A new lesson, which makes one realize that the technique I learned in previous years has a different approach, a different "philosophy." Finger independence, rigid wrist, thumb passing underneath with no wrist rotation (in a plane parallel to the keyboard), and much more.
A completely different vision, but one that some pianists still use. Will they have their good reasons?!?, or is it an approach to piano technique that is now outdated?!?(I have formed my own opinion and as soon as I have a little time, I will compare notes with those who think differently).
My question is not referred to the lesson in particular, but concerns a more general aspect. How do you find a teacher to take lessons?? If we assume that we have a certain vision of how we want to play, how can we realize that the teacher will lead us down the paths we want to travel?? The answers might be trivial, but not for me.
While searching for a Teacher and having little knowledge in the "sector," I find it difficult to think of the first move.
Ciaoo
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lozappatore123
Member
Reply 2 by lozappatore123
Posts
19
many ideas to experiment with starting tomorrow. Thank you
First of all Paolo...THANK YOU! This fifth lesson, like all the others, is seriously a goldmine for everyone. Just think, I studied with a non-existent and incorrect technique, but realizing that results were somehow slow to arrive, I turned to another teacher who used exactly this type of approach. He actually made me start again with the drops and the (Flexions) on the key, starting even from exercises done standing up with just the arms being released from above onto the hips, associated with exercises with the keyboard lid closed. In a short time, I became familiar with this new type of technique and began to "play for real." I was pleased that you spoke about Stravinsky, since Kabalevsky also wrote things of great utility, and I began my ascent with Bartok. Bela Bartok's MICROCOSMOS was indeed a revelation and completely changed my way of playing as well as my understanding of music. They seemed like little pieces for children made of two notes, but... how much I still owe to those pieces! And... what a difficulty to perform them correctly! Just when I thought I had performed them well, the teacher would correct me to tell me that it wasn't the right drop or gesture.... that the staccato wasn't executed as it should be, or that my elbow was sticking out too much to compensate for finger discomfort, or even... that the arm and fingers were too rigid.
As far as I am concerned, yours is a great and well-made lesson! Also regarding the thumb, the thing about the passage is excellent, as is what you said about finger strength (independence and different strength that specializes at a mental level through exercise).
Is this anyway the Vitale technique? From Eugenio Vitale... or was it cultivated thanks to the need and possibility that new-style instruments required? These are curiosities I haven't clarified yet. Again, compliments for making your knowledge available to everyone. Bye.
Thank you Paolo, thank you to the forum staff for what you are teaching us!!
Aside from the thumb movement, I think I have a basic technique that is quite in line with what I am seeing in the tutorials! Thank goodness!
Naturally, there are many gestures that I will need to assimilate better and others that I will need to acquire. In this context, I believe I can consider myself lucky to have met my legendary teacher, the one who gave me the foundations of this wonderful art!
And yes... The "little woman who introduced us to Schumann," as Glenn Gould called her, who certainly had little respect for Schumann. Imagine that he even claimed that if it hadn't been for Clara playing his "pitiful little tunes, we wouldn't even have known he existed" !! Glenn Gould had a world of his own... It seems obvious to me. An exceptional and pragmatic performer with some very daring choices, whom I like very much because I think I've understood how to approach him but... I really do not share this particular statement of his. Schumann, neurological problems aside, had major (self-inflicted) problems with the fourth finger of his right hand, the ring finger. I say self-inflicted because he underwent experiments to improve his piano technique and instead lost the use of a hand; for this reason, he dedicated himself to composition. It seems Clara had taken her own path, due to force majeure, poor thing (but she could have spared herself a bit too), but fortunately, as is also written in the article, she found someone capable of understanding where the problem truly resided...
"massages and physiotherapy to release muscle tension, he spoke extensively with her in a sort of psychotherapy aimed at restoring her confidence and removing her anxiety. Above all, he did not forbid her from playing the piano as everyone else had done: he encouraged her to play, rediscovering the pleasure of doing so, starting with ten minutes at a time, ignoring the pain. Today we know that it served to restore Clara's positive relationship with the instrument and, above all, to "erase" from her brain the negative association between the piano and pain, an association that had become automatic and contributed to triggering symptoms. "Even today, multidisciplinarity is fundamental for healing musicians with overuse syndrome."
I am convinced that playing should also be a physically pleasant activity; therefore, listen to your own body when it says "enough," and stop.
When one experiences pleasure, even physical pleasure, in playing, one is in the right "wavelength."
Never experience pain while playing; rather, always experience pleasure.
However, this does not mean at all that it is an easy path to take for those who make piano playing their job.
It remains, however, an important indication for anyone who wants to play seriously, with commitment, without necessarily making it a profession.
Playing the piano is an activity that fills many hearts with joy, but the joy experienced can be overwhelmed by physical discomfort, leading one to even hate the instrument.
The instrument so loved by such an intriguing voice becomes a BLACK MONSTER and can drive the young pianist away.
Knowing the problems and knowing how to face them is important... therefore it must be discussed in such a way that the inexperienced person does not think the problem lies within them.
Let's hope for the best!!!
O
Organista94
Member
Reply 11 by Organista94
Posts
194
AbateFaria wrote:
This sentence made me reflect: "she was one of the first women to hold concerts" around" throughout Europe"
Especially "around"
really... but female musicians before Clara? Are there any?
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Organista94
Member
Reply 12 by Organista94
Posts
194
tgdigit wrote:
Never try to feel pain while playing; rather, always try to feel pleasure.
However, barring pathologies, I have been taught that if pain occurs, it is because there are errors in technique or posture... playing is the most natural thing in the world, or at least it should be.
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Dante
Member
Reply 13 by Dante
Posts
275
Organista94 wrote:
true...but female musicians before Clara? Are there any?
Female musicians, yes... concert performers perhaps less so 😉
O
Organista94
Member
Reply 14 by Organista94
Posts
194
Dante wrote:
Female musicians... concert performers perhaps less 😉
Funny that Mendelssohn had the opportunity to benefit from the same teachings given to her brother Felix, sharing numerous teachers, including Zelter. She showed, like her brother Felix, an early great skill in composing music. The frequent guests of the Mendelssohn family salon, in the years around 1820, were amazed by the talent of the two young Mendelssohn siblings.
However, she was limited by the prejudices of the time towards women, prejudices apparently supported even by her father, who tolerated rather than supported her activity as a composer (sic!)
He wrote to her in 1820: “Music may become his (Felix's) profession, while for you it can and must be only an ornament”
Fortunately, her brother Felix, on the other hand, supported her both as a composer and as an artist, even if he was cautious (probably for family reasons) about the idea of her publishing her works under her own name. He nevertheless helped her arrange a certain number of compositions that she published under her own name, and in return, she helped him with critiques that he considered very constructive.
In 1829, after a courtship lasting several years, Fanny married the painter Wilhelm Hensel, who encouraged her artistic production. Subsequently, her works were always played alongside those of her brother during concerts held at the family home in Berlin. Her public piano debut took place in 1838, when she performed to the notes of her brother's work, Piano Concerto No. 1.
In effect, if you think about it, only up to 100 years ago women's rights were aimed at having children and housework. Let us also remember the right to vote, acquired relatively recently, or conversely in Roman history, the total impossibility of participating in political life. In some countries of the world, I am referring to Eastern countries, women still suffer from these abuses today... At Mendelssohn's time... Just think about it a little bit...
