while their hands are usually broad and muscular.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>What to do With the Unemployed Hand</i></div> + +<p>When playing a piece in which a rest of a measure and a half or two +measures occurs should I drop my hand in my lap or keep it on the +keyboard?</p> + +<p>If the temporarily unemployed hand is tired it will rest better in the +lap, because this position favours the blood circulation, which, in its +turn, tends to renew the strength. I should, however, not put it away +from the keyboard too often, for this might easily be taken for a +mannerism.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Staccato" id="Staccato">11. STACCATO</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Wrist Staccato at a High Tempo</i></div> + +<p>What can I do to enable me to play wrist staccato very fast without +fatiguing the arm?</p> + +<p>Change your wrist staccato for a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">Pg 22</a></span> +little while to a finger or arm staccato, thus giving the wrist muscles +a chance to rest and regain their strength.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Difference Between "Finger Staccato" and Other Kinds</i></div> + +<p>What does "finger staccato" mean? Is not staccato always done with the +fingers?</p> + +<p>By no means! There is a well-defined arm staccato, a wrist staccato, and +a finger staccato. The latter is produced by a touch similar to the +rapid repetition touch—that is, by not allowing the fingers to +fall perpendicularly upon the keys, but rather let them make a motion as +if you were wiping a spot off the keys with the finger-tips, without the +use of the arm, and rapidly pulling them toward the inner hand. The arm +should take no part in it whatever.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Legato" id="Legato">12. LEGATO</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Advantage of Legato Over Staccato</i></div> + +<p>Is it better for me to practise more staccato or more legato?</p> + +<p>Give the preference to legato, for it produces the genuine piano tone, +and it develops the technique of the fingers; while the staccato touch +always tends to draw the arm into action. If you play +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">Pg 23</a></span> from the +arm you cannot expect any benefit for the fingers. For the acquisition +of a legitimate legato Chopin's works cannot be highly enough +recommended, even in the transcriptions by Godowsky, which become +impossible when tried with any touch other than legato. He wrote them, +so to speak, out of his own hand, and his legato is so perfect that it +may well be taken as a model by anybody.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>To Produce Good Legato</i></div> + +<p>Should you advise me to make use of a high finger-stroke? My teacher +makes me use it exclusively, but I notice that my playing is neither +legato nor quiet. It is almost humpy.</p> + +<p>Your manner of putting the question expressed your own—and +correct—judgment in the matter. This playing "in the air" is lost +energy, and will not lead to a good legato. The most beautiful tone in +legato style is ever produced by a "clinging and singing" gliding of the +fingers over the keys. Of course, you have to watch your touch in order +that your "clinging" does not deteriorate into "blurring," and that your +"gliding" may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">Pg 24</a></span> not turn into "smearing." If you apprehend any +such calamity you must for a while increase the raising of your fingers +and use more force in their falling upon the keys. Under constant +self-observation and keen listening you may, after a while, return to +the gliding manner. This much in general; of course, there are places +and passages where just the opposite of my advice could be said, but +still I think that the high finger-stroke should rather be employed for +some special characteristic effects than as a general principle.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Firm and Crisp Legato Touch</i></div> + +<p>I am confused by the terms "firm legato touch" and "crisp legato touch." +Wherein lies the difference?</p> + +<p>Legato means "bound together," for which we substitute the word +"connected." Two tones are either connected or they are not connected. +The idea of various kinds of legato is purely a sophism, a product of +non-musical hyper-analysis. By "legato" I understand the connecting of +tones with each other through the agency of the fingers (on the piano). +The finger that evoked a tone should not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">Pg 25</a></span> leave its key until the +tone generated by the next finger has been perceived by the ear. This +rule governs the playing of melodies and slow passages. In rapid +passages, where the control through the ear is lessened, the legato is +produced by more strictly mechanical means, but there should, +nevertheless, always be two fingers simultaneously occupied. Do not take +the over-smart differentiations of legato seriously. There is no plural +to the word "legato."</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Precision" id="Precision">13. PRECISION</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Not Playing the Two Hands at Once</i></div> + +<p>My teachers have always scolded me for playing my left hand a little +before my right. It is probably a very bad habit, but I do not hear it +when I do it How can I cure it?</p> + +<p>This "limping," as it is called, is the worst habit you can have in +piano playing, and you are fortunate in having a teacher who persists in +his efforts to combat it. There is only one way to rid yourself of this +habit, namely, by constant attention and closest, keenest listening to +your own playing. You are probably misstating it when you say that you +do not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">Pg 26</a></span> +"hear" it when you "limp"; it seems more likely to me +that you do not listen. Hearing is a purely physical function which you +cannot prevent while awake, while listening is an act of your +willpower—it means to give direction to your hearing.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Piano_Touch" id="Piano_Touch">14. PIANO TOUCH <i>vs.</i> ORGAN TOUCH</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>How Organ-Playing Affects the Pianist</i></div> + +<p>Is alternate organ and piano playing detrimental to the "pianistic +touch"?</p> + +<p>Inasmuch as the force of touch and its various gradations are entirely +irrelevant on the organ, the pianist who plays much on the organ is more +than liable to lose the delicacy of feeling for tone-production through +the fingers, and this must, naturally, lessen his power of expression.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Organ-Playing and the Piano Touch</i></div> + +<p>Is it true that a child beginning music lessons on an organ gets much +better tone than one beginning on a piano, and does the side study of +pipe-organ, after two years of extensive piano work, impair the piano +touch?</p> + +<p>It is only natural that a child can get better tone out of an organ than +on a piano, because it is not the child but the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">Pg 27</a></span> organ that +produces the tone. If the child's purpose, however, is to learn +piano-playing it would not be wise to let him begin on an organ, because +this would leave the essential element—the art of +touch—entirely undeveloped. And if his piano touch has been formed +it can easily be undone again by letting him play on the organ.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Fingering" id="Fingering">15. FINGERING</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Universal System of Marking Fingering</i></div> + +<p>In what respect does American fingering differ from foreign fingering, +and which offers the greater advantages?</p> + +<p>There is no "American" fingering. Many years ago the "English" fingering +(which counts only four fingers and a thumb, and indicates the latter by +a plus mark: +) was adopted by a few of the less prominent publishers in +America; but it was soon abandoned. If you have a piece of sheet music +with English fingering you may be certain that it is not of a recent +edition, and I would advise you to obtain a more modern one. The +advantage of the universal fingering lies in its greater simplicity, and +in the circumstance that it is universally adopted. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">Pg 28</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The C-Scale Fingering for All Scales?</i></div> + +<p>Do you advise the use of the C-scale fingering for all the scales? Is it +practicable?</p> + +<p>The C-scale fingering is not applicable to scales reposing on black keys +because it creates unnecessary difficulties, the mastering of which +would be a matter rather of mere sport than of art.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Fingering the Chromatic Scale</i></div> + +<p>Which fingering of the chromatic scale the is most conducive to speed +and accuracy?</p> + +<p>The right thumb always upon E and B, the left one upon F and C. Between +times use three or four consecutive fingers as often as convenient. At +the beginning of a long chromatic scale select such fingers as will most +naturally bring you to one of the stations just mentioned.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Fingers Needed to Play a Mordent</i></div> + +<p>When executing the mordent, is not the use of three fingers preferable +to two?</p> + +<p>The selection of the fingers for the execution of a mordent depends +always upon the preceding notes or keys which lead up to it. Since we +cannot lift the hand just before a mordent for the purpose of changing +fingers (for this would mean a rude interruption) we have to use +whatever fingers happen to be "on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">Pg 29</a></span> +hand." An exchange of fingers in a mordent is seldom of any advantage, +for it hampers precision and evenness, since, after all, each finger +has its own tone-characteristics.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Glissando" id="Glissando">16. THE GLISSANDO</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>To Play a Glissando Passage</i></div> + +<p>Will you describe the best method of holding the hand when playing +glissando? Which is preferable to use, the thumb or the forefinger?</p> + +<p>In playing glissando in the right hand use the index finger when going +upward, the thumb when going downward. In the left hand—where it +hardly ever occurs—use the middle finger in either direction, or, +if you should find it easier, the index finger downward. The production +of so great a volume of tone, as is possible on our modern piano, has +necessitated a deeper fall of the keys than former pianos possessed, and +this deeper dip has banished the glissando almost entirely from modern +piano literature.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Octaves" id="Octaves">17. OCTAVES</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>How Best to Play the Octaves</i></div> + +<p>Should I play octaves using the "hinge" stroke from the wrist or by +using the arm? I find I can get more +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">Pg 30</a></span> tone by using the arm +stroke, but cannot play so rapidly.</p> + +<p>The character of the octaves must govern the selection of means to +produce them. For light octaves use the wrist, for heavier ones draw +more upon the arm. Rapidity requires that you avoid fatigue. If you feel +fatigue approaching from too constant use of one joint, change to the +other, and in doing this change also the position of the hand from high +to low, and <i>vice versa</i>. For wrist octaves I recommend the low position +of the hand, for arm octaves the high one.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Rapid Octaves</i></div> + +<p>Please suggest some method of playing octaves rapidly to one who finds +this the most difficult part of piano-playing. Would be grateful also +for naming some octave études that could be used in the repertoire.</p> + +<p>If rapid octaves seem to be "the most difficult part of piano-playing" +to you, take it as an indication that they do not suit your nature. A +"method" will never change your nature. This need not discourage you, +however; it is only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">Pg 31</a></span> +to prevent you from trying to make a +specialty of something for which you are not especially qualified and to +save you a needless disappointment. Hold arms and hands in but a slight +tension, and at the slightest fatigue change the position of the hand +from high to low and <i>vice versa</i>. Your seat at the piano should not be +too low. Study the first book of Kullak's Octave School, and, later on, +the second book.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>When Playing Octaves</i></div> + +<p>When should I use the arm to play octaves as I have seen some concert +players do? As I was watching them there did not seem to be the +slightest motion from the wrist.</p> + +<p>Most concert players play their octaves more from the arm than from the +wrist, but their wrist is nevertheless not so inactive as it seems to +have appeared to you. They have probably distributed the work over the +wrist, the elbow, and the shoulder in such a way that each had to do +only a part of it. Light octaves can come only from the wrist, while +heavier ones put the elbow and shoulder into action. To make this +distribution<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">Pg 32</a></span> +consciously is hardly possible. A striving for +economy of force and the least possible fatigue will produce this +"division of labour" unconsciously.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Wrist Stroke in Long Octave Passages</i></div> + +<p>When playing extended octave passages, such as the Liszt arrangement of +"The Erlking," should the endeavour be to play all from the pure wrist +stroke; or is it well to relieve the strain by an occasional impulse (a +sort of vibration) from the forearm? Is there any advantage in varying +the height of the wrist?</p> + +<p>In extended octave playing it is well to vary the position of the wrist, +now high and then low. The low position brings the forearm into action, +while the whole arm coöperates when the wrist is held high. From the +wrist alone such pieces as "The Erlking" cannot be played, because the +wrist alone gives us neither the power nor the speed that such pieces +require. Besides, the octaves, when all played from the wrist, would +sound "cottony." The wrist alone is to be used only in light, graceful +places. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">Pg 33</a></span> +</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Stiff Wrists in Playing Octaves</i></div> + +<p>In playing octaves or other double notes my wrist seems to stiffen. How +can I remedy this?</p> + +<p>Stiffness in the wrist results from an unmindful use of it. When +practising octaves or double notes think always of holding the arm and +its joints in a loose, limber condition, and when you feel fatigued do +not fail to stop until the muscular contraction is relieved. In a little +while you will see your conscientious practising rewarded by acquiring +an elasticity commensurate with your general physical status.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Premature Fatigue in the Arms</i></div> + +<p>Why does it tire my arms when I play octaves and a continuation of +little runs? How can I avoid it, so that they will feel free and easy?</p> + +<p>Premature fatigue is usually caused by undue muscular contraction. Keep +your arms and wrists loose and you will find that the fatigue +disappears. For your sensation of fatigue may be due, not to exhaustion +of muscular power, but to a stoppage of circulation caused by an +unconscious stiffening of the wrist. Change the position of the wrist from +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">Pg 34</a></span> high to low and <i>vice versa</i> +whenever you feel the "fatigue" coming on.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Kullak's "Method of Octaves" Still Good</i></div> + +<p>Is Kullak's "Method of Octaves" still one of the best in its line? or +can you recommend something better?</p> + +<p>Since the days when Kullak's "School of Octaves" was printed, experience +has taught us some things which might be added to it, but nothing that +would contradict it. Nor, so far as I know, has anything better appeared +in print than the first volume of that work especially.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<h5><a name="Repetition_Technique" id="Repetition_Technique">18. REPETITION TECHNIQUE</a></h5> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Difficulty of Playing Repetition Notes</i></div> + +<p>Please help me about my repetition notes. When I wish to play them +rapidly it seems that the key does not always produce a sound? Is it +because of my touch?</p> + +<p>First, examine the action of your piano. It occurs not infrequently that +the fingers do their work well, but fail in the results because of an +inert or lazy piano action. If, however, the fault does not lie in the +instrument, it must lie in a certain stiffness of the fingers. To +eliminate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">Pg 35</a></span> +this you need, first of all, a loose wrist. +Furthermore, you should not, in repetition technique, let the fingers +fall perpendicularly upon the keys, but with a motion as if you were +wiping the keys with the finger-tips and then pull them quickly toward +the palm of the hand, bending every joint of them rapidly.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Double_Notes" id="Double_Notes">19. DOUBLE NOTES</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Playing of Double Thirds</i></div> + +<p>Please tell me something about the general practice of thirds, both +diatonic and chromatic; also, about those in the first movement of the +Grieg Concerto.</p> + +<p>As the playing of passages in single notes requires a close single +legato, to do double thirds requires an equally close double legato. As +to the exact details of legato playing I may refer you to my book, +"Piano Playing," where you will find the matter discussed at length in +the chapter on "Touch and Technic."</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="The_Instrument" id="The_Instrument">THE INSTRUMENT</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Kind of Piano Upon Which to Practise</i></div> + +<p>Is it irrelevant whether I practise upon a good or a bad piano?</p> + +<p>For practice you should never use any but the very best available +instrument.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">Pg 36</a></span> +Far, rather, may the piano be bad when you play for +people. This will not hurt you nearly so much as will the constant and +habitual use of a piano with a mechanism in which every key demands a +different kind of touch, and which is possibly out of tune. Such +conditions impair the development of your musical ear as well as of your +fingers. It cannot be otherwise. As I said once before, learning means +the acquiring of habits: habits of thinking and of doing. With a bad +instrument you cannot develop any good qualities, even if you should +possess them by nature; much less can you acquire them. Hence, I +recommend a good piano, clean keyboard—for your æsthetic +perceptions should be developed all around—a correct seat and +concentration of mind. But these recommendations presuppose on the part +of the student some talent and a good teacher.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Do Not Use a Piano Extreme in "Action"</i></div> + +<p>Is it not better for a student in the advanced stage of study, who is +preparing for concert work, to practise on a piano with a heavy action +in order to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">Pg 37</a></span> +develop the finger and hand muscles, and to use an +instrument with a light action for obtaining an artistic finish to the +lighter passages occurring so often, for instance, in Chopin's music?</p> + +<p>All extremes are harmful in their effects upon study and practice. A too +heavy action stiffens and overtires the fingers, while too light an +action tends to impair your control. Try to obtain for your practice a +piano the action of which approximates as nearly as possible that of the +piano on which you have to play in the concert, in order to avoid +unpleasant surprises, such as premature fatigue or a running away of the +fingers.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>How Tight to Keep the Piano's Action</i></div> + +<p>Should I keep the action of my piano tight?</p> + +<p>Keep it tight enough to preserve the "feeling" of the keys under the +fingers, but to make it more so would endanger your finger action and it +may injure your hand.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Action of a Beginner's Piano</i></div> + +<p>Do you think it wise for a beginner to practise on a piano that has a +heavy action?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">Pg 38</a></span></p> + +<p>That depends upon the age and physical development of the beginner. +"Heavy" and "light" action are not absolute but relative terms, which +comprise in their meaning the power of resistance in the player's hand. +The action should be so adjusted that the player can—even in the +softest touch—always feel the key under his finger. A too heavy +action leads necessarily to an employment of the shoulder muscles (which +should be reserved for brief, special uses) and may permanently injure +the hand.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Playing On a Dumb Piano</i></div> + +<p>Are mechanical appliances, such as a dumb keyboard, of advantage to +the student of the piano? Should its use be restricted to a particular +stage in the course of study?</p> + +<p>Music is a language. Schumann said: "From the dumb we cannot learn to +talk!" The totally dumb or mute piano should, therefore, not be used, or +very little, if we aim at a "musical" technique—that is, a live, +multicoloured technique qualified to express musical thought and +feeling.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">Pg 39</a></span> +Personally I have never used a dumb piano.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="The_Pedals" id="The_Pedals">THE PEDALS</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>A General Rule About the Pedal</i></div> + +<p>Should I use the pedal with each melody note? Should like a general +rule.</p> + +<p>The treading upon the pedal should always follow immediately after the +striking of the note for which it is intended, or else there will be +discords arising from the mingling of that note with the one preceding +it. This is the general rule. Exceptions there are, of course, but they +occur only in certain moments when a mingling of tones is purposed for +some special effect.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Use of the Pedal for Colouring</i></div> + +<p>What is the use of the damper pedal?</p> + +<p>Primarily it serves to prolong such tones as we cannot hold with the +fingers. But it is also one of the greatest means for colouring. The +employment of it should always be governed by the ear.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>How to Use the Pedal</i></div> + +<p>Please tell me how to use the pedal. I find that in some pieces there is +no mark under the measures to show me when it should be used. Is there +any rule which you can give me?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">Pg 40</a></span></p> + +<p>Assuming that you have in mind the artistic use of the pedal, I regret +to say that there is no more a rule for this than for the mixing of +colours upon the palette of a painter who strives for some particular +shade or tint. He knows that blue and yellow make green, that red and +blue make purple; but those are ground colours which he can rarely use. +For the finer shades he has to experiment, to consult his eye and his +judgment. The relation between the pedal and the player's ear is exactly"ALPHABETICAL_INDEX_OF" +similar to that of the palette and the painter's eye. Generally speaking +(from sad experience) it is far more important to know when <i>not</i> to use +the pedal than when to use it. We must refrain from its use whenever +there is the slightest danger of unintentional mingling of tones. This +is best avoided by taking the pedal <i>after</i> striking the tone upon which +it is to act, and to release it promptly and simultaneously with the +striking of the next tone. It may be at once taken again, and this +alternation must be kept up where there is either a change of harmony or +a succession of "passing notes." This is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">Pg 41</a></span> +only positive rule +I can give, but even this is often violated. Let your ear be the +guardian of your right foot. Accustom your ear to harmonic and melodic +clarity, and—listen closely. To teach the use of the pedal +independent of the action of your own ear is impossible.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Let Your Ear Guide Your Pedalling</i></div> + +<p>In Weber's "Storm" should the pedal be held down throughout the entire +piece, as directed? It produces quite a discord.</p> + +<p>Without knowing this piece, even by name, I may say that the pianos of +Weber's time had a tone of such short duration and volume that the +discords resulting from a continuous use of the pedal were not so +noticeable, as they are now upon the modern piano with its magnificent +volume and duration of tone. Hence, the pedal must now be used with the +utmost caution. Generally speaking, I say—again—that the ear +is the "sole" guide of the foot upon the pedal.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Use Pedal With Caution in Playing Bach</i></div> + +<p>Is Bach's music ever played with the pedal?</p> + +<p>There is no piano-music that forbids in playing the use of the pedal. +Even where the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">Pg 42</a></span> +texture of a piece does not require the +pedal—which happens very rarely—the player might employ it +as an aid where the reach of his hand proves insufficient to hold all +the parts of a harmony together. With Bach the pedal is often very +important; for, by judicious use—as, for instance, in the cases of +organ-point—it accumulates harmonic tones, holds the fundamental +tone and thus produces effects not dissimilar to the organ. +Qualitatively speaking, the pedal is as necessary in Bach's music as in +any other; quantitatively, I recommend the utmost caution in its use, so +as not to blur the fine texture of his polyphony.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Student with a Fondness for the Pedal</i></div> + +<p>I always want to use the pedal as soon as I take a new piece, but my +teacher insists that I should get a good singing tone first. Is she +right?</p> + +<p>You "want" to use the pedal? In the face of your teacher's advice to the +contrary? Then why did you apply for a teacher? People who consider +their own pleasure while engaged in any kind of study need no teacher. +They need discipline. Learn obedience! If +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">Pg 43</a></span> by following your +teacher's advice you should fail to progress, even then you have no +right to do anything else than go to another teacher. But he will in all +probability not be very different from the first one in his precepts. +Hence, I say again: You should learn obedience!</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Using the Two Pedals at Once</i></div> + +<p>May the damper pedal and the soft pedal be used simultaneously, or would +this be detrimental to the piano?</p> + +<p>Since the mechanisms of the two pedals are entirely separate and +independent of each other you may use them simultaneously, provided that +the character of a particular place in your piece justifies it.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>To Produce a Softer Tone</i></div> + +<p>Should the expression "<i>p</i>" be executed by the aid of the soft pedal or +through the fingers?</p> + +<p>The soft pedal serves to change the quality of tone, not the quantity. +It should therefore never be used to hide a faulty <i>piano</i> (or soft) +touch. Mere softness of tone should always be produced by a decrease of +finger-force and a lessening of the raising of the fingers. The soft +pedal should be employed only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">Pg 44</a></span> +when the softness of tone is coupled with a change of colouring, such +as lies within its range of action.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Do Not Over-Use the Soft Pedal</i></div> + +<p>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?</p> + +<p>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 <i>pianissimo</i> touch, and +it should, therefore, be discouraged.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Once More the "Soft" Pedal</i></div> + +<p>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?</p> + +<p>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 passages independently of the position of +my foot on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">Pg 45</a></span> +the soft pedal. Such is the strength of association +that very soon a constant use of the soft pedal produces physical +inability to play unless the foot is pressing the pedal.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Practice" id="Practice">PRACTICE</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Morning Practice On the Piano</i></div> + +<p>In resuming my studies in the morning what should I play first?</p> + +<p>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,<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_46" id="Page_46">Pg 46</a></span> 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 æsthetically 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.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Morning Is the Best Time to Practise</i></div> + +<p>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?</p> + +<p>Purely technical work—that is, work of the fingers without the +participation 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<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">Pg 47</a></span> +no long pauses in your work, for they would break your +contact with the piano and it would take considerable time to +reëstablish 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.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Time to Devote to Technical Exercises</i></div> + +<p>Should I practise studies in general for my progress or should I confine +myself strictly to my technical exercises?</p> + +<p>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 passages you encounter in the +pieces you are studying, and during the last quarter these passages +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.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Only Kind of Practice Worth While</i></div> + +<p>In purely technical, <i>i. e.</i>, mechanical, practice may I have a book or +a magazine on the music-stand and read?</p> + +<p>This question will appear grotesque to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">Pg 48</a></span>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.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Practising Eight Hours Instead of Four</i></div> + +<p>Will I advance quicker by practising eight hours instead of four, as I +do now?</p> + +<p>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,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">Pg 49</a></span> +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 quantity is +of moment only when coupled with quality. Attention, concentration, +devotion, will make unnecessary any inquiries as to how much you ought +to practise.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Playing With Cold Hands</i></div> + +<p>Shall I, when my hands are cold and stiff, play at once difficult and +fatiguing things in order to limber them up?</p> + +<p>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 +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">Pg 50</a></span> +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.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Counting Out Loud</i></div> + +<p>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?</p> + +<p>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.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Study of Scales Is very Important</i></div> + +<p>Must all study of the piano absolutely begin with the study of scales?</p> + +<p>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. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">Pg 51</a></span> +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 compass of the piano.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Study of the Scales</i></div> + +<p>Do you approve of the study of all the fifteen major scales by piano +students, or is the practice of the enharmonic ones unnecessary?</p> + +<p>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.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>When Reading Over a New Piece</i></div> + +<p>When studying a new composition, which is preferable: to practise first +with separate hands or together?</p> + +<p>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 +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">Pg 52</a></span> +must, of course, be done for each hand separately.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Practising the Two Parts Separately</i></div> + +<p>When I am learning a new piece should the hands practise their parts +separately?</p> + +<p>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.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Four Ways to Study a Piano Piece</i></div> + +<p>Should a composition be studied away from the piano?</p> + +<p>There are four ways to study a composition:</p> + +<p> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">1. On the piano with the music.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">2. Away from the piano with the +music.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">3. On the piano without the music.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">4. Away from the piano without +the music</span></p> + +<p>2 and 4 are mentally the most taxing and fatiguing ways, no doubt; but +they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">Pg 53</a></span> +also serve best to develop the memory and what we mean by +"scope," which is a faculty of great importance.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Conditions Which Dictate Speed in Playing</i></div> + +<p>How fast or slow should Schubert-Liszt's "<i>Auf dem Wasser zu singen</i>" be +played? What modern parlour pieces would you recommend after Bendel's +"Zephyr"?</p> + +<p>Even if I did believe in metronomes, as I do not, I could not indicate +speed for you or for anybody, because it will always depend upon the +state of your technique and the quality of your tone. For modern parlour +pieces I suggest the two volumes of Russian piano music published by G. +Schirmer, New York. You will find pieces of various degrees of +difficulty there from which you may select what suits you best.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>To Work Up a Fast Tempo</i></div> + +<p>Which is the best way to work up a fast tempo?</p> + +<p>The best help is to hear the piece or part which you have in mind played +quickly by another person, for this aids you in forming the mental +concept of it, which is the principal condition to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">Pg 54</a></span> which all +ability is subject. There are, however, other ways which each one of us +must find for himself: either by a gradual increase of speed until you +reach your individual maximum or by starting at once at full tilt, even +though some notes should drop under the piano and then be picked up in +subsequent repetitions. Which of these two or any other ways is best for +you no one can tell; your musical instinct will guide you if you follow +it cautiously.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Best Way to Work Up a Quick Tempo</i></div> + +<p>Is it ever a waste of time to practise a piece over and over again for +months as slowly as a beginner and with utmost concentration? After +having done so and gradually working up a tempo, I then find I cannot +play so fast as I want to. Is it not wise to begin all over again as +slowly as possible? I prefer to work this way, but have been told that +one gets "stale," studying the same music for a long time.</p> + +<p>Do you advise practising with or without the pedal?</p> + +<p>Slow practice is undoubtedly the basis for quick playing; but quick +playing is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">Pg 55</a></span> +not an immediate result of slow practice. Quick +playing must be tried from time to time, with increasing frequency and +heightened speed, even at a temporary loss of clearness. This loss is +easily regained by subsequent returns to slow practice. After all, we +must first learn to think quickly through the course of a piece before +we can play it quickly, and this mental endeavour, too, will be greatly +aided by occasional trials in a quicker tempo. As for getting "stale," a +variety of pieces is necessary to preserve the freshness of each one.</p> + +<p>Regarding the pedal, I suggest that you use it judiciously from the very +beginning of the study of a new piece; though never in finger exercises.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Watch Your Breathing</i></div> + +<p>What is the purpose of associating breathing with piano playing, and to +what extent should it be practised?</p> + +<p>Breathing is as important in piano playing as in all physical exertion, +and more so when we speak of pieces that entail the use of great +muscular force; for this causes a quickening in the action of the heart; +respiration naturally keeps<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">Pg 56</a></span> +step with it, and the result is +often a forcible breathing through the mouth. Players resort to +open-mouth breathing in such cases because they cannot help themselves. +If, at the last spurt of a bicycle race, we should call to the wheelmen, +"Breathe through the nose!" we could not wonder if our advice remains +unheeded. This open-mouth breathing, however, need not be learned; it is +the self-help of nature. I recommend breathing through the nose as long +as possible. It is more wholesome than mouth-breathing, and it refreshes +the head more. When physical exertion becomes too great then you will +neither need nor heed my advice or anybody's; your nature will find its +own line of least resistance.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Take a Month's Rest Every Year</i></div> + +<p>Must I keep up my practice during my Christmas holidays of a month?</p> + +<p>If you have worked well on your development during the spring, summer, +and autumn it will be to your advantage to stop your practising entirely +for a month. Such a pause renews your forces as well as the love for +your work, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">Pg 57</a></span> +you will, upon resuming it, not only catch up +quickly with what you may think to have missed, but you will also make a +quick leap forward because the quality of your work will be better than +it could be if you had persisted in it with a fatigued mind. In a tired +condition of mind and body we are very apt not to notice the formation +of bad habits, and since "to learn means to form correct habits of +thinking and doing" we must beware of anything that might impair our +watchfulness as to bad habits. The greatest persistence cannot turn a +bad habit into a virtue.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Marks_and_Nomenclature" id="Marks_and_Nomenclature">MARKS AND NOMENCLATURE</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Metronome Markings</i></div> + +<p>What is the meaning of M. M. = 72 printed over a piece of music?</p> + +<p>The M stands for "metronome," the other for the name of its inventor, +Maelzl. The figures indicate the number of beats a minute and the note +shows what each beat represents—in this case a quarter note. The +whole annotation says that the average speed of the piece should admit +of seventy-two quarter notes being played in a minute. I advise you, +however, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">Pg 58</a></span> +rather to consult the state of your technique and your +own feeling for what is musically right in deciding upon the speed of +the piece.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Personal Element and the Metronome</i></div> + +<p>In Chopin's Prelude No. 15 is the movement in C-sharp minor to be played +in the same tempo as the opening movements, or much faster? How should +the 6-8 and 9-8 movements of Liszt's Dance of the Gnomes be +metronomized?</p> + +<p>The C-sharp minor movement should not increase in speed, or only very +little, because it rises to a considerable height dynamically, and this +seems to counteract an increase of speed. As to the metronoming, I would +not bother about it. The possibilities of your technique must ever +regulate the speed question in a large degree. Tempo is so intimately +related with touch and dynamics that it is in a large measure an +individual matter. This does not mean that one may play andante where an +allegro is prescribed, but that one person's allegro differs slightly +from that of another person. Touch, tone, and conception influence the +tempo. The metronome<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">Pg 59</a></span> +indications are to be accepted only with the utmost caution.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Metronome Markings May Better Be Ignored</i></div> + +<p>How fast, by metronome, should the minuetto of Beethoven's Sonatina, +opus 49, Number 2, be played?</p> + +<p>If you possess an edition of Beethoven that has no metronome marks you +have been singularly fortunate, and I would not for the world interfere +with such rare good luck. Consult your technique, your feelings, and +have confidence in your good sense.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>There are Dangers in Using a Metronome</i></div> + +<p>How should one use the metronome for practising? I have been warned +against it, as my teacher tells me one is liable to become very stiff +and mechanical by the persistent use of it.</p> + +<p>Your teacher is eminently right. You should not play with the metronome +for any length of time, for it lames the musical pulse and kills the +vital expression in your playing. The metronome may well be used as a +controlling device first, to find the approximate average speed of a +piece, and, second, to convince yourself that, after playing for a<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_60" id="Page_60">Pg 60</a></span> while without it, your feelings have +not caused you to drift too far away from the average tempo.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Real Meaning of Speed Terms</i></div> + +<p>What is the meaning of the words Adagio, Andante, and Allegro? Are they +just indications of speed?</p> + +<p>They serve as such; though our musical ancestors probably selected these +terms because of their indefiniteness, which leaves a certain margin to +our individuality. Literally, Adagio (<i>ad agio</i>) means "at leisure." +Andante means "going" in contradistinction to "running," going apace, +also walking. Allegro (a contraction of <i>al leg-gie-ro</i>) means with +"lightness, cheerful." Primarily these terms are, as you see, +indications of mood; but they have come to be regarded as speed annotations.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>A Rule For Selecting the Speed</i></div> + +<p>As the words "largo," "allegro," etc., are supposed to indicate a +certain rate of speed, can you give a rule so that a student who cannot +have the aid of a teacher will be able to understand in what time he +should play a composition?</p> + +<p>If the metronome is not indicated you +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">Pg 61</a></span> have to consult your own +good taste. Take the most rapid notes of your piece, play them rapidly +as the general trend of the piece will æsthetically permit, and adjust +the general tempo accordingly.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>How Grace Notes Are Played</i></div> + +<p>How are the grace notes played in these measures from Chopin's Valse, +opus 42, and when are grace notes not struck simultaneously with the +base?</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><img src="images/png0004b.jpg" alt=""/></div> + +<p>Grace notes and their chiefs—that is, those notes to which the +grace notes are attached—should ever be played with one and the +same muscular impulse. The time occupied by the grace notes should be so +minimal that it should not be discernible whether they appear +simultaneously with the base note or slightly before it. In modern music +it is usually meant to precede the bass note, though the good taste of +the player may occasionally prefer it otherwise. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">Pg 62</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Rests Used Under or Over Notes</i></div> + +<p>What is the meaning of a rest above or below the notes of the treble +clef?</p> + +<p>The rests you speak of can occur only when more than one voice (or part) +is written in the same staff, and they indicate how long the entrance of +the other voice is to be delayed.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>What a Double Dot Means</i></div> + +<p>What does it mean when a note is double-dotted like <img src="images/png0005b.jpg" alt=""/> +I thought first it was a misprint, but it seems to occur too +frequently for that.</p> + +<p>As the first dot prolongs the note by one-half of its own value, so does +the second dot add one-half of the value of the first dot. A half-note +with one dot lasts three-quarters, with two dots it lasts seven-eighths.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Playing of Slurred Notes</i></div> + +<p>Should I accent the first note under a slur thus <img src="images/png0006b.jpg" alt=""/> or +should I lift my hand at the end of the slur thus <img src="images/png0007b.jpg" alt=""/></p> + +<p>Slurs and accents have nothing to do with each other, because accents +relate to rhythm, while slurs concern the touch. The last note under a +slur will usually be slightly curtailed in order to create<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_63" id="Page_63">Pg 63</a></span> that small pause which separates one +phrase from another. Generally speaking, the slur in piano music +represents the breathing periods of the vocalist.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>How a Tie and a Slur Differ</i></div> + +<p>What difference is there between a slur and a tie?</p> + +<p>None in appearance, but much in effect. A tie continues the sound of the +note struck at its beginning as long as the note-value at its end +indicates. It can be placed only upon two notes of similar name in the +same octave which follow each other. As soon as another note intervenes +the tie becomes a slur and indicates a <i>legato</i> touch.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Slurs and Accents Not Related</i></div> + +<p>How should the beginning of slurs be accented?</p> + +<p>Slurs and accents have nothing to do with each other. Slurs indicate +either a legato touch or the grouping of the notes. Which one of the +notes thus grouped is to be accented depends upon its rhythmical +position in the measure. The strong and weak beat (or positive and +negative beat) govern the accent always, unless there is an annotation +to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">Pg 64</a></span> +the contrary, and such an annotation must be carried out with +great judiciousness, seldom literally.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>How Long an Accidental Affects a Note</i></div> + +<p>Where there is an accidental on the last beat of a measure does not that +note resume its signature beyond the bar unless tied? The case I speak +of was in a key of two flats, common time. The fourth beat, E, was +naturalized and the first note of the next measure was E with the flat +sign. I maintain that the flat sign is superfluous, and I should like to +know if this is right?</p> + +<p>You are quite right, theoretically. Nevertheless, the proper tonality +signature of a note that was changed is very frequently restated when +the same note recurs beyond the bar. Though this special marking is not +necessary theoretically, practical experience has shown that it is not +an unwise precaution.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>"E-Sharp and B-Sharp" and the Double Flat</i></div> + +<p>What is the meaning of the sharps on the E and B line, and of a +double-flat? Are they merely theoretical?</p> + +<p>They are not theoretical, but orthographical. You confound the note +C<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">Pg 65</a></span> +with the key on the keyboard by that name. B-sharp is played +upon the key called C, but its musical bearing is very remote from the +note C. The same applies to double-flats (and double-sharps), for D with +a double-flat is played upon the key called C, but it has no relation to +the note C. This corresponds precisely with the homonym in language: +"sow"—"sew"—"so"—sound alike, but are spelled in +various ways according to the meaning they are to convey.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Effect of Double Flats</i></div> + +<p>How is an octave, written thus, to be played?</p> <img src="images/png0008b.jpg" alt=""/> + +<p>As the single-flat lowers a note by a half-tone, so a double-flat lowers +it by two half-tones or a full tone.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Double Sharp Misprinted for Double Flat</i></div> + +<p>In playing an operetta recently I found the double-sharp sign [X] +used for double-flats as well. Is this correct?</p> + +<p>The sign may be a misprint. But if it should occur repeatedly I advise +you to make quite sure, before taking the misprint for granted, that the +sign is not, after all, meant for a double-sharp. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">Pg 66</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>When an Accidental Is in Parentheses</i></div> + +<p>Please tell me how a chord or an interval marked thus, is executed.</p> +<img src="images/png0009b.jpg" alt=""/> +<p>What does an accidental in parentheses mean?</p> + + +<p>Chords marked as above are slightly rolled in the same manner as if +marked by a serpentine line, unless the sign denotes a linking with the +other hand. Which of the two meanings is intended you will easily infer +from the context. Accidentals in parentheses are mere warnings given by +some composers wherever there is a possibility of doubt as to the +correct reading caused by a momentary harmonic ambiguity. I have found +these accidentals in parentheses so far only in the works of French +composers.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Staffs Are Independent of Each Other</i></div> + +<p>Does an accidental in the right hand influence the left?</p> + +<p>Inasmuch as piano music is written in score form, the two staffs are as +independent of each other as are the staffs in an orchestral score. We +may, in cases of suspected misprints, draw certain inferences from one +staff to the other, provided that they are justified by the prevailing +harmony. As a rule, the two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">Pg 67</a></span> +staffs are independent of each other in regard to accidental chromatic signs.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Why Two Names for the "Same" Key?</i></div> + +<p>I am often asked why there must be fifteen keys in music instead of +twelve—that is, why not always write in B instead of C-flat, in +F-sharp instead of G-flat, in D-flat instead of C-sharp, or <i>vice +versa</i>? I can only say that the circle of fifths would not be complete +without the seven scales in sharps and the seven in flats: but Bach does +not use all the fifteen keys in his Forty-eight Preludes and Fugues, +omitting entirely, in the major keys, G-flat, D-flat, and C-flat, and, +in the minor keys, A-sharp and A-flat. Are compositions in sharps +considered more brilliant than those in flats? Do composers consider +modulation in selecting their key?</p> + +<p>The answer to your question hinges upon whether you recognize in music +mere tone-play or whether you concede a mental and psychic side to it. +In the former case the mode of spelling a tone C-sharp or D-flat would +be, indeed, irrelevant. But in the latter case you must admit the +necessity of a musical<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">Pg 68</a></span> +orthography qualified to convey distinct +tonal meanings and musical thoughts to the reader and to the player. +Though there is in the tempered scale no difference between C-sharp and +D-flat, the musical reader will conceive them as different from one +another, partly because of their connection with other related +harmonies. These determine usually the composer's selection in cases of +enharmonic identities. In the script of human language you will find an +analogy than which none could be more perfect. In English there are, for +instance, "to," "too," and "two"; words in which the spelling alone, and +not the sound of pronunciation, conveys the different meanings of the +words.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Meaning and Use of "Motif"</i></div> + +<p>What is the meaning of a "motif"? What does a dash mean over a note? +What is the best book of instruction for a beginner, a child of ten?</p> + +<p>A motif is the germ of a theme. A theme may be composed of reiterations +of a motif, or by grouping several motifs together; it may also combine +both modes of procedure. The most glorious +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">Pg 69</a></span>exemplification of +construction by reiteration of a motif you will find in the opening +theme of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. A dash over a note enjoins the +player to hold that note with the finger until it has received its full +value. The best "instruction book" for a child is a good teacher who +uses no instruction book, but imparts his knowledge to the child from +out of his own inner consciousness.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Tied Staccato Notes</i></div> + +<p>In playing notes written thus, is it permissible to +slide the fingers from the keys or should there be only a clinging +touch?</p> + +<img src="images/png0010b.jpg" alt=""/> + +<p>Notes marked as above are to be played in such a manner that each note +is slightly separated from the next. The best touch for this is from the +arm, so that the fingers are not lifted from their joints, nor from the +wrist, but that the arm pulls the finger upward from the key.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The "Tenuto" Dash and Its Effect</i></div> + +<p>What do short lines below or above a note or chord mean in +contradistinction to a staccato or an accent? And does it affect the +whole chord?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">Pg 70</a></span></p> + +<p>The dash under or above a note is a substitute for the word "tenuto" +(usually abbreviated into "ten."), which means "held," or, in other +words, be particular about giving this note its full sound-duration. +This substitute is usually employed when the holding concerns a single +note or a single chord.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>A Rolled Chord Marked "Secco"</i></div> + +<p>How should I execute a chord that is written with a spread and also +marked "secco"?—as in Chaminade's "Air de Ballet, No. 1."</p> + +<p>Roll the chord as evenly as possible in all its parts; but use no pedal +and do not hold it, but play it briskly and short.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Small Notes Under Large Ones</i></div> + +<p>What is the meaning of small notes printed under large ones?</p> + +<p>Usually the small notes are an indication that they may be omitted by +players who have not the stretch of hand necessary to play them.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Accenting a Mordent in a Sonata</i></div> + +<p>How should one play and accent the mordent occurring in the +forty-seventh measure of the first movement—allegro di +molto—of Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique, Opus 13? +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">Pg 71</a></span></p> + +<p>The accent ought to lie upon the first note of the mordent, but you +should not make a triplet of it by occupying the whole quarter with its +execution. The mordent must be played fast enough to preserve the +rhythmic integrity of the melody-note.</p> + +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Position of the Turn Over a Note</i></div> + +<p>The turn <img src="images/png0011b.jpg" alt=""/> stands sometimes directly over the +note and sometimes farther to the right of it. Does this difference +indicate different executions and, if so, how would the two turns have +to be played?</p> + +<p>The turn always begins with its uppermost note. When it stands directly +over a note it takes the place of this note; when more to the right the +note is struck first and the turn, judiciously distributed at the time +of its disposal, follows.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>How Are Syncopated Notes to be Played?</i></div> + +<p>How are syncopated notes to be played?</p> + +<p>Notes occurring an entire beat of the prescribed time are, when +syncopated, to be played between the beats. If the syncopated notes +occupy only a fraction<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">Pg 72</a></span> +of the beats they are played between the fractional beats.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>A Trill Begins on the Melodic Note</i></div> + +<p>In modern compositions should all trills begin upon the note which is +written, presuming there is no appoggiatura before the note? Is the +alternation of the thumb and the second finger desirable in the playing +of a trill?</p> + +<p>Where not expressly otherwise stated (by appoggiatura) trills usually +begin upon the melodic tone (the note which is written). Change fingers +when those employed get tired. For extended trills the use of three +fingers is advantageous, while in shorter trills two fingers will +preserve more clarity.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Position of Auxiliary Note in a Trill</i></div> + +<p>In the accompanying example of the trill should the auxiliary note be a +tone or a half-tone above the principal note? If the half-tone, what +would be the name of the auxiliary note?</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><img src="images/png0012b.jpg" alt=""/></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">Pg 73</a></span></p> + +<p>The episode you quote moves evidently in the tonality of G minor. The +trill stands on B-flat. As the auxiliary note of a trill is ever the +diatonic sequel of a stated note it must, in this case, be a whole tone +above B-flat, namely C. Since the piece is written in D major there +should have been a "natural" marked under the sign of the trill.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Speed and Smoothness in Trilling</i></div> + +<p>Will you kindly suggest a good method of gaining speed and smoothness in +trilling?</p> + +<p>While there are no "methods" for trilling there are certain means by +which sluggish muscles may be assisted. Yet, even these means cannot be +suggested without knowing the seat and cause of your trouble. The causes +differ with the individual, but they are, in the majority of cases, +purely mental, not manual. To trill quickly we must think quickly; for +if we trill only with the fingers they will soon stick, lose their +rhythmic succession, and finish in a cramped condition. Hence, there is +no direct way to learn trilling; it will develop with your general +mental-musical advancement. The main thing is, of course,<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_74" id="Page_74">Pg 74</a></span> always to listen to your own +playing, actually and physically, to perceive every tone you play; for +only then can you form an estimate as to how quickly you can "hear." +And, of course, you do not expect to play anything more quickly than +your own ear can follow.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Difference in Playing Trills</i></div> + +<p>What is the difference in the manner of playing the trill in measure 25, +and those in measures 37 and 38, of the Chopin Polonaise, Opus 53?</p> + +<p>The significance of the trill in measure 25 is melodic, while that of +the trills in measures 37 and 38 is purely rhythmic, somewhat in the +nature of a snare-drum effect. The first trill requires greater stress +on the melodic note, while in the other two you may throw your hand, so +to speak, on both notes and roll the trill until it lands upon the next +eighth-note.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Meaning of Solfeggio</i></div> + +<p>What is meant by "spelling" in music?</p> + +<p>Unless it means the variety of ways in which most chords can be written +it refers to an oral reciting of notes, properly called solfeggio.<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_75" id="Page_75">Pg 75</a></span></p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="About_certain" id="About_certain">ABOUT CERTAIN PIECES AND COMPOSERS</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Some Pieces for a Girl of Fourteen</i></div> + +<p>Please tell me some pieces of the classics which are not too difficult +for my daughter of fourteen to play. She has a great deal of talent but +not much technique. The Kuhlau Sonatinas she can play very well.</p> + +<p>If your daughter is fourteen years old and has—as you +say—much talent but little technique, it is high time to think of +developing her technique, for a pianist without technique is like a +pleasure traveller without money. At any rate, I should prefer the +easier sonatas by Haydn and Mozart to those of Kuhlau, because of their +greater intrinsic merit. Any good teacher will assist you in selecting +them to fit your daughter's case.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>In Playing a Sonata</i></div> + +<p>In playing sonatas my teacher tells me it is a great fault if I neglect +to observe the repeat marks. I have heard it said by others that the +repetition is not necessary, though it may be desirable. Will you please +give me your opinion?</p> + +<p>In a sonata it is of serious importance to repeat the first part +(exposition) of the first movement in order that the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">Pg 76</a></span> two +principal themes, as well as their tributaries, may well impress +themselves upon the mind and memory of your auditor. For, unless this is +accomplished, he cannot possibly understand and follow their development +in the next part. That the exposition part is not the only one to be +repeated you will find frequently indicated; for instance, in the last +movement of the "Appassionata," where the repetition is needful, not for +the reason stated before, but for the sake of formal balance or +proportion. Generally speaking, I am in favour of following the +composer's indications punctiliously, hence, also, his repeat marks, +which serve æsthetic purposes that you will perhaps not understand until +later, when the sonata has, in your hands, outgrown the stage of being +learned.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>A Point in Playing the "Moonlight Sonata"</i></div> + +<p>Should not the notes of the triplet figure in Beethoven's "Moonlight +Sonata" be so blended into each other that you do not hear them in +separate notes, but as a background, so to speak, for the notes in the +melody?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">Pg 77</a></span></p> + +<p>The truth lies midway between two extremes. While the accompaniment +should be sufficiently subdued to form, as you say, a harmonic +background, it ought, nevertheless, not to be blended to such a degree +as to obliterate entirely the undercurrent of a triplet motion. The +accumulation of each chord should be produced through the pedal, not +through an excessive legato touch.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Playing the "Spring Song" too Fast</i></div> + +<p>Should Mendelssohn's "Spring Song" be played in slow or fast time?</p> + +<p>It is marked "Allegretto grazioso." The latter term (graceful, in +English) precludes a too-quick movement.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>What a Dot May Mean</i></div> + +<p>This is the seventh measure of Chopin's Polonaise, Opus 26, No. 1. What +is the meaning of the dot placed after the D in the bass? Whenever this +measure is repeated the dot occurs, or I should have thought it a +misprint.</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><img src="images/png0013b.jpg" alt=""/></div> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">Pg 78</a></span> + +<p>The left-hand notes follow each other as eighth-notes. Their respective +duration, however, is indicated by the upward stems and the dot. It is +intended here that a complete chord should be built up by accumulation, +as in illustration <i>a</i>:</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><img src="images/png0014b.jpg" alt=""/></div> + +<p>and I would also hold the fifth eighth as in illustration <i>b</i>.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Where the Accent Should be Placed</i></div> + +<p>In playing Chopin's Impromptu in A-flat, Opus 29, should the first or +the last note of the mordent receive the accent? I have heard the +mordent sound like a triplet? Is this the correct accent?</p> + +<p>The last note of the mordent should be accented in this case.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>A Disputed Chopin Reading</i></div> + +<p>In Chopin's Nocturne in F-sharp, after the <i>Doppio</i> Movement, when +returning to Tempo I, and counting five measures, should the right hand +in the fifth measure play this melody?</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><img src="images/png0015b.jpg" alt=""/></div> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">Pg 79</a></span> + +<p>The various editions differ from one another in this measure. Peters's +edition, generally considered the best edition of Chopin's works, has +the second version, which commends itself by its greater naturalness.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Playing the "Melody in F"</i></div> + +<p>In Rubinstein's "Melody in F" should the melody be played in the left +hand or be divided between the two hands?</p> + +<p>Where there is no valid reason for doing otherwise it is always best to +follow the composer's prescription; for, in most cases—and with +great composers in all cases—the author knows what he meant to +say. In the aforesaid piece, too, I advise you to adhere to this +principle, since it is written with a view to teach the division of the +melody between the right and left hand. Any other execution would ruin +this purposed design.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>When Two Fingers Have the Same Note</i></div> + +<p>In Schumann's "Blumenstück," third number, the uppermost notes of the +left hand are identical with the lowest of the right hand. Should the +thumbs of both hands strike the same keys at the same +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">Pg 80</a></span> +time all the way through or should the left hand omit them?</p> + +<p>The left hand should omit them, but be careful to omit only those that +are really duplicates. There are a few places toward the end of each +section where the left-hand notes differ from those in the right. In +those cases you must be careful to play all the notes that are written.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Bach" id="Bach">BACH</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Beginner in Bach Music</i></div> + +<p>Can you give me a few helpful suggestions in a preliminary study of +Bach?</p> + +<p>A totality consists of many parts. If you cannot master the totality of +a work by Bach try each part by itself. Take one part of the right hand, +one part of the left, add a third part, and so on until you have all the +parts together. But be sure to follow out the line of each separate part +(or "voice," as the Continentals say). Do not lose patience. Remember +that Rome was not built in a day.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Bach's Music Necessary to Good Technique</i></div> + +<p>Do you think the study of Bach is necessary to the development of one's +technique, or should one let his music alone until a later day when +one's technique <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">Pg 81</a></span> +is in good condition? Some of his music seems so dry.</p> + +<p>Bach's music is not the only music that develops the technique. There +is, for instance, the music of Czerny and Clementi to be considered. But +Bach's music is particularly qualified to develop the fingers in +conjunction with musical expression and thematic characterization. You +may start with Czerny and Clementi, but you ought soon to turn to Bach. +That some of his music seems dry to you may be due to your mental +attitude by which you possibly expect from ecclesiastical music what +only the opera can give you. Think yourself into his style and you will +find a mine of never-dreamed-of enjoyment.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Always Keep in Touch with Bach</i></div> + +<p>Do you think that the playing of Bach's works will keep one's hands in +good technical condition? And which is the best edition of Bach's piano +works?</p> + +<p>Bach is good for the soul as well as for the body, and I recommend that +you never lose touch with him. Which is the best edition would be hard +to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">Pg 82</a></span> +say, but I have found the Peters edition to be very good.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Bach's Preludes and Fugues</i></div> + +<p>What is the plan of a "Fugue," how does it differ from an "Invention" +and "Prelude," and what is the purpose of studying the pieces so named +by Bach?</p> + +<p>The explanation of the plan of a Fugue would exceed by far the limits of +the space at my disposal. It would require a text-book, of which there +are many to be found in every good music store. The Fugue is the most +legitimate representation of true polyphony. Its difference from an +Invention is expressed in the two names. A Fugue (<i>fuga</i>, flight) is the +flight of one musical thought through many voices or parts, subject to +strict rules, while an Invention is an accumulation of thoughts moving +with absolute freedom. The definition of Prelude, as something which +intentionally precedes and fittingly introduces a main action, fits the +musical Prelude perfectly; especially in the case of Bach. The purpose +of all these forms is that of all good music-making, namely, the<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_83" id="Page_83">Pg 83</a></span> purification and development of good +taste in music.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>As to the Bach Fugues</i></div> + +<p>Of the Bach fugues do you consider the C sharp major difficult to +memorize, or do you advise the use of the D flat arrangement instead?</p> + +<p>Such little differences have never bothered me, and I can therefore +hardly answer your question definitely. It has been frequently +observed—though never explained—that to many people it comes +easier to read music in D flat than in C sharp. Hence, if you prefer the +D flat edition it will reduce the difficulty for you. Possibly this more +accessible version may aid you optically or visually in your work of +memorizing.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Beethoven" id="Beethoven">BEETHOVEN</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Order of Studying Beethoven's Sonatas</i></div> + +<p>I am just beginning to reach an intelligent interpretation of +Beethoven's music. Now, in what order should the Sonatas be studied?</p> + +<p>If you should really have the laudable intention to study all the +Sonatas of Beethoven for your repertory I should think that you may +safely take them up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">Pg 84</a></span> +very much in the order in which they are +printed, with the exception of Opus 53 and the Appassionata, +which—spiritually as well as technically—rank with the last +five. The Steingräber edition, however, furnishes a very fair order of +difficulty in the index to the Sonatas.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Beethoven Sonata with a Pastoral Character</i></div> + +<p>My teacher calls the Sonata opus 28, by Beethoven, the "Pastoral" +Sonata. I have not found anything "pastoral" in any of the movements. Is +it because I do not understand it, or is the name a mere amateurish +invention?</p> + +<p>The name "Pastoral Sonata" could, no doubt, be traced to an arbitrary +invention, perhaps of some over-smart publisher endeavouring to heighten +the attractiveness of the Sonata to the general public by the addition +of a suggestive title. Yet it seems to fit the Sonata pretty well, +because, really, its main characteristic is a rural sort of peaceful +repose. Especially the first movement is of a tranquillity which, +surely, does not suggest the life of a metropolis. But in the other +movements, too, there are many episodes which by their naïveté<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_85" id="Page_85">Pg 85</a></span> and good-natured boisterousness +indicate the life of the village.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>A Few, Well Played, Are Enough</i></div> + +<p>Must I play all the Sonatas of Beethoven's in order to become a good +player, or is a certain number of them sufficient, and, if so, how many +would you advise?</p> + +<p>Since the playing of all the Sonatas does not necessarily prove that +they were all well played, I think it is better to play one Sonata well +than to play many of them badly. Nor should Beethoven's Sonatas be +regarded as a musical drilling-ground, but rather as musical +revelations. As they are not all on precisely the same high plane of +thought, it is not necessary to play them all. To familiarize yourself +with Beethoven's style and grandeur of thought it is sufficient to have +mastered six or eight of his Sonatas; though that number, at least, +should be <i>mastered</i>.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Mendelssohn" id="Mendelssohn">MENDELSSOHN</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Study of Mendelssohn</i></div> + +<p>In a complete course for a piano student should the study of Mendelssohn +be included? Which of his compositions are the most useful? +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">Pg 86</a></span></p> + +<p>Mendelssohn is surely a composer who is not to be omitted. His melody +alone, besides other virtues, entitles him to be included, for melody +seems to grow scarce nowadays. To develop a fine cantilena his "Songs +Without Words" of slower motion, for instance, are just the thing.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Chopin" id="Chopin">CHOPIN</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>What Is the Best of Chopin?</i></div> + +<p>Which are the best compositions of Chopin to study by one who really +desires to know him?</p> + +<p>All the Etudes, all the Preludes, the Ballades in A flat, G minor and F +minor, the Berceuse and the Barcarolle. The Mazurkas, Nocturnes, +Waltzes, and Polonaises you are probably familiar with; hence, I mention +the aforesaid other works. Generally speaking, of Chopin a pianist +should know everything.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Charm of Chopin's Touch</i></div> + +<p>What kind of touch did Chopin have?</p> + +<p>Since a description of his touch would require too much space I refer +you to the book from which I gathered the most explicit information on +this point. It is "The Life of Chopin," by Frederick +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">Pg 87</a></span> +Niecks (London and New York, Novello, Ewer & Co.), and in the second +volume, from page 94 to about 104, you will find what you wish to know, +as far as it is possible to convey the charm of one art through the +medium of another. Since you seem interested in Chopin I would recommend +that you closely study both volumes of this masterly biographical work.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Mood and Tempo in the A-Flat Impromptu</i></div> + +<p>What is the tempo (by metronome) of Chopin's Impromptu in A-flat, and +what idea did the composer embody in it?</p> + +<p>The editions vary in their metronome markings and I believe none of +them. Your tempo will largely depend upon the state of your technique. +To the second question my reply is that Chopin has composed "music" +which—as you know—represents thoughts only in a musical +sense, otherwise it deals with purely psychic processes, moods, etc. The +humour of this Impromptu is mainly an amiable, ingratiating one, here +and there slightly tinged with a sweet melancholy. It should not be +played too fast, for it easily loses this latter attribute<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_88" id="Page_88">Pg 88</a></span> and then sounds like a Czerny +exercise. A moderate tempo will also tend to bring out the many charming +harmonic turns which, in too quick a tempo, are likely to be lost.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Chopin's Barcarolle</i></div> + +<p>In Chopin's Barcarolle there is a number of trills preceded by grace +notes. Are they to be executed according to Philipp Emmanuel Bach's +rule, so that the grace notes take their time from the note that follows +them?</p> + +<p>Philipp Emmanuel Bach's rule is a safe one to follow, but do not +confound a rule with a law. If you have reached that plane on which an +attempt at the Barcarolle by Chopin is rational, you must feel that your +individual taste will not lead you too far astray even if it should +prompt you occasionally to depart from the rule.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Chopin's Works for a Popular Concert</i></div> + +<p>What works of Chopin would you suggest for a popular concert programme?</p> + +<p>Nocturne, Opus 27, No. 2; Fantasy Impromptu, Opus 66; Scherzo, Opus 31; +Berceuse, Opus 57; Valse, Opus 64, No. 2; Polonaise, Opus 26, No. 1; +Chants Polonais (in Liszt's transcription). +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">Pg 89</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Taking Liberties with the Tempo</i></div> + +<p>In playing Chopin may one take liberties with the tempo and play +different parts of the same mazurka or nocturne in various degrees of +tempo?</p> + +<p>Undoubtedly. But the extent of such liberties depends upon your æsthetic +training. In principle your question admits of an affirmative reply, but +a specific answer is impossible without an acquaintance with your +musical status. I recommend that you be very cautious about "taking +liberties"; without, however, ceasing altogether to follow the +promptings of your good taste here and there. There is such a thing as +"artistic conscience"; consult it always before taking a liberty with +the tempo.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Omitting One Note in a Chord</i></div> + +<p>In the beginning of the Waltz in E minor by Chopin the left hand has to +play this chord a number of times. I can stretch any three of the four +notes, but not all four. Can one of them be omitted, and which one?</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><img src="images/png0016b.jpg" alt=""/></div> + +<p>You may omit the upper E, the second note from the top, but you may do +so only so long as it is physically impossible +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">Pg 90</a></span> +for you to strike all the four notes. For, by omitting this note you do alter the tone +colour of the chord as well as its sonority. As soon as you have +acquired the requisite stretch—and anybody who does possess +it—I would advise that the note be not unnecessarily omitted. +Chopin evidently meant to have that note played.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Masters Cannot be Studied in Order</i></div> + +<p>Will you give me your views as to the order in which the masters of +piano composition should be studied?</p> + +<p>To classify composers, without specifying their works, is never +advisable. Beethoven's first and last sonatas differ so fundamentally +from each other in every particular that one may play the first one very +well and yet be for many years (perhaps forever) unable to play the last +one. And still, it is the same Beethoven that wrote both works. We can, +therefore, hardly speak of an "order of composers." So long as we are +dealing with masters the question should not be: Which +master?—but, Which composition does your stage of mental and +technical development call for? If you will defer the study of any other +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">Pg 91</a></span> +composer until you have fully mastered the works of +Beethoven—only the principal ones, at that—you will need a +life of more length than the Bible allots to the average man.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Greatest Composers as Pianists</i></div> + +<p>Is it true that nearly all the great composers have been pianists?</p> + +<p>If by pianists you mean musicians whose sole medium of audible musical +utterance was the piano, your question admits of no other than an +affirmative reply. The only exception I can think of just now was +Berlioz; there were, no doubt, others, but none who belongs to the truly +great ones. The reason for this is, perhaps, the circumstance that the +pianist throughout his education is brought into touch with greater +polyphony than the players of other instruments, and that polyphony is a +basic principle in music.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Study of Operatic Transcriptions</i></div> + +<p>Is the study of Thalberg's operatic transcriptions of any value to the +piano student?</p> + +<p>Operatic transcriptions begin with Liszt. What was written before him in +that line<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">Pg 92</a></span> +(and in some degree contemporary with him, hence it +includes Thalberg) is hardly of any significance. If you feel a special +inclination toward the transcriptions of Thalberg you may play them; +they will not harm you so very much. But if you ask me whether they are +of any musical value I must frankly say, no.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Modern Piano Music</i></div> + +<p>Are such pieces as "Beautiful Star of Heaven" or "Falling Waters" in +good taste? What contemporary composers write good piano music?</p> + +<p>Pieces with pretentious names are usually devoid of such contents as +their names imply, so that the names are merely a screen to hide the +paucity of thoughts and ideas. Speaking very generally, there seems to +be not very much good music written for the piano just at present. By +far the best comes from Russia. Most of these compositions are rather +difficult to play, but there are some easy ones to be found among them, +such as the "Music Box," by Liadow, "Fantastic Fairy Tales," No. 12, by +Pachulski, and others. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">Pg 93</a></span></p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Exercises" id="Exercises">EXERCISES AND STUDIES</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Exercises for the Beginner to Practise</i></div> + +<p>Is there any special book of practice exercises that you think best for +a beginner and that you would care to recommend?</p> + +<p>Any reliable music publisher will tell you which book of exercises is +most in demand. The effect of the exercises depends, of course, upon the +way you play them. Indications as to touch, etc., are usually given in +such books. What kind of exercises your case demands cannot be +determined without a personal examination by an expert.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Good Finger Exercises</i></div> + +<p>What would you say are the best studies for plain finger work?</p> + +<p>The exercises of "Pischna" are to be recommended. They have appeared in +two editions, of which one is abridged. They are known as the "large" +and the "small Pischna." You may obtain them through any large music +house, I think, in the Steingräber Edition.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Value of Heller's Studies</i></div> + +<p>Are Heller's studies practical for a young student lacking in rhythm and +expression?</p> + +<p>Yes, they are very good, provided the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">Pg 94</a></span> +teacher insists that the pupil plays exactly what is indicated and does not merely "come near +it."</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Good Intermediate Books of Etudes</i></div> + +<p>Living in the country, where there is no teacher available, I would +thank you for telling me what Etudes I ought to study. I have finished +those by Cramer and Moscheles, and can play them well, but find those by +Chopin too difficult. Are there no intermediate works?</p> + +<p>You seem to be fond of playing Etudes. Well, then, I suggest:</p> + +<p>"Twelve Etudes for Technique and Expression," by Edmund Neupert.</p> + +<p>"Concert Etudes," by Hans Seeling (Peters Edition).</p> + +<p>"Etudes," by Carl Baermann (two books), published in Germany.</p> + +<p>"Etudes," by Ruthardt (Peters Edition).</p> + +<p>But why not select an easy Etude by Chopin and make a start? The best +preparation—if not the Etudes themselves—is Heller's Opus +154.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Etudes For Advanced Players to Work at</i></div> + +<p>What regular technical work would you prescribe for a fairly advanced +pianist—one who plays pretty well such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">Pg 95</a></span> +things as the Chopin Etudes in C minor, Opus 10, No. 12, and in D flat, Opus 25, No. +8, and the B flat minor prelude?</p> + +<p>My advice to advanced players is always that they should construct their +technical exercises out of such material as the different places in the +pieces at hand furnish. If you should feel the need of Etudes for +increasing your endurance and control of protracted difficult passages I +suggest that you take up the Etudes by Baermann and those by Kessler. +The former are a little easier than the latter.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Value of Clementi's "Gradus" To-day</i></div> + +<p>My first teacher laid great store by Clementi's "Gradus ad Parnassum," +and insisted upon taking every study in it, while my new teacher, with +whom I recently started lessons, says that it is "outlived, +superannuated." Was my old or my new teacher right?</p> + +<p>They were both right; one as a pedagogue, the other as a musician. As +you do not mention the reason of your first teacher's insistence, I must +assume that he employed the "Gradus" as exercises, pure and simple. It +serves this purpose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">Pg 96</a></span> +quite well, though even as studies for the +applying of technical disciplines they are, on account of their dryness, +"outlived," as your new teacher correctly says. Modern writers have +produced studies which combine with their technical usefulness greater +musical value and attractiveness.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Polyrhythms" id="Polyrhythms">POLYRHYTHMS</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Playing Duple Time Against Triple</i></div> + +<p>How must I execute triplets played against two-eighths? In Clementi's +Sonatina, Opus 37, No. 3, first page, you will find such bars.</p> + +<p>In a slow tempo it may serve you to think of the second eighth-note of +the triplet as being subdivided into two sixteenths. After both hands +have played the first note of their respective groups simultaneously, +the place of the aforesaid second sixteenth is to be filled by the +second note of the couplet. In faster motion it is far better to +practise at first each hand alone and with somewhat exaggerated accents +of each group until the two relative speeds are well established in the +mind. Then try to play the two hands together in a sort of +semi-automatic way. Frequent correct<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">Pg 97</a></span> +repetition of the same figure will soon change your semi-automatic state into a conscious one, +and thus train your ear to listen to and control two different rhythms +or groupings at the same time.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Two Hands Playing Different Rhythms</i></div> + +<p>How should, in Chopin's Fantasy Impromptu, the four notes of the right +be played to the three of the left? Is an exact division possible?</p> + +<p>An exact division would lead to such fractions as the musician has no +means of measuring and no terms for expressing. There is but one way to +play unequal rhythms simultaneously in both hands; study each hand +separately until you can depend upon it, and put them together without +thinking of either rhythm. Think of the points where the two hands have +to meet, the "dead points" of the two motions, and rely on your +automatism until, by frequent hearing, you have learned to listen to two +rhythms at once.</p> + +<div style="text-align: center"><img src="images/png0017b.jpg" alt=""/></div> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">Pg 98</a></span> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Old Problem of Duple Time Against Triple</i></div> + +<p>How should the above-quoted notes be brought in with the lower triplets?</p> + +<p>It would be futile to attempt a precise and conscious division in such +cases. The best, in fact, the only, way to do is to practise the hands +separately with an exaggerated accent on each beat until the points +where the hands meet are well conceived and the relative speed ratios +are well understood. Then try to play the hands together, and do not be +discouraged if the first attempts fail. Repeat the trial often and you +will finally succeed if the separate practice has been sufficient to +produce a semi-automatic action of the hands.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Phrasing" id="Phrasing">PHRASING</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Value and Correct Practice of Phrasing</i></div> + +<p>Can you give an amateur a concise definition of phrasing and a few +helpful suggestions as to clear phrasing?</p> + +<p>Phrasing is a rational division and subdivision of musical sentences, +and serves to make them intelligible. It corresponds closely with +punctuation in literature and its recitation. Find out the start, the +end, and the culminating point of your phrase. The last-named<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_99" id="Page_99">Pg 99</a></span> is usually to be found upon the +highest note of the phrase, while the former are usually indicated by +phrasing slurs. Generally speaking, the rising of the melody is combined +with an increase of strength up to the point of culmination, where, in +keeping with the note design, the decrease of strength sets in. For +artistic phrasing it is of the utmost importance properly to recognize +the principal mood of the piece, for this must, naturally, influence the +rendition of every detail in it. A phrase occurring in an agitated +movement, for instance, will have to be rendered very differently from a +similar-looking phrase in a slow, dreamy movement.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Do Not Raise Wrist in Marking a Rest</i></div> + +<p>In observing a rest should the hand be raised from the wrist?</p> + +<p>Never! Such a motion should be made only in rapid wrist octaves or other +double notes when a staccato is prescribed. The regular way to conclude +a phrase, or observe a pause, as you say, is to lift the arm from the +keyboard and keep the wrist perfectly limp, so that the arm carries the +loosely hanging hand upward. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">Pg 100</a></span></p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Rubato" id="Rubato">RUBATO</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>As to Playing Rubato</i></div> + +<p>Will you please tell me what is the best method of playing rubato?</p> + +<p>The artistic principles ruling rubato playing are good taste and keeping +within artistic bounds. The physical principle is balance. What you +shorten of the time in one phrase or part of a phrase you must add at +the first opportunity to another in order that the time "stolen" +(rubato) in one place may be restituted in another. The æsthetic law +demands that the total time-value of a music piece shall not be affected +by any rubato, hence, the rubato can only have sway within the limits of +such time as would be consumed if the piece were played in the strictest +time.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>How to Play Passages Marked "Rubato"</i></div> + +<p>I find an explanation of <i>tempo rubato</i> which says that the hand which +plays the melody may move with all possible freedom, while the +accompanying hand must keep strict time. How can this be done?</p> + +<p>The explanation you found, while not absolutely wrong, is very +misleading, for it can find application only in a very few isolated +cases; only inside of one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">Pg 101</a></span> +short phrase and then hardly satisfactorily. Besides, the words you quote are not an explanation, but +a mere assertion or, rather, allegation. <i>Tempo rubato</i> means a +wavering, a vacillating of time values, and the question whether this is +to extend over both hands or over only one must be decided by the +player's good taste; it also depends upon whether the occupation of the +two hands can be thought of as separate and musically independent. I +assume that you are able to play each hand alone with perfect freedom, +and I doubt not that you can, with some practice, retain this freedom of +each hand when you unite them, but I can see only very few cases to +which you could apply such skill, and still less do I see the advantage +thereof.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Perfect Rubato the Result of Momentary Impulse</i></div> + +<p>In playing <i>rubato</i> do you follow a preconceived notion or the impulse +of the moment?</p> + +<p>Perfect expression is possible only under perfect freedom. Hence, the +perfect <i>rubato</i> must be the result of momentary impulse. It is, +however, only a few very eminent players that have such command<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_102" id="Page_102">Pg 102</a></span> over this means of expression as +to feel safe in trusting their momentary impulses altogether. The +average player will do well carefully to consider the shifting of time +values and to prepare their execution to a certain degree. This should +not, however, be carried too far, as it would impair the naturalness of +expression and lead to a stereotyped mannerism.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Difference Between Conception and Rubato</i></div> + +<p>Is there any difference between conception and <i>rubato?</i></p> + +<p>Conception is a generic term and comprises the service of each and all +means of expression, among which <i>rubato</i> plays a somewhat prominent +part. For it is, so to speak, the musical pulse-beat of the player. +Being subordinate to conception, its function and manner must be +governed by the latter.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Conception" id="Conception">CONCEPTION</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Different Conceptions May be Individually Correct</i></div> + +<p>Can one and the same phrase be conceived differently by different +artists and still be individually correct in each instance?</p> + +<p>Certainly! Provided that—whatever the conception be—it +preserves the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">Pg 103</a></span> +logical relations of the parts in building up the +phrase, and that it is carried through the whole course of the piece in +a consistent manner. Whether a certain conception of a phrase is or is +not compatible with the general character of the piece and how far the +freedom of conception may extend, it will be for the æsthetic training +and the good taste of the player to determine for each and every case +separately.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Which Should Come First—Conception or Technique?</i></div> + +<p>In the first attempts at a new piece must matters of conception be +observed at once or only after the piece has been technically mastered?</p> + +<p>Unless one is a very experienced reader it will be hardly possible to +think of matters of conception until the technical means to express them +and the necessary perspective of the piece have been gained. It is +always safer first to make sure that the notes as such, and their +respective times value have been read correctly, and that the technical +difficulties have, to a fair degree, been overcome. This done, the +question must be settled as to whether the general character<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_104" id="Page_104">Pg 104</a></span> of the piece is dramatic, <i>i. +e.</i>, tragic or conciliatory, melancholy, lyric, rhapsodic, humorous, or +changeable, and so forth. Only when our mind on this point is made up +with the utmost definiteness, can we approach the details that are +conditioned by the conception.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Force_of_Example" id="Force_of_Example">FORCE OF EXAMPLE</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Hearing a Piece Before Studying It</i></div> + +<p>Should a pupil hear a piece played before studying it?</p> + +<p>If the pupil's imagination needs stimulation he should hear the piece +well played before studying it. If, however, he is merely too lazy to +find out the rhythm, melody, and so forth, and rather relies upon his +purely imitative faculty, he should not hear it, but be compelled to do +his own reading and thinking.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Theory" id="Theory">THEORY</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Why the Pianist Should Study Harmony</i></div> + +<p>Do you recommend the study of harmony and counterpoint to the piano +student?</p> + +<p>By all means! To gain a musical insight into the pieces you play you +must be able to follow the course of their harmonies and understand the +contrapuntal treatment of their themes. Without +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">Pg 105</a></span>the knowledge +gained through a serious study of harmony and counter-point your +conceptions will be pure guesswork and will lack in outline and +definiteness.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Why so Many Different Keys?</i></div> + +<p>Why is it supposed to be necessary to have fifteen keys to complete the +circle of fifths? Why would not twelve suffice, and thus avoid duplicate +keys?</p> + +<p>Not fifteen, but twenty-five tonalities complete the circle of fifths, +theoretically, and they are all necessary because of the many harmonic +turns that occur in modern music and which could not be intelligently +demonstrated unless we use the tonalities with seven, eight, nine or +more sharps and flats. For otherwise we might have to change the +signature so frequently as to become utterly confusing to even the most +musicianly reader. C-sharp minor has but four sharps, yet the scale of +its dominant (its next relative) has eight sharps.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Relation of Harmony to Piano-Playing</i></div> + +<p>Is it absolutely necessary for me to study harmony in connection with my +piano? My teacher wants me to do it, but I don't see the use! Of what +benefit is harmony?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">Pg 106</a></span></p> + +<p>Of what benefit is the general school-work a child has to go through? To +play the piano well a good hand and so many hours of practice are not +sufficient; it requires a general musical education. This means, first +and foremost, a knowledge of harmony, to which you may later add the +study of counterpoint and forms. Your teacher is absolutely right.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Text-Books on Harmony</i></div> + +<p>Would you care to recommend two or three of the best books on the study +of harmony?</p> + +<p>The doctrine of harmony is ever the same, but the modes of teaching it +are constantly changing and, I trust, improving. For this reason I feel +a certain hesitation in recommending at this time the text-books which I +studied many years ago, especially as I am not certain that they have +been translated into English. I advise you, therefore, to inquire of +some good teacher of harmony or, at least, of a reliable music publisher +or dealer. E. F. Richter and Bussler wrote works of recognized merit, +which, though no longer modern, may be safely studied. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">Pg 107</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Learning to Modulate</i></div> + +<p>Is it possible to learn modulating from a book without the aid of a +teacher, so as to connect two pieces of different tonality?</p> + +<p>Possible, yes, but not probable; for since in your written exercises you +are likely to err at times, you will need some one to point out your +errors and so show you the way to correct them. Generally speaking, I do +not think much of studying the rudiments of anything without the aid of +an experienced adviser.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Studying Counterpoint by One's Self</i></div> + +<p>Is it possible to study counterpoint without a teacher, and, if so, what +book can you recommend for its study?</p> + +<p>It is quite possible, provided you are certain never to misunderstand +your text-book and never to commit any errors. Otherwise you will need +the advice of an experienced musician in correcting them. A good +teacher, however, is always better than a book for this study. Of +text-books there are a great many. Any reliable music house will furnish +you with a list of them. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">Pg 108</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Should Piano Students Try to Compose?</i></div> + +<p>Besides my study of the piano shall I try to compose if I feel the +inclination and believe I have some talent for it?</p> + +<p>The practice of constructing will always facilitate your work of +reconstructing, which is, practically, what the rendition of a musical +work means. Hence, I advise every one who feels able to construct even a +modest little piece to try his hand at it. Of course, if you can write +only a two-step it will not enable you to reconstruct a Beethoven +Sonata; still, there may be little places in the Sonata that will clear +up in your mind more quickly when you have come in touch with the +technical act of putting down on paper what your mind has created, and +you will altogether lose the attitude of the absolute stranger when +facing a new composition. Do not construe this, however, as an +encouragement to write two-steps!</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Student Who Wants to Compose</i></div> + +<p>Please advise me as to the best way of learning composition. Which is +the best work of that kind from which I could learn?</p> + +<p>First learn to write notes. Copying +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">Pg 109</a></span> all sorts of music is the +best practice for that. Then study the doctrine of harmony. Follow it up +by a study of the various forms of counterpoint. Proceed to canon in its +many kinds and intervals. Take up the fugue. Then study forms until you +learn to feel them. Books for every one of these stages there are many, +but better than all the books is a good teacher.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Difference Between Major and Minor Scales</i></div> + +<p>What is the difference between the major and minor scale? Does it lie in +the arrangement of semitones or in the character, or in both?</p> + +<p>There are three differences: First, in the arrangement of the semitones; +second, in the character; and, third, in the circumstance that the minor +scale admits of a number of modifications for melodic purposes which +cannot be made in the major scale.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>There is Only One Minor Scale</i></div> + +<p>Which is the true minor scale, the melodic or the harmonic? My teacher +insists upon the harmonic, but it sounds ugly to me. Will you please +tell me something about it?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">Pg 110</a></span></p> + +<p>There is but one minor scale; it is the one upon which the chords of its +tonality are built; it is the one upon which your teacher wisely +insists, because the so-called melodic minor scale offers no new +intervals to your fingers, and because the term melodic minor scale is +applied to that form of deviation from the real scale which is most +frequently used, but which is by no means the only deviation that is +possible; nor is it the only one in use.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>What is the Difference Between the Major and Minor Scales?</i></div> + +<p>What is the difference between the major and minor scales?</p> + +<p>The major scale has a major third and sixth, while the minor scale has a +minor third and sixth and raises its seventh to a major seventh by an +accidental elevating sign, raising a natural note by a sharp, and a flat +note by a natural. If you begin your major scale upon its sixth degree +and, counting it as the first of the minor, raise the seventh, you +obtain the minor scale, in which, however, many modifications are +admissible for melodic (though not for harmonic) purposes. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">Pg 111</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>How Waltz, Menuet, Mazurka, and Polonaise Differ</i></div> + +<p>As a waltz and a menuet are both in three-fourth time, is it only the +tempo in which they differ, or are there other differences?</p> + +<p>Waltz, menuet, mazurka, and polonaise are all in three-fourth time and +are not confined to a definite tempo. The difference between them lies +in the structure. A waltz period—that is, the full expression of a +theme—needs sixteen measures; a menuet needs only eight, a mazurka +only four measures. In a mazurka a motive occupies only one measure, in +the menuet two, and in the waltz four. The polonaise subdivides its +quarters into eighths, and the second eighth usually into two +sixteenths; it differs, therefore, from the other three dances by its +rhythm.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Meaning of "Toccata"</i></div> + +<p>What is the meaning of the word "Toccata"? I do not find it in the +Italian lexicon and the English musical dictionaries differ widely in +their definitions. None of their definitions seems to apply to the +Toccata by Chaminade.</p> + +<p>To make the matter quite plain let me say, first, that "Cantata" +(from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">Pg 112</a></span> +<i>cantare</i>—to sing) meant in olden times a music +piece to be sung; while "Sonata" (from <i>suonare</i>—to play) +designated a piece to be played on an instrument; and "Toccato" meant a +piece for keyboard instruments like the organ or piano and its +precursors, written with the intention of providing special +opportunities for the display of the skill of touch (from +<i>toccare</i>—to touch) or, as we would now say, finger technique. The +original meanings have changed so that these terms now imply definite +forms, like the modern Cantata and Sonata. The Toccata is, at present, +understood to be a piece in constant and regular motion, very much like +those that are called "<i>moto perpetuo</i>" or "perpetual motion," of which +Weber's "Perpetuum mobile" is a good example. I have no doubt that the +Toccata by Chaminade, which I do not know, is written on similar lines.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="The_Memory" id="The_Memory">THE MEMORY</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Playing from Memory Is Indispensable</i></div> + +<p>Is memorization absolutely essential to a good player?</p> + +<p>Playing from memory is indispensable to the freedom of rendition. You have +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">Pg 113</a></span> +to bear in your mind and memory the whole piece in order +to attend properly to its details. Some renowned players who take the +printed sheets before them on the stage play, nevertheless, from memory. +They take the music with them only to heighten their feeling of security +and to counteract a lack of confidence in their memory—a species +of nervousness.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Easiest Way to Memorize</i></div> + +<p>Will you please tell me which is the easiest way to memorize a piano +piece?</p> + +<p>Begin by playing it a few times very carefully and slowly until you can +play it with a fair degree of exactitude (you need not mind an +occasional stopping). Then go over such places as appeared to you +especially complex until you understand their construction. Now let the +piece rest for a whole day and try to trace in your mind the train of +thoughts in the piece. Should you come to a dead stop be satisfied with +what you have achieved. Your mind will keep on working, subconsciously, +as over a puzzle, always trying to find the continuation. If you find +that the memory is a blank<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">Pg 114</a></span> +take the music in hand, look at the +particular place—but only at this—and, since you have now +found the connection, continue the work of mental tracing. At the next +stop repeat this procedure until you have reached the end, not in every +detail, but in large outlines. Of course, this does not mean that you +can now <i>play</i> it from memory. You have only arrived at the point of +transition from the imagined to the real, and now begins a new kind of +study: to transfer to the instrument what you have mentally absorbed. +Try to do this piece by piece, and look into the printed sheets (which +should not be on the music-rack but away from it) only when your memory +absolutely refuses to go on. The real work with the printed music should +be reserved to the last, and you should regard it in the light of a +proof-reading of your mental impressions. The whole process of absorbing +a piece of music mentally resembles that of photographing. The +development of the acoustic picture (the tone-picture) is like the bath. +The tentative playing is like the process of "fixing" against<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_115" id="Page_115">Pg 115</a></span> sensitiveness to lights; and the +final work with the printed music is the retouching.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>In Order to Memorize Easily</i></div> + +<p>I find it very hard to memorize my music. Can you suggest any method +that would make it easier?</p> + +<p>To retain in one's memory what does not interest one is difficult to +everybody, while that which does interest us comes easy. In your case +the first requirement seems to be that your interest in the pieces you +are to play be awakened. This interest usually comes with a deeper +understanding of music; hence, it may be said that nothing will assist a +naturally reluctant memory so much as a general musical education. +Special studies for the memory have not come to my knowledge because I +never had any need of them. After all, the best way to memorize +is—to memorize. One phrase today, another to-morrow, and so on, +until the memory grows by its own force through being exercised.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Memorizing Quickly and Forgetting as Readily</i></div> + +<p>I memorize very easily, so that I can often play my pieces from memory +before I have fully mastered their technical difficulties, as my +teacher<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">Pg 116</a></span> says. +But I forget them just as quickly, so that in a +few weeks I cannot remember enough of them to play them clear through. +What would you advise, to make my memory more retentive?</p> + +<p>There are two fundamental types of memory: One is very mobile—it +acquires quickly and loses just as quickly; the other is more cumbrous +in its action—it acquires slowly, but retains forever. A +combination of the two is very rare, indeed; I never heard of such a +case. A remedy against forgetting you will find in refreshing your +memory in regular periods, playing your memorized pieces over +(carefully) every four or five days. Other remedies I know not and I see +no necessity for them.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>To Keep Errors from Creeping in</i></div> + +<p>I can always memorize a piece before I can play it fast. Do you advise +practising with notes when I already know it by heart?</p> + +<p>The occasional playing of a memorized piece from the notes will keep +errors from creeping in, provided you read the music correctly and +carefully. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">Pg 117</a></span></p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Sight-Reading" id="Sight-Reading">SIGHT READING</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Best Way to Improve Sight-Reading</i></div> + +<p>Is there any practical method that will assist one to greater rapidity +in sight-reading?</p> + +<p>The best way to become a quick reader is to read as much as possible. +The rapidity of your progress depends upon the state of your general +musical education, for the more complete this is the better you will be +able to surmise the logical sequel of a phrase once started. A large +part of sight-reading consists of surmising, as you will find upon +analyzing your book-reading.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>To Gain Facility in Sight-Reading</i></div> + +<p>What is a good plan to pursue to improve the facility in sight-reading?</p> + +<p>Much reading and playing at sight and as fast as possible, even though +at first some slight inaccuracies may creep in. By quick reading you +develop that faculty of the eye which is meant by "grasp," and this, in +turn, facilitates your reading of details.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Accompanying" id="Accompanying">ACCOMPANYING</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Learning To Accompany at Sight</i></div> + +<p>How can one learn to accompany at sight?</p> + +<p>Develop your sight-reading by playing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">Pg 118</a></span> +many accompaniments, and endeavour—while playing your part—also to read and inwardly +hear the solo part.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Art of Accompanying a Soloist</i></div> + +<p>How should one manage the accompaniment for a soloist inclined to play +rubato?</p> + +<p>Since you cannot make a contract of artistically binding force with a +soloist you must take refuge in "following." But do not take this word +in its literal meaning; rather endeavour to divine the intentions of +your soloist from moment to moment, for this divining is the soul of +accompanying. To be, in this sense, a good accompanist, one must have +what is called in musical slang a good "nose"—that is, one must +musically "scent" whither the soloist is going. But, then, the nose is +one of the things we are born with. We may develop it, as to its +sensitiveness, but we cannot acquire a nose by learning. Experience will +do much in these premises, but not everything.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Learning the Art of Accompanying</i></div> + +<p>Wishing to become an accompanist I anticipate completing my studies in +Berlin. What salary might I expect and what would be the best "course" +to pursue? +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">Pg 119</a></span></p> + +<p>An experienced and very clever accompanist may possibly earn as much as +fifty dollars a week if associated with a vocal, violin, or 'cello +artist of great renown. Usually, however, accompanists are expected to +be able to play solos. There are no special schools for accompanists, +though there may be possibly some special courses in which experience +may be fostered. If you come to Berlin you will find it easy to find +what you seem to be seeking.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Transposing" id="Transposing">TRANSPOSING</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Problem of Transposing at Sight</i></div> + +<p>What, please, is the quickest and safest way of transposing from one key +to another? I have trouble, for instance, in playing for singing if the +piece is in A major and the singer wants it in F major.</p> + +<p>The question of transposing hinges on the process of hearing through the +eye. I mean by this that you must study the piece until you learn to +conceive the printed music as sounds and sound groups, not as key +pictures. Then transfer the sound picture to another tonality in your +mind, very much as if when moving from one floor to another with +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">Pg 120</a></span> +all your household goods you were +to place them on the new floor as they were placed on the old. Practice +will, of course, facilitate this process very much. Transposition at +sight is based on somewhat different principles. Here you have to get +mentally settled in the new tonality, and then follow the course of +intervals. If you find transposition difficult you may derive +consolation from the thought that it is difficult for everybody, and +that transposing at sight is, of course, still more difficult than to +transpose after studying the piece beforehand.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Playing_for_People" id="Playing_for_People">PLAYING FOR PEOPLE</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>When to "Play For People"</i></div> + +<p>During the period of serious study may I play for people (friends or +strangers) or should I keep entirely away from the outside world?</p> + +<p>From time to time you may play for people the pieces you have mastered, +but take good care to go over them afterward—the difficult places +slowly—in order to eliminate any slight errors or unevenness that +may have crept in. To play for people is not only a good incentive for +further aspirations; it also<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">Pg 121</a></span> +furnishes you with a fairly exact +estimate of your abilities and shortcomings, and indicates thereby the +road to improvement. To retire from the outside world during the period +of study is an outlived, obsolete idea which probably originated in the +endeavour to curb the vanity of such students as would neglect their +studies in hunting, prematurely, for applause. I recommend playing for +people moderately and on the condition that for every such "performance" +of a piece you play it afterward twice, slowly and carefully, at home. +This will keep the piece intact and bring you many other unexpected +advantages.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote">"<i>Afraid to Play Before People</i>"</div> + +<p>I can never do myself justice when playing for people, because of my +nervousness. How can I overcome it?</p> + +<p>If you are absolutely certain that your trouble is due to "nervousness" +you should improve the condition of your nerves by proper exercise in +the open air and by consulting your physician. But are you quite sure +that your "nervousness" is not merely another name for +self-consciousness, or, worse yet, for a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">Pg 122</a></span> "bad conscience" on +the score of technical security? In the latter case you ought to perfect +your technique, while in the former you must learn to discard all +thought of your dear self, as well as of your hearers in relation to +you, and concentrate your thinking upon the work you are to do. This you +can well achieve by will-power and persistent self-training.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Effect of Playing the Same Piece Often</i></div> + +<p>I have heard artists play the same piece year after year, and each time +as expressively as before. After a piece has been played several hundred +times it can hardly produce on the player the same emotional effect that +it originally did. Is it possible for a player by his art and technical +resources so to colour his tones that he can stimulate and produce in +his audience an emotional condition which he himself does not at the +time feel?</p> + +<p>In music emotion can be conveyed only through the means and modes of +expression that are peculiar to music, such as dynamic changes, +vacillations of tempo, differences of touch and kindred devices. When a +piece is played in public very often on consecutive +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">Pg 123</a></span> +occasions—which artists avoid as +much as they can—these expressions gradually assume a distinct +form which is quite capable of preservation. Though it will in time lose +its life-breath, it can still produce a deception just as (to draw a +drastic parallel) a dead person may look as if he were only asleep. In +this parallel the artist has, however, one great advantage. Since he +cannot play a piece very often without having a number of errors, +rearrangements, slight changes creeping into it, he must, in order to +eliminate them and to cleanse the piece, return from time to time to +slow practice in which he also refrains almost entirely from expression. +When in the next public performance the right tempo and expression are +added again they tend strongly to renew the freshness of the piece in +the player's mind.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Pianist Who Fails to Express Herself</i></div> + +<p>I love music dearly and my teacher is always satisfied with my lessons, +but when I play for my friends I never make a success. They compliment +me, but I feel that they do not care for my playing; even my mother says +that my playing is "mechanical." How can I change it? +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">Pg 124</a></span></p> + +<p>It is just possible that your friends and your mother may not be +amenable to the high class of music which you play, but if this is not +the case your affliction cannot be cured offhand. If the lack of +expression in your playing should emanate from a lack of feeling in +yourself, then your case would be incurable. If, however, you play +"mechanically" because you do not know how to express your emotions in +your playing—and I suspect it to be so—then you are curable, +although there are no remedies that would act directly. I suggest that +you form close associations with good musicians and with lovers of good +music. By looking well and listening you can learn their modes of +expression and employ them first by imitation until the habit of "saying +something" when you play has grown upon you. I think, though, that you +need an inward change before there can be any outward change.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Art of Playing With Feeling</i></div> + +<p>In the musical manifestations of feeling how does the artist chiefly +differ from the amateur? +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">Pg 125</a></span></p> + +<p>The artist expresses his feelings with due deference to the canons of +art. Above all, he plays correctly without allowing this ever-present +correctness to make his playing seem lacking in feeling. Without unduly +repressing or suppressing his individuality he respects the composer's +intentions by punctiliously obeying every hint or suggestion he finds in +the annotations, concerning speed, force, touch, changes, contrasts, +etc. He delivers the composer's message truthfully. His personality or +individuality reveals itself solely in the way he understands the +composition and in the manner in which he executes the composer's +prescriptions.</p> + +<p>Not so the amateur. Long before he is able to play the piece correctly +he begins to twist and turn things in it to suit himself, under the +belief, I suppose, that he is endowed with an "individuality" so strong +as to justify an indulgence in all manner of "liberties," that is, +licence. Feeling is a great thing; so is the will to express it; but +both are worthless without ability. Hence, before playing with feeling, +it were well to make +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">Pg 126</a></span> +sure that everything in the piece is in +the right place, in the right time, strength, touch, and so forth. +Correct reading—and not only of the notes <i>per se</i>—is a +matter that every good teacher insists upon with his pupils, even in the +earliest grades of advancement. The amateur should make sure of that +before he allows his "feelings" to run riot. But he very seldom does.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Affected Movements at the Piano</i></div> + +<p>Is there any justification for the swaying of the body, the nodding of +the head, the exaggerated motion of the arms, and all grotesque actions +in general while playing the piano, so frequently exhibited not only by +amateurs but by concert players, too?</p> + +<p>All such actions as you describe reveal a lack of the player's proper +self-control when they are unconsciously indulged in. When they are +consciously committed, which is not infrequently the case, they betray +the pianist's effort to deflect the auditors' attention from the +composition to himself, feeling probably unable to satisfy his auditors +with the result of his playing and, therefore, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">Pg 127</a></span>resorting to +illustration by more or less exaggerated gesture. General +well-manneredness, or its absence, has a good deal to do with the +matter.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="About_the_Piano" id="About_the_Piano">ABOUT THE PIANO PER SE</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Is the Piano the Hardest to Master?</i></div> + +<p>Do you believe that the piano is the most difficult of all instruments +to master—more so than the organ or the violin? If so, why?</p> + +<p>The piano is more difficult to master than the organ, because the +tone-production on the piano is not so purely mechanical as it is on the +organ. The pianist's touch is the immediate producer of whatever variety +or colour of tone the moment requires, whereas the organist is powerless +to produce any change of tone colour except by pulling a different stop. +His fingers do not and cannot produce the change. As to string +instruments, their difficulties lie in an entirely different field, and +this fact precludes comparison with the piano. Technically, the string +instrument may be more difficult, but, to become an exponent of musical +art on the piano requires deeper study, because the pianist must +present<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">Pg 128</a></span> +to his hearers the totality of a composition while the +string instruments depend for the most part upon the accompaniments of +some other instruments.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Piano Study for Conductor and Composer</i></div> + +<p>Being a cornet player, and wishing to become a conductor and composer, I +should like to know if the study of the piano is necessary in addition +to my broad, theoretical studies and a common college course.</p> + +<p>It depends upon what you wish to conduct and what to compose. With no +other means of musically expressing yourself than a cornet it is highly +improbable that you will be able to write or conduct a symphony. But you +may be able to lead a brass band and, perhaps, to write a march or dance +piece. If your musical aims are serious by all means take to the piano.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Why the Piano Is So Popular</i></div> + +<p>Why do more people play the piano than any other instrument?</p> + +<p>Because the rudimentary stages of music study are easier on the piano +than on any other instrument. The higher stages, however, are so much +more difficult, and it is then that the piano +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">Pg 129</a></span> gets even with +the bold aggressor. A violinist or 'cellist who can play a melody simply +and with good tone is considered a fairly good amateur, for he must have +mastered the difficulty of tone-production; he must have trained his +right arm. A pianist who can play a melody equally well is the merest +tyro. When he approaches polyphony, when the discrimination begins +between the various parts speaking simultaneously, aye, then the real +work begins—not to speak of velocity. It is, perhaps, for this +reason that in reality there are a great many more violinists than +pianists, if by either we mean persons who really master their +instrument. The number of 'cellists is smaller, but the reason for this +is to be found in the small range of 'cello literature and also, +perhaps, in the comparative unwieldiness of the instrument, which does +not admit of technical development as, for instance, the more handy +violin. If all beginners at the piano realized what exasperating, +harassing, discouraging, nerve-consuming difficulties await them later +and beset the path to that mastery which so few +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">Pg 130</a></span> achieve, there +would be far fewer piano students and more people would study the violin +or the 'cello. Of the harp and the wind instruments I need not speak, +because they are to be considered only in matters orchestral and +not—seriously—as solo instruments.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Genuine Piano Hand</i></div> + +<p>What shape of hand do you consider the best for piano playing? Mine is +very broad, with rather long fingers.</p> + +<p>The best piano hand is not the popular, pretty, narrow hand with long +fingers. Nearly all the great technicians had or have proportioned +hands. The genuine piano hand must be broad, in order to give each +finger a strong base for the action of its phalanges and to give this +base space enough for the development of the various sets of muscles. +The length of the fingers must be in proportion to the width of the +hand, but it is the width which I consider most important.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Composition Must Fit the Player</i></div> + +<p>Would you advise players with small hands to attempt the heavier class +of the compositions by Liszt?</p> + +<p>Never! Whether the hands are too +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">Pg 131</a></span> small or the stretch between +the fingers too narrow—if you attempt a piece which for these or +other physical reasons you cannot fully master, you always run the +serious risk of overstraining. This, however, should be most carefully +avoided. If you cannot play a certain piece without undue physical +strain, leave it alone and remember that singers choose their songs not +because they lie within their compass, but because they suit their +voice. Do likewise. Be guided by the nature and the type of your hand +rather than by its rapidity of execution.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Best Physical Exercise for the Pianist</i></div> + +<p>What physical exercises are most advantageous to be taken in connection +with piano practice? I have been swinging clubs to strengthen wrists and +arms, but have imagined it stiffened my fingers.</p> + +<p>I am inclined to think that what you imagined was not far from the +truth. Can you not replace the real clubs by imaginary ones? Since +club-swinging tends to develop the agility of the arms and wrists rather +than their strength you can easily make the same motions without the +clubs; for all exertion of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">Pg 132</a></span> +force that keeps the hands in a +closed condition is bound to have a bad effect on piano playing. +Undoubtedly the best exercise of all, however, is brisk walking in the +open air, for it engages every part and every organ of the body, and by +compelling deep breathing it fosters the general health through +increased oxygenation.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Horseback Riding Stiffens the Fingers</i></div> + +<p>My teacher objects to my riding horseback; not altogether, but he says I +overdo it and it stiffens my fingers. Is he right?</p> + +<p>Yes, he is. Every abuse carries its own punishment in its train. The +closed position of the hand, the pressure of the reins upon the fingers, +as constant as it is the case in horseback riding, is surely not +advantageous for the elasticity of the fingers. You should, therefore, +allow the effect of one ride upon your fingers to disappear completely +before you indulge in another.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>When to Keep Away from the Piano</i></div> + +<p>Do you think I should play and study the piano just because it is asked +of me, and when I take no interest in it?</p> + +<p>Most emphatically, no! It would be +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">Pg 133</a></span> a crime against yourself and +against music. What little interest in music you may have left would be +killed by a study that is distasteful to you, and this would be, +therefore, bound to lead to failure. Leave this study to people who are +sincerely interested in it. Thank heaven, there are still some of those, +and there always will be some! Be sure, however, that you are really not +interested, and discriminate well between a lack of interest and a mere +opposition to a perhaps too strenuous urging on the part of your +relatives. My advice would be to quit the study for a time entirely; if, +after a while, you feel a craving for music you will find the way to +your instrument. This advice, of course, holds good also for violin +students or any type of music student.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Bad_Music" id="Bad_Music">BAD MUSIC</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Company That One Keeps in Music</i></div> + +<p>Must I persist in playing classical pieces when I prefer to play dance +music?</p> + +<p>If, in your daily life, you wish to be regarded as a lady or a gentleman +you are obliged to be careful as to the company you keep. It is the same +in musical life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">Pg 134</a></span> +If you associate with the noble thoughts that +constitute good—or, as you call it, classical—music, you +will be counted with a higher class in the world of music. Remember that +you cannot go through a flour-mill without getting dusty. Of course, not +all pieces of dance music are bad; but the general run of them are such +poor, if not vulgar, stuff as hardly to deserve the name of +"compositions." Usually they are mere "expositions" of bad taste. Of +these I warn you for your own sake, and if you wish to avoid the danger +of confounding the good and the bad in that line it is best to abstain +from it entirely. If dance music it must be, why, have you never heard +of the waltzes and mazurkas by Chopin?</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Why Rag-Time Is Injurious</i></div> + +<p>Do you believe the playing of the modern rag-time piece to be actually +hurtful to the student?</p> + +<p>I do, indeed, unless it is done merely for a frolic; though even such a +mood might vent itself in better taste. The touch with vulgarity can +never be but hurtful, whatever form vulgarity may assume—whether +it be literature, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">Pg 135</a></span> +person, or a piece of music. Why share the +musical food of those who are, by breeding or circumstance, debarred +from anything better? The vulgar impulse which generated rag-time cannot +arouse a noble impulse in response any more than "dime novels" can +awaken the instincts of gentlemanliness or ladyship. If we watch the +street-sweeper we are liable to get dusty. But remember that the dust on +the mind and soul is not so easily removed as the dust on our clothes.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Ethical" id="Ethical">ETHICAL</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>What the Object of Study Should Be</i></div> + +<p>How can we know that our talent is great enough to warrant us in +bestowing year after year of work upon its development?</p> + +<p>Pleasure and interest should be such that it is in the actual working +that one is repaid. Do not think so much of the end of your work. Do not +force your work with the one view of becoming a great artist. Let +Providence and the future decide your standing in music. Go on studying +with earnestness and interest, and find your pleasure in the endeavour, +not in the accomplishment. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">Pg 136</a></span></p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Pitch" id="Pitch">PITCH AND KINDRED MATTERS</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The International Pitch</i></div> + +<p>What is meant by "pitch" as regards piano tuning? People say that a +certain piano is pitched lower than another. Would E on one piano +actually sound like F on another?</p> + +<p>Yes, it would if the pianos were not pitched alike. It is only recently +that an international pitch has been established which was adopted +everywhere except in England. In the international pitch the A in the +second space of the treble staff makes 435 vibrations a second.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The "International" Piano Pitch</i></div> + +<p>Which piano pitch is preferable, "concert" or "international"?</p> + +<p>By all means the "international," because it will fit your piano to be +used in conjunction with any other instrument, no matter whence it may +come. Besides, the international pitch was decided upon as far back as +1859, in Paris, by a government commission, numbering among its members +such men as Auber, Halévy, Berlioz, Meyerbeer, Rossini, Ambroise Thomas, +and many physicists and army generals. You can easily infer from this +that, in determining that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">Pg 137</a></span> +A in the second space of the +treble staff should have 435 vibrations a second, all phases of +music—vocal, instrumental, string, brass, wood, wind—have +been duly considered.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Well-Tempered Piano Scale</i></div> + +<p>Is there really a difference of three-eighths of a tone between A-sharp +and B-flat on the piano?</p> + +<p>There is no difference on the piano. But acoustically there is a +difference, over which, however, I would waste no time, since the +evenly-tempered scale has been generally adopted, and every composition +from Bach's time to the present day has been thought and written in it.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The "Colour" of Various Keys</i></div> + +<p>Is it not a mistaken idea that any one particular key is more or less +rich or melodious than another?</p> + +<p>The effect of a tonality upon our hearing lies not in its signature (as +even Beethoven seemed to believe) but in the vibration proportions. It +is, therefore, irrelevant whether we play a piece upon a high-pitched +piano in C, or upon a low-pitched piano in D flat. There are certain +keys<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">Pg 138</a></span> +preferable to others for certain colours, but I fear that +the preference is based not upon acoustic qualities but rather upon a +fitness for the hand or voice. We apply the word "colour" as much to +tone as the painters apply "tone" to colour, but I hardly think that +anybody would speak of C major as representing black, or F major green.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="The_Students_Age" id="The_Students_Age">THE STUDENT'S AGE</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Starting a Child's Musical Training</i></div> + +<p>At what age should a child begin the study of instrumental music? If my +daughter (six years old) is to study the violin should she first spend a +few years with the piano, or <i>vice versa</i>?</p> + +<p>The usual age for a child to begin the study of music is between six and +seven years. A pianist hardly needs to learn another instrument to +become a well-rounded musician, but violinists, as well as the players +of all other instruments, and also vocalists, will be much hampered in +their general musical development if they fail to acquire what may be +called a speaking acquaintance with the piano. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">Pg 139</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Age of the Student is Immaterial</i></div> + +<p>I am not longer in my first youth, cannot take more than one hour's +lesson a week, and cannot practise more than three hours a day. Would +you still advise me to begin the study of the piano?</p> + +<p>Provided there is gift and intelligence, the will, and the opportunity +to study, age need not stand in your way. If your three hours of study +are properly used, and your hour's lesson a week is with a good teacher, +you should not become discouraged.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Twenty-five Not Too Late to Begin</i></div> + +<p>Do you think that mastery of the piano is unlikely or impossible when +the beginner is twenty-five years of age?</p> + +<p>It is neither unlikely nor impossible. Your age will to some degree +handicap you, because from purely physical causes the elasticity of the +fingers and wrists could be developed much more quickly if you were ten +years younger. If, however, you are endowed with strong musical gifts in +the abstract you will achieve results superior to those attained by +younger people with less talent. In overcoming the difficulties due to a +late<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">Pg 140</a></span> +beginning you will find great inward satisfaction, and +your attainments are bound to be a source of joy to you.</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Teachers" id="Teachers">TEACHERS, LESSONS AND METHODS</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Importance of the Right Teacher</i></div> + +<p>I have a son who is very desirous of learning to play the piano. I have +been advised that an ordinarily good teacher is good enough to begin +with. Others tell me a beginner should get the best teacher possible. +Which would you advise? I live in a small town.</p> + +<p>The seriousness of your question is aggravated by the statement that you +live in a small town, and that there is possibly no teacher of ability +to be found in your town. And yet it is only such a one that I can +recommend for your son. For nothing is more dangerous for the +development of a talent than a bad foundation. Many people have tried +all their lives to rid themselves of the bad habits acquired from an +ignorant teacher in the rudimentary stages of their studies, and have +failed. I should advise you to try your best to send your boy to some +near-by city where there is an excellent teacher. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">Pg 141</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Nothing But the Best Will Do</i></div> + +<p>Wishing to begin the study of the piano now, in my twenty-fourth year, +just for the sake of my great love for music, and knowing not even the +notes, is it necessary to go to an expensive teacher at once or would a +cheaper teacher do for the beginning?</p> + +<p>If music is to be merely a pastime, and you content yourself with a +minimum of knowledge, the cheaper teacher will do; but if you aspire to +become musical in a better sense, why, by all means, apply to a teacher +of the better class. The maxim: "For the beginning this or that is good +enough," is one of the most harmful fallacies. What would you think of +an architect who says: "For the foundation loam is good enough; we put a +sandstone house over it, any way." Remember also, that the road a +cheaper teacher has led you to take must usually be retraced when your +aspirations rise toward the better in music.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Music Schools and Private Teachers</i></div> + +<p>Shall I take my lessons in a music school or from a private teacher?</p> + +<p>Music schools are very good for acquiring a general musical +education.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">Pg 142</a></span> +For the higher study of an executive specialty +(piano, violin, the voice, etc.) I should naturally prefer private +instruction from a specialist, because he can give more attention to +each individual pupil than is possible under the wholesale system +followed, not by all, but by the majority of music schools. What I +should advise would be a combination: General matters—harmony, +counterpoint, forms, history, and æsthetics—in a music school; and +private lessons for your specialty from a teacher who has an established +name as an executive artist. The best music schools have such a man at +their head, and in these you find the best combination.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Individual Teacher, or Conservatory?</i></div> + +<p>After taking lessons for five years and a half from a good teacher, +would you advise a continuance with the individual teacher or attendance +at a college of music or conservatory?</p> + +<p>For a general musical education I always recommend a good music school +or conservatory. For the study of the piano I think it best to take +private lessons from an artist who is experienced +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">Pg 143</a></span> both as an +executant and as a teacher. Some music schools have such men on their +staff, if not, indeed, at their head.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Where Outside Criticism Is Desirable</i></div> + +<p>Having had twenty months' lessons and having now mastered Etudes by +Berens, opus 61, by Heller, opus 47, and Smith's Octave Studies, do you +think I am justified in continuing my lessons?</p> + +<p>Assuming that you have really "mastered" the works you mention I can +only encourage you to continue your lessons; I would, however, advise +you to obtain an experienced pianist's criticism in order to assure +yourself that your idea of "mastering" is right.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Sex of the Piano Teacher</i></div> + +<p>Is there any preference as to sex in the question of choosing a piano +teacher; in other words, is a woman teacher preferable for any reason +for a girl and a man teacher for a man?</p> + +<p>Your question does not admit of generalization from a purely musical +point of view. It must be—on this premise—decided by the +quality, not by the sex, of the teacher. A good feminine teacher is +better than a bad masculine one, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">Pg 144</a></span> <i>vice versa</i>. The question +of sex does not enter into the matter. Of course, the greater number of +eminent teachers are found on the masculine side.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Too Much "Method"</i></div> + +<p>My recently engaged teacher says that the word "method" jars on her +nerves. Kindly advise me whether a method is not the best thing for a +novice, and, if so, which one?</p> + +<p>Your teacher, while possibly a little over-sensitive, is not wrong. +America is the most method-ridden country in the world. Most of the +methods in vogue contain some good points—about a grain of truth +to a ton of mere ballast. Your teacher's utterance makes me think that +you were lucky in finding her, and that you have excellent reason to +trust in her guidance.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>What the Leschetizky Method Is</i></div> + +<p>How does the Leschetizky method rank with other methods, and in what +respect does it differ from them?</p> + +<p>There are but two methods in all the arts: a good one and a bad one. +Since you do not specify with what "other" methods you wish to compare +that of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">Pg 145</a></span> +Leschetizky I cannot answer you with definiteness. +There are, alas, so many "methods"! But the majority of them are based +upon a deliberate disregard for that reverence which is due to great +compositions and to the example of their rendition given by great +interpreters. I have not studied with Leschetizky, but I think that he +believes in a very low position of the hand and a sort of +super-energetic tension of the tendons of the arms and hands.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Give Your Teacher a Fair Trial</i></div> + +<p>Has a young pupil, after studying the piano irregularly for two months, +tested fairly a teacher's ability?</p> + +<p>Of course not! Altogether I do not like the idea of a pupil's testing +his teacher's ability, rather the reverse. He may possibly find his +teacher unsympathetic, but even this matter he is apt to judge +prematurely. In most cases of irregularly attended or poorly prepared +lessons the lack of sympathy means nothing more than that the pupil is a +trifler and the teacher's honesty of purpose is not to his taste. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">Pg 146</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Either Trust Your Teacher or Get a New One</i></div> + +<p>I have a "Piano Method," left over from lessons with my first teacher; +it was very expensive, and I learned only a few pages of it. We moved to +a different city and my new teacher objects to using the book, or, as +she says, any such book. I do not know what to do about it, and would +thank you for your advice.</p> + +<p>When you apply to a teacher for instruction you must, first of all, +decide in your own mind whether you have or have not absolute confidence +in his ability. If you trust him you must do as you are advised to do; +if not, you must apply to another teacher. A book, costing much or +little, plays no part in the matter. By what you say of the new teacher, +however, I am disposed to think that he is better than the first one.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Proper Course For a Little Girl</i></div> + +<p>Commencing piano lessons with my seven-year-old daughter, should I +devote my efforts to the development of the fingers and hands, or retard +such development so as to keep pace with the expansion of the mind?</p> + +<p>Your question is interesting. But if +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">Pg 147</a></span> your mind is clear on that +point—and it seems to be—that a one-sided development (in +this case technical) is dangerous to the "musical" talent of your little +daughter, why, then, your little girl is, indeed, "out of danger." Your +very question is a credit to your insight.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Frequent Lessons and Shorter</i></div> + +<p>Is it better for a young student to take one hour lesson or two +half-hour lessons a week?</p> + +<p>Since young students are liable to form bad habits it is essential that +they should come under the teacher's eye as frequently as possible. +Hence, it is preferable to divide the hour into two equidistant parts.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Number of Lessons Depends on Progress</i></div> + +<p>Which plan is better for a child of eleven or twelve years: to take a +one-hour lesson or two half-hour lessons a week?</p> + +<p>The child's age is not the determining factor in this matter; it is his +musical status.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>One Lesson a Week</i></div> + +<p>Is one lesson a week inadequate for a piano student?</p> + +<p>It will be sufficient in the more advanced stages of piano study. In +the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">Pg 148</a></span> +earlier stages, however, where the danger of forming bad +habits is greatest, it is best to bring the pupil under his teacher's +eye twice a week at the very least.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Better Not Give the Child "Modified Classics"</i></div> + +<p>What little classics are best for a child after six months' lessons?</p> + +<p>There are collections without number of facilitated or simplified +arrangements of classic pieces, but I do not altogether approve of them. +Let the classics wait until the child is technically—and, above +all, mentally—ripe to approach such works as they are written.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Can Music Be Studied in America?</i></div> + +<p>Is it necessary for me to go to Europe to continue my music studies?</p> + +<p>If you have very much money to spare, why not? You will see much, also +hear much—and some of it not quite so sublime as you +anticipated—and, last but not least, you will have "studied +abroad." While this slogan still exercises a certain charm upon some +people in America, their number is growing less year by year, because +the public has begun to understand that the United States affords just +as good instruction in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">Pg 149</a></span> +music as Europe does. It has also been +found out that to "study abroad" is by no means a guarantee of a +triumphant return. Many a young student who went abroad as a lamb +returned as a mutton-head. And why should there not be excellent +teachers in America by this time? Even if you should insist upon a +European teacher you can find many of the best in America. Is it not +simpler that one teacher from Europe go to America to teach a hundred +students than that a hundred students should make the trip for the sake +of one teacher? I should advise you to stay where you are or go to +Philadelphia, New York, or Boston, where you can find excellent +teachers, native, resident Americans and foreigners. To quote a case in +point, let me say that in Berlin I found Godowsky's pupils to be almost +exclusively Americans. They came from various sections of America to +study with him and with no one else. But during the eighteen years he +spent in Chicago they did not seem to want him. Perhaps he was too near +by! Why this self-deception? Without mentioning any names I assure you +that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">Pg 150</a></span> +there are many teachers in America now who, if they should +go to Europe, would draw a host of students after them, and some of +these excellent men I know personally. It is high time to put an end to +the superstitious belief in "studying abroad."</p> +</div> + +<h5><a name="Miscellaneous" id="Miscellaneous">MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS</a></h5> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Organizing a Musical Club</i></div> + +<p>Please give me the name of a good book on musical history and advise me +how to organize and conduct a musical club among my pupils. Also give me +a name, please.</p> + +<p>You will find the "History of Music," by Baltzell, a serviceable book. +As a name for your club I suggest that of the patron saint of +music—Saint Cecilia—perhaps, or that of a great composer. +Ask the secretaries of a number of musical clubs for their constitutions +and by-laws and then adapt these to your locality and circumstances. +Make your pupils feel that it is their club and act, yourself, as +secretary, if possible.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>How to Get Music Published</i></div> + +<p>Please explain how to go about publishing a piece of music, and also +give the name of some good publishing houses. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">Pg 151</a></span></p> + +<p>It is very easy to publish a piece of music if the publisher sees any +merit in it. Send your piece to any publishing house whose name you find +on the title pages of your sheet music. The readers or advisers of the +house will report to their chief as to the merit of your piece, and he +will then decide and negotiate with you, if his decision is favourable. +If he should not care for it he will return your manuscript and you may +try some other house. I advise you, however, to obtain the opinion of a +good musician before you send your piece to a publisher.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>"Playing in Time" and "Playing in Rhythm"</i></div> + +<p>What is the difference between playing "in time" and playing "in +rhythm"?</p> + +<p>Playing in rhythm refers to the inner life of a composition—to its +musical pulsation. Playing in time means the prompt arrival upon those +points of repose which are conditioned by the rhythm.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Student Who Cannot Play Fast Music</i></div> + +<p>I find great difficulty in playing anything that goes quick, though in a +more moderate tempo I can play my pieces faultlessly. Every teacher I +had promised to develop my speed, but they all +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">Pg 152</a></span> failed. Can you +give me a hint how to overcome my difficulty?</p> + +<p>Quickness of action, of motion, even of resolution, cannot be acquired +by training alone; it must partly be inborn. I assume that your +piano-playing is one phase of a general slowness. There is but one +remedy for that. You have relied upon your teachers to develop your +speed—you should have relied upon your own will-power. Try to will +it and to will it often; you will see the ability keep step with the +exertions of your will.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>"Wonder-Children" as Pianists</i></div> + +<p>My child of five years of age shows signs of great talent for music. He +has a keen, true ear, and plays rather well for his age. Does this +justify me in hoping that something out of the ordinary will become of +him? They say that so-called "wonder-children" never amount to anything +in later life.</p> + +<p>That "wonder-children" never amount to anything in later life is not +borne out by history. If some are disappointments it is either because +they astonished by mere executive precocity, instead of<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_153" id="Page_153">Pg 153</a></span> charming by their talent, or +because they were ruined by unscrupulous parents or managers who +confounded the promise of a future with its realization. But, aside from +these few, all great musicians were "wonder-children," whether they +became composers, pianists, violinists, 'cellists, or what not. The +biographies of our great masters of the past centuries as well as those +of more recent times (Mendelssohn, Wagner, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, +Rubinstein, and all the others), will bear me out in this statement. If +your child shows more than mere precocity—if, for instance, he +does not merely play in his fifth year what others play in their tenth, +but shows qualities of musical superiority—then you may with a +fair degree of certainty feel hopeful of a fine musical future for him.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>The Value of Going to Concerts</i></div> + +<p>Shall I attend orchestra concerts or shall I give preference to +soloists?</p> + +<p>By all means attend orchestra and chamber-music concerts! For these will +acquaint you with those works which are, after all, of the greatest +importance to the student. Besides, you will usually +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">Pg 154</a></span> hear more +correct interpretations than from soloists. The latter, with some +luminous exceptions, overestimate their own authority and take such +unseemly liberties that in many cases you hear more Smith, Jones, or +Levy than Beethoven, Schumann, or Chopin. Individuality in a soloist is +certainly a great quality, but only if it is tempered by a proper +deference to the composer of the work in hand. If you cannot hear a +soloist who is capable of sinking his individuality in the thought, +mood, and style of the composer he is interpreting—and this is +given to only the very greatest—you do far better to prefer to the +"individual" renditions of a soloist the "collective" renditions of the +orchestra or string quartette. The synthetic nature of the orchestra +forestalls the extravagances of so-called individuality and insures, +generally speaking, a truthful interpretation. The very worst conductor +imaginable cannot do as much harm to a composition as can a mediocre +soloist, for an orchestra is a large body and, therefore, not so easily +moved and shifted from the path of musical rectitude +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">Pg 155</a></span> as is a +single voice or an instrument. A really great soloist is, of course, the +finest flower of the garden of applied music, for his touch with the +instrument is immediate and he needs no middleman to express the finest +shades of his conceptions; while the conductor—and even the +best—has to impart his conception (through the baton, facial +expression, and gesture) to other people before it can become audible, +and on this circuitous route much of the original fervour and ardour may +be lost. But there are more good orchestras than great soloists, and +hence you are safe in attending orchestra and chamber-music concerts.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Books That Aid the Student Working Alone</i></div> + +<p>Compelled to study without a teacher for two years before I can go to a +conservatory, what method should I study for my technique and what +pieces?</p> + +<p>You fail to say whether you are a beginner or already somewhat advanced. +Still, I think it safe to recommend Mason's "Touch and Technique," +Sternberg's Etudes, opus 66; and select your pieces from the graded +catalogues which any publisher will be glad to send you.<span class="pagenum"><a +name="Page_156" id="Page_156">Pg 156</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Music as a Profession or as an Avocation</i></div> + +<p>Would you advise a young man with a good foundation to choose +music—that is, concertizing—as a career, or should he keep +his music as an accomplishment and avocation?</p> + +<p>Your distinguishing between music and concertizing gives direction to my +reply; that the question was not answered by your own heart before you +asked it prompts me to advise music for you as an avocation. The +artist's career nowadays is not so simple as it appears to be. Of a +thousand capable musicians there is, perhaps, one who attains to a +general reputation and fortune. The rest of them, after spending money, +time, and toil, give up in despair, and with an embittered disposition +take up some other occupation. If you do not depend upon public +music-making for a living; if your natural endowments are not of a very +unusually high order, and if your entire personality does not imply the +exercise of authority over assemblages of people—spiritual +authority, I mean—it were better to enjoy your music in the circle +of your friends. It is less risky and will, in all probability, give you +much greater satisfaction. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">Pg 157</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>How Much You Can Get From Music</i></div> + +<p>When I hear a concert pianist I want to get more from his playing than +æsthetic ear enjoyment. Can you give me a little outline of points for +which to look that may help me in my piano study?</p> + +<p>There is no pleasure or enjoyment from which we can derive more than we +bring with us in the way of receptiveness. As you deepen your study of +music and gain insight into its forms, contrapuntal work and harmonic +beauties you will derive more and more pleasure from listening to a good +pianist the deeper your studies go. What their playing reflects of +emotional life you will perceive in the exact measure of your own grasp +upon life. Art is a medium connecting, like a telegraph, two stations: +the sender of a message and the receiver. Both must be pitched equally +high to make the communication perfect.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote">"<i>It is So Much Easier to Read Flats Than Sharps!</i>"</div> + +<p>You would confer a favour upon a teacher by solving a problem for her +that has puzzled her all her life; why do all pupils prefer flats to +sharps? I am not at all sure that I do not, in some +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">Pg 158</a></span> degree, +share this preference. Is it a fault of training, or has it any other cause?</p> + +<p>Your question is both original and well justified by frequent +observation, for it is quite true that people prefer to read flats to +sharps. But note it well that the aversion to sharps refers only to the +reading, not to the playing. If any one should find it harder to <i>play</i> +in sharps, say, after knowing the notes well, it would be a purely +subjective deception, due to a mental association of the note-picture +with the respective sounds. My personal belief is that the aversion to +the <i>reading</i> of sharps is caused by the comparative complexity of the +sign itself, and this leads me to think that the whole matter belongs +rather to ophthalmology than to either acoustics or music.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Rubinstein or Liszt—Which the Greater?</i></div> + +<p>As between Liszt and Rubinstein, whom do you consider the greater?</p> + +<p>Rubinstein I knew very well (I was his pupil), and have heard him play a +great many times. Liszt, who died when I was sixteen years old and had +not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">Pg 159</a></span> +appeared in public for some twenty years previously, I +never met and never heard. Still, from the descriptions which many of my +friends gave me of him, and from the study of his works, I have been +able to form a fair idea of his playing and his personality. As a +virtuoso I think Liszt stood above Rubinstein, for his playing must have +possessed amazing, dazzling qualities. Rubinstein excelled by his +sincerity, by his demoniacal, Heaven-storming power of great +impassionedness, qualities which with Liszt had passed through the sieve +of a superior education and—if you understand how I mean that +term—gentlemanly elegance. He was, in the highest meaning of the +word, a man of the world; Rubinstein, a world-stormer, with a sovereign +disregard for conventionality and for Mrs. Grundy. The principal +difference lay in the characters of the two. As musicians, with regard +to their natural endowments and ability, they were probably of the same +gigantic calibre, such as we would seek in vain at the present +time.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">Pg 160</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>As to One Composer—Excluding All Others</i></div> + +<p>If I am deeply interested in Beethoven's music can I not find in him all +that there is in music, in both an æsthetic and a technical sense? Is +any one's music more profound?</p> + +<p>You imagine yourself in an impenetrable stronghold whence, safe from all +attacks, you may look upon all composers (except Beethoven) with a +patronizing, condescending smile. But you are gravely in error. Life is +too rich in experience, too many-sided in its manifestations, to permit +any one master, however great, to exhaust its interpretation through his +art. If you base your preference for Beethoven upon your sympathies, and +if, for this reason, his music satisfies you better than that of any +other composer, you are to be complimented upon your good taste. But +that gives you no right to contest, for instance, the profoundness of +Bach, the æsthetic charm of Chopin, the wonders of Mozart's art, nor the +many and various merits of your contemporary composers. The least that +one can be charged with who finds the whole of life expressed in +any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">Pg 161</a></span> +one composer is one-sidedness, not to speak of the fact +that the understanding cannot be very deep for one master if it is +closed to all others. One of the chief requirements for true +connoisseurship is catholicity of taste.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>A Sensible Scheme of Playing for Pleasure</i></div> + +<p>I am fifty-six years old, live in the mountains sixty-five miles from +any railroad, alone with my husband, and I have not taken lessons in +thirty-five years. Do you think "Pischna" would help me much to regain +my former ability to play? If not, what would you advise me to do?</p> + +<p>Refrain from all especially technical work. Since your love of music is +strong enough to cause you to resume your playing you should take as +much pleasure in it as possible and work technically only in the pieces +you play—that is, in those places which offer you difficulties. +Decide upon a comfortable fingering first, and practise the difficult +places separately and slowly until you feel that you can venture to play +them in their appropriate speed. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">Pg 162</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>First Learn to Play Simple Things Well</i></div> + +<p>What pieces would you advise me to memorize after Rachmaninoff's Prelude +in C-sharp minor and Chopin's A-flat Ballade? These pieces do not appeal +to the majority of people, but I enjoy them.</p> + +<p>If such a work as Chopin's Ballade in A-flat does not "appeal to the +majority"—as you say—the fault cannot lie in the +composition, but must be sought in the interpretation. Why not try a few +pieces of lesser complexity and play them so perfectly that they do +appeal to the majority. Try Chopin's Nocturne, opus 27, No. 2; +Schumann's Romanza, opus. 28, No. 2; or his "Traumerei," or some of the +more pretentious "Songs Without Words" by Mendelssohn.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>About Starting on a Concert Career</i></div> + +<p>I am twenty-four, have had four years' rigorous work in a conservatory +and a partial college training. My technique is adequate for Brahms's +Rhapsody in G minor and McDowell's Sonatas. I have good health and am +determined not to grow self-satisfied. Is there a place on the concert +stage—even if only as an accompanist—for a woman thus +equipped? +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">Pg 163</a></span></p><br/> + +<p>Any public career must begin by earning the good opinion of others. +One's own opinion, however just, is never a criterion. My advice is that +you speak to some of the prominent concert agents, whose names and +addresses you find in every well-accredited music paper. Play for them. +They are usually not connoisseurs by actual knowledge, but they have +developed a fine instinct for that which is of use to them, and you are, +of course, aware that we must be of use to others before we can be of +use to ourselves. If the right "stuff" is in you you will make your way. +People of ability always do. That there is room for women on the concert +stage is proved by the great array of meritorious women pianists. +Especially for accompanying women are in demand—that is, for +<i>good</i> accompanying. But I would not start out with the idea of +accompanying. It seems like going to a commercial school to study be to +an "assistant" bookkeeper. Become a fine, all-round musician, a fine +pianist, and see what the tide of affairs will bring +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">Pg 164</a></span> you. The +proper level for your ability is bound to disclose itself to you.</p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<div class="sidenote"><i>Accompanist Usually Precedes Soloist at Entering</i></div> + +<p>Should an accompanist precede or follow the soloist on the stage in a +concert or recital, and should sex be considered in the matter?</p> + +<p>If the soloist be a man the accompanist should precede him on the stage +in order to arrange his music, the height of his seat or whatever may be +necessary, during which time the soloist salutes the audience. For these +reasons it should be the same when the soloist is a woman, but as women +are of the feminine persuasion it will, perhaps, look better if the +accompanist yields precedence to her. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">Pg 165</a></span></p> +</div> +</div> + + +<h3><a name="ALPHABETICAL_INDEX_OF" id="ALPHABETICAL_INDEX_OF"></a>ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF</h3> +<h3>QUESTIONS</h3> + +<table border="0" width="75%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="Index_Piano_Questions"> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td align="right">PAGE</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>About Starting On a Concert Career</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Accenting a Mordent in a Sonata</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Accompanist Usually Precedes Soloist at Entering</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_164">164</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Action of a Beginner's Piano, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Action of the Little Finger, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Advantage of Legato over Staccato, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Affected Movements at the Piano</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_126">126</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>"Afraid to Play Before People"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_121">121</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Age of the Student is Immaterial</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Always Keep in Touch With Bach</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Art of Accompanying a Soloist, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Art of Playing With Feeling, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_124">124</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>As to one Composer—Excluding All Others</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_160">160</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>As to Playing Rubato</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_100">100</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>As to the Bach Fugues</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Bach's Music Necessary to Good Technique</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Bach's Preludes and Fugues</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Beethoven Sonata with a Pastoral Character, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Beginner in Bach Music, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Best Physical Exercise for the Pianist, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_131">131</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Best Way to Improve Sight-Reading, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Best Way to Work Up a Quick Tempo, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Better Not Give the Child "Modified Classics"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_148">148</a></td> + </tr> + </table> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">Pg 166</a></span></p> + +<table border="0" width="75%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="Index_Piano_Questions_page2"> + <tr> + <td>Biting the Finger-Nails Spoils the Touch</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Broad-Tipped Fingers Not a Disadvantage</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>C-Scale Fingering for All Scales, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Can Music be Studied in America?</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_148">148</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Cantabile Passages</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Charm of Chopin's Touch, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Chopin's Barcarolle</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Chopin's Work for a Popular Concert</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>"Colour" of Various Keys, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_137">137</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Company that One Keeps in Music, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Composition Must Fit the Player, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Conditions Which Dictate Speed in Playing, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Counting Out Loud</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Difference Between Conception and Rubato, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Difference Between "Finger Staccato" and Other Kinds, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Difference Between Major and Minor Scales, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Difference in Playing Trills, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Different Conceptions May be Individually Correct</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Disputed Chopin Reading, A</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_78">78</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Do not Allow the Wrist to Get Stiff</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Do not Injure the Hand by Stretching It</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Do not Over-Use the Soft Pedal</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Do not Raise the Piano-Stool too High</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Do not Raise Wrist in Marking a Rest</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_99">99</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Do not Stiffen the Hands in Playing Scales</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_9">9</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Do not Use a Piano Extreme in "Action"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Double Sharp Misprinted for Double Flat</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">Pg 167</a></span></p> + +<table border="0" width="75%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="Index_Piano_Questions_page3"> + + <tr><td></td><td></td></tr> + + <tr> + <td>E Sharp and B Sharp and the Double Flat</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Easiest Way to Memorize, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_113">113</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Effect of Double Flats, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Effect of Playing the Same Piece Often, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Either Trust Your Teacher or Get a New One</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Etudes for Advanced Players to Work At</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_94">94</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Exercises for the Beginner to Practise</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Fatiguing the Hand by Stretching</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Few Sonatas of Beethoven, Well Played, Are Enough, A</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Fingering the Chromatic Scale</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Fingers Needed to Play a Mordent, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Firm and Crisp Legato Touch, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_24">24</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>First Learn to Play Simple Things Well</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Four Ways to Study a Piano Piece</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_52">52</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Fourth and Fifth Fingers, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Frequent Lessons and Shorter</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>General Rule About the Pedal, A</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Genuine Piano Hand, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Give Your Teacher a Fair Trial</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_145">145</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Good Finger Exercises</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Good Intermediate Books of Etudes</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_94">94</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Greatest Composers as Pianists, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_91">91</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Hearing a Piece Before Studying It</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_104">104</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Height of the Piano Seat, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Horseback Riding Stiffens the Fingers</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>How a Tie and a Slur Differ</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>How Are Syncopated Notes to be Played?</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">Pg 168</a></span></p> + +<table border="0" width="75%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="Index_Piano_Questions_page4"> + <tr> + <td>How Best to Play the Octaves</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>How Grace Notes Are Played</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>How Long an Accidental Affects a Note</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>How Much You Can Get from Music</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>How Organ Playing Affects the Pianist</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>How Tight to Keep the Piano's Action</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>How to Get Music Published</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>How to Hold the Thumb</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>How to Improve the Technique</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>How to Play Passages Marked "Rubato"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_100">100</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>How to Use the Pedal</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>How Waltz, Menuet, Mazurka and Polonaise Differ</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_111">111</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Importance of Studying With the Right Teacher, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_140">140</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Incorrect Position of the Fingers, An</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_8">8</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Individual Teacher or Conservatory?</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>In Order to Memorize Easily</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>In Playing a Sonata</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_75">75</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>"International" Piano Pitch, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>International Piano Pitch, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Is the Piano the Hardest to Master?</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_127">127</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>"It is So Much Easier to Read Flats Than Sharps!"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Kind of Piano Upon Which to Practise, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_35">35</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Kullak's "Method of Octaves" Still Good</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Learning the Art of Accompanying</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Learning to Accompany at Sight</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Learning to Modulate</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_107">107</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">Pg 169</a></span></p> + +<table border="0" width="75%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="Index_Piano_Questions_page5"> + <tr> + <td>Let Your Ear Guide Your Pedalling</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Loose Wrist, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_9">9</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Masters Cannot be Studied In Order</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_90">90</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Meaning and Use of "Motif," The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Meaning of Solfeggio, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Meaning of "Toccata," The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_111">111</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Memorizing Quickly and Forgetting as Readily</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Metronome Markings, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_57">57</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Metronome Markings May Better be Ignored</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_59">59</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Modern Piano Music</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_92">92</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Mood and Tempo in the A Flat Impromptu</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>More Technique the More Practice, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_3">3</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Morning is the Best Time to Practise</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Morning Practice on the Piano, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Music as a Profession or as an Avocation</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Music Schools and Private Teachers</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> + <td>No Necessity to Watch the Fingers</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Not Playing the Two Hands at Once</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Nothing But the Best Will Do</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Number of Lessons Depends on Progress, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Old Problem of Duple Time against Triple, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Omitting One Note in a Chord</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Once More the "Soft" Pedal</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>One Lesson a Week</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Only Kind of Practice Worth While, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Order of Studying Beethoven's Sonatas</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_83">83</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Organ Playing and the Piano Touch</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Organizing a Musical Club</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">Pg 170</a></span></p> + +<table border="0" width="75%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="Index_Piano_Questions_page6"> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Perfect Rubato the Result of Momentary Impulse</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Personal Element and the Metronome, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Pianist Who Fails to Express Herself, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Piano Study for Conductor and Composer</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_128">128</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Play Chords With a Loose Arm</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Playing Duple Time Against Triple</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Playing from Memory is Indispensable</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>"Playing in Time" and "Playing in Rhythm"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Playing of Double Thirds, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_35">35</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Playing of Slurred Notes, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_62">62</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Playing On a Dumb Piano</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Playing the "Melody in F"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Playing the "Spring Song" too Fast</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Playing with Cold Hands</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Point in Playing the "Moonlight Sonata," A</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_76">76</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Position of Auxiliary Note in a Trill</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Position of the Turn over a Note, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Position of the Wrist, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Practising Eight Hours Instead of Four</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_48">48</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Practising the Two Parts Separately</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_52">52</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Premature Fatigue in the Arms</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Problem of Transposing at Sight, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Proper Course for a Little Girl, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Rapid Octaves</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Real Meaning of Speed Terms, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Relation of Harmony to Piano Playing, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_105">105</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Rests Used under or over Notes</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_62">62</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Results Count, Not the Methods, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_6">6</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Rolled Chord Marked "Secco," A</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Rubinstein or Liszt—Which is the Greater?</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Rule for Selecting the Speed, A</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">Pg 171</a></span></p> + +<table border="0" width="75%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="Index_Piano_Questions_page7"> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Safe Way of Stretching the Small Hand, A</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Sensible Scheme of Playing for Pleasure, A</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_161">161</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Sex of the Piano Teacher, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Should Piano Students Try to Compose?</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Slurs and Accents Not Related</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Small Notes under Large Ones</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Some Pieces for a Girl of Fourteen</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_75">75</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Speed and Smoothness in Trilling</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Staffs are Independent of Each Other, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Starting a Child's Musical Training</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_138">138</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Stiff Wrists in Playing Octaves</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Student Who Cannot Play Fast Music, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Student Who Wants to Compose, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Student with a Fondness for the Pedal, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Study of Mendelssohn, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Study of Operatic Transcriptions, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_91">91</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Study of the Scales, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Study of the Scales is very Important, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Studying Counterpoint by One's Self</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_107">107</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Take a Month's Rest Every Year</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Taking Liberties With the Tempo</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>"Tenuto" Dash and Its Effect, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Text-books on Harmony</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_106">106</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>There Are Dangers in Using a Metronome</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_59">59</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>There Is Only One Minor Scale</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Tied Staccato Notes</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Tilt of the Hand in Playing Scales, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_6">6</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Time to Devote to Technical Exercises</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>To Gain Facility in Sight-Reading</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>To Keep Errors from Creeping in</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_116">116</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>To Play a Glissando Passage</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>To Prevent Sore Finger-tips After Playing</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">Pg 172</a></span></p> + +<table border="0" width="75%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="Index_Piano_Questions_page8"> + <tr> + <td>To Produce a Softer Tone</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>To Produce Good Legato</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>To Strengthen the Weak Finger, Use It</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>To Work up a Fast Tempo</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Too Much "Method"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Trill Begins on the Melodic Note, A</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Twenty-five Not Too Late to Begin</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Two Hands Playing Difficult Rhythms, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Universal System of Marking Fingering, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Use of the Pedal for Colouring, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Use Pedal With Caution In Playing Bach</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Using the Two Pedals at Once</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Value of Clementi's "Gradus" To-day, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Value and Correct Practice of Phrasing, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Value of Going to Concerts, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Value of Heller's Studies, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + + <tr> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Watch Your Breathing</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Weak Fingers of the Left Hand, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>Well-Tempered Piano Scale, The</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_137">137</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>What a Dot May Mean</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>What a Double Dot Means</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_62">62</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>What Does "Technique" Mean?</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_3">3</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>What Is the Best of Chopin?</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>What Is the Difference Between the Major and Minor Scales?</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>"What Is the Matter with My Scales?"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>What the Leschetizky Method Is</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>What the Object of Study Should Be</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>What to Do with an Unemployed Hand</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td> + </tr> + +<tr> + <td>When an Accidental Is in Parentheses</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">Pg 173</a></span></p> + +<table border="0" width="75%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="Index_Piano_Questions_page9"> + <tr> + <td>When Playing Octaves</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_31">31</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>When Reading Over a New Piece</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>When the Fingers Seem Weak</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>When to Keep Away from the Piano</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>When to Play for People</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>When Tremolo Proves Unduly Fatiguing</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>When Two Fingers Have the Same Note</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Where Outside Criticism Is Desirable</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Where the Accent Should Be Placed</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_78">78</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Which Fingers Demand Most Attention?</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Which Should Come First—Conception or Technique?</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Why Rag-time Is Injurious</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Why So Many Different Keys?</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_105">105</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Why the Pianist Should Study Harmony</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_104">104</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Why the Piano Is So Popular</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_128">128</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Why Two Names for the "Same" Key?</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_67">67</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>"Wonder Children" as Pianists</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Wrist Staccato at a High Tempo</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td>Wrist Stroke In Long Octave Passages</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">Pg 175</a></span></p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2> + + +<p> A flat, key of, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Impromptu in, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chopin's Ballade in, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</span><br /> <br /> A +sharp, key of, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">difference between, and B flat, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Accent, where +the, should be placed, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.<br /> <br /> Accenting a mordent, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.<br /> <br /> Accents, slurs +and, not related, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.<br /> <br /> Accidental, how long an, affects a note, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">when an, is in parentheses, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Accompaniment, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.<br /> <br /> Accompaniments, in +left-hand waltz, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.<br /> <br /> Accompanist, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.<br /> <br /> Accompanying, at +sight, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">a soloist, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">the art of, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Action, of the wrist, <a +href="#Page_9">9</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">of the arm, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">of the little finger, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a piano extreme in, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">how tight to keep the piano's, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">of a beginner's piano, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a too heavy, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">too light an, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Adagio, <a +href="#Page_60">60</a>.<br /> <br /> Advantage, of legato over staccato, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">of universal fingering, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Affected +movements at the piano, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.<br /> <br /> Age, and physical development of the +beginner, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.<br /> <br /> Age of the student, immaterial, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.<br /> <br /> Aid, books +that, the student working alone, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.<br /> <br /> Allegretto grazioso, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.<br /> <br /> +Allegro, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.<br /> <br /> America, can music be studied in, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.<br /> <br /> "American" +fingering, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br /> <br /> Andante, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.<br /> <br /> Appassionata, the last movement of the, +<a href="#Page_76">76</a>.<br /> <br /> Appoggiatura, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.<br /> <br /> Arm, action of the, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">play chords with a loose, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Arms, premature +fatigue in the, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.<br /> <br /> Arpeggio, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.<br /> <br /> Art, of accompanying, the, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the canons of, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Attention, which fingers demand most, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.<br /> <br /> Auber, +<a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> <br /> Auxiliary, position of, note in a trill, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.<br /> <br /> Average, speed, +<a href="#Page_59">59</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">tempo, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Avocation, music as a profession or as an, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> B flat +minor, Chopin's Prelude in, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.<br /> <br /> B sharp, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.<br /> <br /> Bach, use pedal with +caution in playing, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">the beginner in, music, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in touch with, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Bach, Philipp Emanuel, +<a href="#Page_88">88</a>.<br/><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">Pg 176</a></span><br /> Bach's, music, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">preludes, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">fugues, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Bad +music, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.<br /> <br /> Baermann, Carl, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.<br /> <br /> Ballade, Chopin's, in A flat, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.<br /> <br /> +Baltzell, "History of Music," by, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.<br /> <br /> Barcarolle, Chopin's, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.<br /> <br /> +Beethoven, the sonatas of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.<br /> <br /> Beethoven's Sonatina, opus 49, +<a href="#Page_59">59</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fifth Symphony, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sonata Pathètique, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Moonlight Sonata," +<a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">sonatas, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">order of studying, sonatas, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sonata, opus 28, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">style, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">first and last sonatas, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Beginner's, the +action of a, piano, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.<br /> <br /> Bendel's "Zephyr," <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.<br /> <br /> Berceuse, Chopin's, +opus 57, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br /> <br /> Berens, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.<br /> <br /> Berlin, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.<br /> <br /> Berlioz, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> <br /> Best, +how to play the octaves, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">morning is the, time to practise, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">way to work up a quick tempo, +<a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">what is the, of Chopin, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">the, book of instruction for a beginner, +<a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">the, way to improve sight-reading, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">the, piano hand, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the, physical exercise for the pianist, +<a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">nothing but the, will do, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Biting the finger-nails, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.<br /> <br /> +Blumenstuck, Schumann's, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br /> <br /> "Blurring," <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.<br /> <br /> Body, general position of +the, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.<br /> <br /> Books, of Etudes, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">that aid the student working alone, +<a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Brahms, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.<br /> <br /> Breathing, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.<br /> <br /> Broad-tipped fingers, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.<br /> <br /> Bulow, +<a href="#Page_17">17</a>.<br /> <br /> Büssler, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> C flat, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.<br /> <br /> C sharp, key of, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.<br /> <br /> C sharp major, +Bach's fugue in, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.<br /> <br /> C sharp minor movement, the, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.<br /> <br /> Cantabile +passages, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.<br /> <br /> Cantata, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.<br /> <br /> Chaminade, Toccata by, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.<br /> <br /> Chaminade's +"Air de Ballet," No. 1, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.<br /> <br /> Chopin, Polonaise, opus 53, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a disputed, reading, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Life of, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">the best of, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Etude by, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Etudes in C minor, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +Chopin's works, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Prelude, No. 15, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Valse, opus 42, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Polonaise, opus 58, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Polonaise, opus 26, No. 1, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nocturne in F sharp, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Impromptu in A flat, opus 29, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">charm of, touch, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chants Polonais, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fantasy Impromptu, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Barcarolle, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nocturne, opus 27, No. 2, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</span><br /> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">Pg 177</a></span> + +<br /> +Chopin's works for a popular concert, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ballade in A flat, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Chord, rolled, marked +"secco," <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">in the Waltz in E minor, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Chords, play, with a loose +arm, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.<br /> <br /> Chromatic,<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">the, scale <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">thirds, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">accidental, signs, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Classics, +"modified," <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.<br /> <br /> Clementi, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.<br /> <br /> Clementi's "Gradus ad Parnassum," +<a href="#Page_95">95</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sonatina, opus 37, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</span><br /> <br /> "Colour," of various keys, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.<br /> <br /> Colouring, +<a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.<br /> <br /> Composer, piano-study for, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">as to one, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.</span><br /> <br /> +Composers, the greatest, as pianists, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.<br /> <br /> Composition, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.<br /> <br /> +Conception, difference between, and rubato, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.<br /> <br /> Conceptions, +different, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.<br /> <br /> Concert, Chopin's works for a popular, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">etudes, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">work, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">career, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Concerto, the Grieg, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.<br /> <br /> +Concerts, the value of going to, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.<br /> <br /> Conservatory, individual teacher +or, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.<br /> <br /> Conductor, piano-study for, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.<br /> <br /> Correct practice of +phrasing, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.<br /> <br /> Counterpoint, studying, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.<br /> <br /> Cramer Etudes, the, +<a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.<br /> <br /> C-scale fingering, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.<br /> <br /> Counterpoint, studying, by one's self, +<a href="#Page_107">107</a>.<br /> <br /> Counting, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.<br /> <br /> Course, proper, for a little girl, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.<br /> <br /> Criticism, +where outside, is desirable, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.<br /> <br /> Curved fingers, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.<br /> <br /> Czerny, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, +<a href="#Page_81">81</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> D flat, key of, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrangement of Bach's Fugues, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Damper +pedal, the, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.<br /> <br /> Dance, music, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Liszt's, of the Gnomes, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Dangers +in using a metronome, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.<br /> <br /> Dash, "tenuto," and its effect, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br /> <br /> +Diatonic, thirds, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">sequel, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Different, conceptions, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rhythms, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">keys, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Difference, between "finger staccato" and other kinds, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in playing trills, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">between conception and rubato, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">between major and minor scales, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +Difficulty of playing repetition notes, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.<br /> <br /> Doppio movement, in +Chopin's Nocturne in F sharp, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.<br /> <br /> Dot, double, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">what a, may mean, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> Double notes, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">thirds, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dot, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">flat, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</span><br /> +<span +style="margin-left: 1em;">flats, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</span><br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">sharp, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</span><br /> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">Pg 178</a></span> + +<br /> Dumb piano, playing on a, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.<br /> <br /> +Duple time, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> E minor, Waltz in, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.<br /> <br /> E sharp, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.<br /> <br /> Ear, let +your, guide your pedalling, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.<br /> <br /> Easiest way to memorize, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.<br /> <br /> Edition, +Peters's, of Chopin, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br /> <br /> Edition, Steingräber, of Beethoven, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.<br /> <br /> +Education, general musical, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.<br /> <br /> Element, personal, and the metronome, +<a href="#Page_58">58</a>.<br /> <br /> "English" fingering, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br /> <br /> Erlking, Liszt arrangement of the, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.<br /> +<br /> Errors, to keep, from creeping in, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.<br /> <br /> Ethical, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.<br /> <br /> Etudes, Cramer, +<a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">octave, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">for advanced players, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">good intermediate books +of, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">by Ruthardt, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">twelve, for technique and expression, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">concert, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">by Baermann, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">of Chopin, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">by Kessler, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">by Berens, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">by Heller, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sternberg's, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Example, force of, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.<br /> <br /> +Exercise, best physical, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.<br /> <br /> Exercises, stretching, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">technical, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">for the beginner, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">good finger, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</span><br /> <br /> <br /> F, Melody in, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br /> <br /> F minor, +Chopin's Ballades in, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br /> <br /> F sharp, key of, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chopin's Nocturne in, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Fantastic Fairy +Tales, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.<br /> <br /> Fantasy Impromptu, Chopin's, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.<br /> <br /> Fatigue, premature, in +the arms, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.<br /> <br /> Faulty touch, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.<br /> <br /> Fifth Symphony, Beethoven's, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br /> +<br /> Finger, the middle, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">technique, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">the little, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the weak, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">touch, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">staccato, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">exercises, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Fingering, +English, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">universal, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">American, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">the chromatic scale, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">C-scale, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Finger-nails, biting the, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.<br /> +<br /> Fingers, position of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">the other, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">fourth and fifth, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">weak, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">broad-tipped, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">needed to play a mordent, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Finger-stroke, +high, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.<br /> <br /> Finger-tips, sore, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">"wiping" the keys with the, +<a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Firm legato touch, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.<br /> <br /> Flat, double, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.<br /> <br /> Flats, double, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.<br /> <br /> +Fugue, definition of a, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br /> <br /> Fugues, Bach's, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> G flat, key of, +<a href="#Page_67">67</a>.<br /> <br /> G minor,<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chopin's Ballade in, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Brahms's Rhapsody in, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</span><br /> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">Pg 179</a></span> + +Gavotte in A, the, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br /> <br /> General, technique, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rule about the pedal, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">musical education, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Glissando, the, +<a href="#Page_29">29</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">to play a, passage, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Gluck-Brahms, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br /> <br /> Godowsky, transcriptions +by, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.<br /> <br /> Godowsky's pupils, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.<br /> <br /> Going to concerts, value of, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.<br /> <br /> +Grace notes, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.<br /> <br /> "Gradus ad Parnassum," Clementi's, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.<br /> <br /> Grieg +Concerto, the, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> Halévy, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> <br /> Hand, position of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">stretching the, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">small, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">unemployed, the, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">genuine piano, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</span><br /> <br /> +Hands, two at once, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">playing with cold, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Harmonic, clarity, +<a href="#Page_41">41</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">turns, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Harmony, study of, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">relation of, to piano-playing, +<a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">textbooks on, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Haydn, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.<br /> <br /> Heller, etudes by, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.<br /> <br /> Heller's +studies,value of, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">opus 154, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</span><br /> <br /> "History of Music," <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> +Importance of the right teacher, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.<br /> <br /> Impromptu, Chopin's, in A flat, +<a href="#Page_78">78</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chopin's Fantasy, opus 66, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Instrument, the, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.<br /> <br /> +Intermediate, good, books of etudes, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.<br /> <br /> International piano pitch, +<a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> <br /> International pitch, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> Key, two names for the same, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.<br /> <br /> +Keys, why so many different, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">"colour" of various, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Kuhlau +Sonatinas, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.<br /> <br /> Kullak's, Octave School, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Method of Octaves," <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> <br /> Learning, to modulate, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">to accompany at sight, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the art of accompanying, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Legato, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, +<a href="#Page_23">23</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">advantage of, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">touch, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">meaning of, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Leschetizky method, +the, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.<br /> <br /> Lessons, teachers, and methods, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">number of, depends on progress, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">frequent, and shorter, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Liadow, "Music +Box" by, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.<br /> <br /> "Life of Chopin," the, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br /> <br /> "Limping," <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.<br /> <br /> Liszt, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, +<a href="#Page_158">158</a>.<br /> <br /> Liszt's, Dance of the Gnomes, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">transcription of Chants +Polonais, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Little finger, action of the, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.<br /> <br /> Loud counting, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.<br /> <br /> +<br /> MacDowell, Sonatas, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.<br /> <br /> Major, difference between, and minor scales, +<a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.<br /> <br /> Marking a rest, in, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.<br /> <br /> Marks and Nomenclature, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.<br /> <br /> Mason's +"Touch and Technique", <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.<br /> <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">Pg 180</a></span></p> + +<p> Masters cannot be studied in order, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.<br /> <br /> Mazurka, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.<br /> <br /> Mazurkas, +Chopin's, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br /> <br /> Melody in F, the, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br /> <br /> Memorize, easiest way to, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in order to, easily, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Memory, playing from, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Mendelssohn, the study of, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.<br /> <br /> +Mendelssohn's "Spring Song," <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.<br /> <br /> Menuet, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.<br /> <br /> Method, too much, +<a href="#Page_144">144</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Leschetizky, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Methods, teachers, lessons and, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.<br /> <br /> Metronome, +markings, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">personal element and the, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dangers in using a, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Meyerbeer, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> <br /> +Minor, difference between major and, scales, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">only one, scale, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Miscellaneous +questions, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.<br /> <br /> "Modified Classics," <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.<br /> <br /> Modulate, learning to, +<a href="#Page_107">107</a>.<br /> <br /> Mood and tempo in the A flat Impromptu, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.<br /> <br /> "Moonlight Sonata," +the, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.<br /> <br /> Mordent, fingers needed to play a, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">accenting a, in a sonata, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Morning +practice on the piano, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.<br /> <br /> Moscheles, Etudes by, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.<br /> <br /> Motif, meaning +and use of, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.<br /> <br /> "Moto perpetuo," <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.<br /> <br /> Mozart, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.<br /> <br /> Mozart's art, +<a href="#Page_160">160</a>.<br /> <br /> Music, the beginner in Bach, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">modern piano, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bad, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">the company that one keeps in, +<a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">can, be studied in America, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">how to get, published, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">as a profession, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">how much you can get from, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</span><br /> <br /> "Music Box," +the, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.<br /> <br /> Music schools and private teachers, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> Nocturne, Chopin's, +in F sharp, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">opus 27, No. 2, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Nocturnes, Chopin's, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br /> <br /> +Nomenclature, marks and, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.<br /> <br /> Note, auxiliary, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">when two fingers have the same, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Notes +repetition, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">double, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">slurred, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">tied staccato, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">small, under large ones, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">syncopated, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</span><br /> <br /> <br /> Object of study, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.<br /> <br /> +Octave, chords, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Kullak's, School, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">in extended, playing, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">passages, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Octaves, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">rapid, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">when playing, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">wrist, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">arm, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">stiff wrists in playing, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Operatic +transcriptions, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.<br /> <br /> Order of studying Beethoven's Sonatas, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.<br /> <br /> Other +fingers, the, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.<br /> <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">Pg 181</a></span></p> + +<p> Organ, touch, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">playing, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</span><br /> <br /> <br /> Pachulski, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.<br /> <br /> Pedal, a general rule +about the, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">how to use the, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">use of the, for colouring, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">use, with caution in playing Bach, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the "soft," <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">a constant use of the +soft, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Pedalling, let your ear guide your, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.<br /> <br /> Pedals, the, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">using the two, at once, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</span><br /> <br /> "Perpetuum Mobile," Weber's, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.<br /> <br /> Peters's +Edition, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br /> <br /> Phrasing, value and correct practice of, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.<br /> <br /> Physical +exercise, best, for the pianist, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.<br /> <br /> Pianists, the greatest composers +as, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">"wonder-children" as, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</span><br /> <br /> <i>Pianissimo</i> touch, the, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br /> <br /> Piano, +height of the, seat, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">touch, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">kind of, upon which to practise, +<a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">extreme in action, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">action of a beginner's, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">playing on a dumb, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">affected movements at the, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">about the, per se, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">genuine, hand, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">when to keep away from +the, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</span><br /> <br /> "Piano Playing," <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.<br /> <br /> "Pischna," exercises of, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.<br /> <br /> +Pitch, international, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> <br /> Pitch and kindred matters, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">international piano, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Play for people, +when to, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.<br /> <br /> Playing for pleasure, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.<br /> <br /> Polonaise, Chopin, opus 53, +<a href="#Page_74">74</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chopin, opus 26, No. 1, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Polonaises, Chopin's, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br /> <br /> Polyrhythms, +<a href="#Page_96">96</a>.<br /> <br /> Popular concert, Chopin's works for a, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.<br /> <br /> Position, of the body, +<a href="#Page_4">4</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">of the hand, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">of the fingers, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">of the wrist, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">of the thumb, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">of the turn over a note, +<a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">of auxiliary note in a trill, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Practice, morning, on the piano, +<a href="#Page_45">45</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">the only kind of, worth while, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">of phrasing, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">of constructing, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Practise, kind of a +piano upon which to, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">exercises for the beginner to, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Practising, +eight hours instead of four, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">the two parts separately, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</span><br /> <br /> +Precision, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.<br /> <br /> Prelude, the B flat minor, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">in C sharp minor, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></span><br /> <br /> +Preludes, Bach's, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chopin's, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Private teachers, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.<br /> <br /> Profession, +music as a, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C sharp minor, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.<br /> <br /> +Rag-time, why, is injurious, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.<br /> <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">Pg 182</a></span></p> + +<p> Repetition, technique, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">notes, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Rests used under or over notes, +<a href="#Page_62">62</a>.<br /> <br /> Rhapsody, Brahms's, in G minor, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.<br /> <br /> Rhythm, accents relate to, +<a href="#Page_62">62</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">playing in, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Richter, E. F., <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.<br /> <br /> Romanza, Schumann's, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.<br /> +<br /> Rossini, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> <br /> Rubato, as to playing, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">passages marked, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difference between conception and, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</span><br /> <br /> +Rubinstein, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.<br /> <br /> Rubinstein's "Melody in F," <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br /> <br /> Russian piano music, +<a href="#Page_53">53</a>.<br /> <br /> Ruthardt, "Etudes" by, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> Scale, fingering the chromatic, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">only one minor, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">the well-tempered piano, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Scale playing, in, +<a href="#Page_16">16</a>.<br /> <br /> Scales, tilt of the hand in playing the, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the practising of, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the study of the, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Scherzo, Chopin's, +opus <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.<br /> <br /> Schubert-Liszt's "Auf dem Wasser zu singern," <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.<br /> <br /> +Schumann's "Blumenstuck," <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Romanza, opus 28, No. 2, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Traumerei," <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</span><br /> <br /> "Secco," a rolled chord +marked, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.<br /> <br /> Seeling, Hans, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.<br /> <br /> Sex of the teacher, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.<br /> <br /> +Sight-reading, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.<br /> <br /> Slur, how a tie and a, differ, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.<br /> <br /> Slurred notes, +the playing of, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.<br /> <br /> Slurs, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.<br /> <br /> Smith's Octave Studies, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.<br /> <br /> +Solfeggio, meaning of, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.<br /> <br /> Soloist, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.<br /> <br /> Sonata, accenting a +mordent in a, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">in playing a, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Moonlight, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beethoven, with a pastoral character, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">meaning of, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Sonatina, Beethoven's, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.<br /> <br /> Sonatas of Beethoven, the, +<a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.<br /> <br /> "Songs without Words," <i>Mendelssohn</i>'s, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.<br /> <br /> Speed, gradual +increase of, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">average, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">meaning of, terms, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rule for selecting the, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">and smoothness in trilling, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</span><br /> <br /> "Spring +Song," the, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.<br /> <br /> Staccato, wrist, at a high tempo, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">finger, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">arm, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Staffs, the, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.<br /> <br /> +Starting, about, on a concert career, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.<br /> <br /> Steingräber Edition of +Beethoven's Sonatas, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.<br /> <br /> Sternberg's Etudes, opus 66, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.<br /> <br /> Stretching, +<a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.<br /> <br /> Student, age of, immaterial, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">books that aid the, working +alone, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Students, piano, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.<br /> <br /> Studies, Heller's, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.<br /> <br /> Study, +object of, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.<br /> <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">Pg 183</a></span></p> + +<p> Studying, importance of, with the right teacher, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.<br /> <br /> Syncopated +notes, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.<br /> <br /> System, universal, of fingering, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> Teachers, lessons, +and methods, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.<br /> <br /> Technical, exercises, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">work, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">studies, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">results, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Technique, a +generic term, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">how to improve the, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">a precise finger, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">of the fingers, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">repetition, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a "musical," <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Tempo, wrist staccato at a +high, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">to work up a fast, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">average, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in the A flat Impromptu, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">taking liberties with the, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rubato, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</span><br /> <br /> "Tenuto" dash, the, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br /> <br /> +Textbooks on harmony, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.<br /> <br /> Thalberg, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.<br /> <br /> Theory, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.<br /> <br /> Thirds, +double, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">diatonic, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">chromatic, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Thomas, Ambroise, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> <br /> Thumb, +the, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">how to hold the, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Tie, a, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.<br /> <br /> Time, duple, against triple, +<a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">playing in, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Toccata, meaning of, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.<br /> <br /> Touch, faulty, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, +<a href="#Page_43">43</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">finger, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">biting the finger-nails spoils the, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">legato, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">crisp legato, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">piano, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">organ, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">repetition, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">charm of Chopin's, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">and Technique, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Training, a child's +musical, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.<br /> <br /> Transcriptions, study of operatic, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.<br /> <br /> Transposing at +sight, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.<br /> <br /> Tremolo, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.<br /> <br /> Trill, position of auxiliary note in a, +<a href="#Page_72">72</a>.<br /> <br /> Trills, on the melodic note, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">extended, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difference in playing, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</span><br /> <br /> Triple time, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, +<a href="#Page_98">98</a>.<br /> <br /> "Twelve Etudes for Technique and Expression," <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> Universal +system of marking fingering, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> Valse, Chopin's, opus 42, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opus 64, No. 2, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</span><br /> <br /> <br /> Waltz, a chord in the, +in E minor, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.<br /> <br /> Waltzes, Chopin's, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br /> <br /> Weak fingers, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.<br /> <br /> Weber's +"Storm," <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.<br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">pianos of, time, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Perpetuum Mobile," <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</span><br /> <br /> +"Wonder-children" as pianists, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.<br /> <br /> Wrist, action of the, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the loose, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">position of the, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">stiffness in the, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">octaves, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</span><br /> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">stroke in long octave +passages, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</span><br /> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<div class="notes"> +<h4>Transcriber's Note</h4> + +<p>Punctuation has been made consistent.</p> + +<p><b>Other changes:</b></p> + +<p>page iv—'<b>POLYRYTHMS</b>' changed to '<b>POLYRHYTHMS</b>.'</p> + +<p>page xi—'As a matter <b>or</b> course' changed to 'As a matter <b>of</b> course.'</p> + +<p>page 12—'I stretch <b>beween</b> my fingers' changed to 'I stretch <b>between</b> my fingers.'</p> + +<p>page 43—'<b>expresson</b>' changed to '<b>expression</b>.'</p> + +<p>page 47—'<b>ti</b> would take considerable time' changed to '<b>it</b> would take considerable time.'</p> + +<p>page 50—'<b>rhymthic</b>' changed to '<b>rhythmic</b>.'</p> + +<p>page 78—'<i><b>Doggio</b></i>' changed to '<i><b>Doppio</b></i>.'</p> + +<p>page 93—'<b>or</b> which one is abridged' changed to '<b>of</b> which one is abridged.'</p> + +<p>page 123—'feel <b>they that</b> do not care for my playing' changed to 'feel <b>that they</b> do not care for my playing.'</p> + +<p>page 140—'<b>be be</b>' changed to '<b>be</b>.'</p> + +<p>Index—'F major, key of, [no page #]' removed.</p> + +<p>Index—'Gradus <b>and</b> Parnassum' corrected to 'Gradus <b>ad</b> Parnassum.'</p> + +<p>Index—'<b>Hadyn</b>' corrected to '<b>Haydn</b>.'</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +</div> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PIANO PLAYING***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 39211-h.txt or 39211-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a 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