Repertoire management/study

...when I was looking for a musical piece on YouTube, I would inevitably end up choosing the one that I then noticed had been chosen by you (for example, Bach's concerto 1060 and others). Since I am not good at all with the PC (I am over 60 years old...) I would like to know if there is a list of classical music already selected by you and if someone can explain to me how to select excerpts of communications within one's own replies: I know I am taking too much advantage, but typing on a PC is a bit like playing... thanks always to everyone

Assia wrote:

i would like to know if there is a list of classical music already selected by you

I'm afraid I didn't understand

Assia wrote:

can someone explain to me how to select excerpts from communications within one's own replies

There is the "Quote" button, it brings back the selected message within square brackets.

You delete what isn't needed and that's it (the more excerpts, the more "quotes")

Assia wrote:

i would like to know if there is a classical music list already selected by you

To play or to listen to?

I imagine solo piano or also chamber/symphonic/opera/ etc.?

I am taking advantage of your knowledge once again, avoiding opening another discussion.

Lately, I have been watching many videos on piano technique and posture, and I see that the only way to learn is for someone to rightly correct you (even millimetrically) on hand position and movements, and gradually you internalize it (as with everything). The question is: my teacher is a well-known jazz musician and, as a good professional, he also completed 10 years in a conservatory; the jazz side goes very well with him, the technical side... also, obviously I am improving by studying Bach and Cramer, but he does not dedicate much time to postural corrections, movement setting, and intention and interpretation of the classical piece (currently 5 preludes and 5 by Cramer), which in the end I think is what develops your technique and a good hand. For classical pieces, he has me study them first by playing them staccato/legato while carefully tending to the notes, and then playing them normally and also very fast, to unlock hand speed as well, but I don't see in him the figure of the teacher who nags you for half an hour about a specific type of movement. Instead, I want to learn how to have a good hand and execution, without great pretensions (because the ideal would be 10 years in a conservatory), but at least if I were to teach one day, I would like to have internalized all those basic technical aspects that lie behind any instrument, although I am aware that I will not allow myself to teach Chopin, because my field is different even if good technique must be behind it (I know Franco d'Andrea studied classical on contemporary authors, but sincerely I don't know if he followed the classic academic path... I wouldn't want to say something blasphemous

Please forgive the apparently somewhat vague question, what do you think about this? Do you advise me to continue in this manner anyway (since there are results regardless) or would it be better to add another teacher with whom to address a discussion purely regarding piano technique (on pieces and otherwise) ...

I believe that a good professional must know all the technique of their own instrument and then have deepened one or more languages (classical, jazz, latin, whatever), even though I know there aren't many teachers like that around... I have decided that I will not feel ready to teach even children until I have fully understood certain technical aspects 100%

THANK YOU

Paolo (Pianoexpert) in his video courses on piano technique does not, first and foremost, overlook the anatomical knowledge of the parts involved while playing. Knowing how we are made at an anatomical level is a subject of great depth when trying to understand how to act when playing an instrument.

I do not dare say whether your teacher does well or poorly; I can tell you that I was corrected when I started playing, because my position on the keyboard was truly horrendous. Subsequently, through exercise and the teaching of various techniques, I perfected my position at the piano by learning to exploit levers and weights in order to play in a relaxed manner even for hours without ever stopping.

If you notice that you have pain, tension, or that your sound is spiky or lacks roundness, then you are doing something wrong that you absolutely must correct.

Piano technique is important not only regarding the positioning of the hand on the piano and the distribution of weight—in addition to being a safeguard for the health of the hand—it also holds particular importance in sound production. Although the piano is a "percussive chordophone," the way the key is struck determines the manner in which the hammer hits the string and, consequently, the production of a more or less pleasant sound. It is not uncommon to find that in some cases, especially in singing parts, the sound quality of those who do not possess good technique is very poor.

An attentive teacher must be able to advise, also in relation to the type of the student's hand, the correct positions (even millimetric ones) to assume in order to correct any tensions that cause a long series of problems, ranging from physical issues to those affecting the sound.

Hello everyone, could someone kindly explain again what the 'metodo delle fermate' (stops method) consists of? Thank you very much

For simplicity, take any Hanon exercise and stop every 4 notes. Accentuate the first note, on the second round the second, then the third, and finally the fourth. Clearly, in an example of 4 notes per quarter and "surrogates"...

Anyway, it's faster to do it than to explain it

I apologize to ttw, but I disagree. The stopping method must respect the accents. Also the beat unit. It is important that it does not "distort" the accentuation of the piece. We agree, if the piece is in 4/4, stop on every quarter note. At speed, perhaps only at the beginning of every measure. It depends on the result one wants to achieve. I have already illustrated this in other posts.

The type of stopping can be with "repetition" or without. This means, in the first case, playing the fragment arriving on a note and starting again by resonating from that same note. Without rep.: only the stop is performed on the arrival note, then starting again from the next one. Two purposes for study: in the first, being able to increase and reach the speed of the piece without disorderly fragmentation, but rather observing and listening to what would happen at speed between one stop and the next. In the second, removing the "exasperation" of the rhythmic accent, which although it must be within us, sometimes does not necessarily need to be obstinately marked. Important: never stop during the "journey" between one stop and the next. Think and decide to start when you are convinced. No uncertainty must occur between one stop and the next, otherwise all notes will be wrong.... then reconsider what happened and repeat. This, in my opinion, trains one to concatenate fragments continuously and trains one to use an "anticipation of thought" while playing. Furthermore, a great advantage compared to slow practice is observing and deciding which gestures the hand must perform to overcome the passage and/or the entire piece, but at the correct speed. In fact, as we know, in slow practice movements and solutions are different and more "comfortable". At speed, the balances change and one discovers how there must indeed be a co-participation of stronger muscles helping the weaker ones. Naturally, as already mentioned in some Tutorials, by "co-participation" I mean the help that different muscles can give "outside of tension". The prime example is the rotation movement which I invite you to explore further, because it helps one understand the degree of this co-participation.

Stops and fragmentations are very different..." on the first note and then on the second and then on the third......or first two by two...then three by three etc. These are a sort of rhythmic formula that, while apparently compensating muscularly, are quite contrary to the solutions to be sought to achieve equality, speed etc. And they move us away from the goal: This is what I think. I don't care who holds the opposite opinion. Thank you for reading me

Just for completeness, stopping on a note does not automatically mean changing the actual accentuation... which instead must be respected. Let's say I have made a very, very simple little example of the various applications of this study "technique," which includes the examples made by Piano Expert as well as others too.

I understand what you mean, but I believe that the pause is a reminder to our proprioceptive system that there is an important accent and/or support there. In fact, one only needs to try treating a 4/4 with a pause on every quarter note and then on every half note to see that everything changes. I remember having an experience that convinced me of this. When I studied Schubert's Wanderer, which—with the help of Simone, soon I will post a live performance of it—I found it a bit difficult to play certain episodes at the right tempo. My teacher, a student of Maestro Zecchi and also highly experienced in concert performance, suggested that I listen to what happened by playing the piece as if it were written in 2/2. I then found it incredible that, while keeping the same metronome, everything seemed faster... or rather, more fluid.

This, and not only this, taught me that accents and their "diction" are of fundamental importance, even when studying a piece a little more slowly. The difference between performing an "Allegro" piece with a "slow" tempo or with a "rallentando" tempo (during practice) lies in preserving the accents as much as possible, which alone will be the "pivots" in the Allegro tempo. In my opinion, one must be careful not to fragment these too much during practice. Thus, the purpose of the pause allows us, besides observing the actual gestures necessary for speed, also to assimilate, even during practice and consciously, only the accentuations necessary for the performance. The pause completes the fragment and coincides with the accents of the beat or the measure unit. Whenever, instead, one stops compensatorily on other notes and/or uses rhythmic formulas and variations that shift the accentuations, in my opinion, one does nothing more than deny oneself the assimilation of the real accentuation. Therefore, the method of rhythmic variations and shifts in accentuation can be misleading and harmful, rather than compensatory for equality. If one were afraid of developing too much support on the strong accent (which is banal and obvious), then the pause without repetition comes to the rescue, lightening it and teaching not to exasperate with pedantry the banal importance of such accents. I realize that in words I might not always be clear. In practice, it is much easier. ttw, please don't hold it against me if I don't agree with you, but if you think I haven't understood your point of view well, please provide some further clarification for me. Thank you and happy studying to everyone (not just with pauses)

Thank you very much for the clarification, it was very exhaustive. I will definitely try to study using this method. I will keep you informed about the results!