Hello, I am proposing what I read in Neuhaus's book, The Art of Piano Playing, on page 182 regarding chords.
"To begin studying a succession of chords, I recommend doing as Chopin did with the five-finger exercise, forcing one to play the chords with a slight portamento, but 'cantabile'..."... Excuse my ignorance, but what is meant by "carrying an chord"? Is it the fact that it is played almost like an arpeggio?
Then Neuhaus adds in a postscript: "One of the pieces of advice that can be given to those studying chords is Liszt's advice: take a chord by slightly arching the fingers inward, toward the palm, without letting them fall onto the piano like inanimate appendages."
Does this mean that the last two phalanges of the fingers (perhaps excluding the thumb) are slightly folded inward toward the palm of the hand?
Liszt's advice concerns the hand's grip on the keys. Execute the chord by making sure the fingers grasp the keyboard... As if we were to grab something. It is exactly the right gesture to perform to play portato. At the moment of executing the chord, shoulder, arm, and forearm are relaxed; the chord is played using weight. The wrist drops slightly at the moment the chord is played (because weight is being utilized) and the fingers react by stiffening to transmit the weight to the key, simulating this grasping movement on the keys. To move to the next chord, the forearm is lifted with a supple wrist that reloads the weight, only to discharge it again onto the new chord. Clearly, things change at speed; therefore, the wrist movements are much less pronounced and the wrist is slightly higher to move easily, and the grasping movement of the fingers on the keys is more accentuated.
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Crazypiano
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Reply 3 by Crazypiano
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TheSimon wrote:
Clearly things change at speed
So, does one have to do one thing in slow practice and then something else at speed, or what is the deal?
No, they do the same things but it is clear that in terms of speed, movements are reduced to a minimum. To minimize these movements, the wrist stays a little higher precisely because as soon as it starts going down, it is already time for it to rise again to prepare for the next chord.
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ttw
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Reply 5 by ttw
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I think it is better to study the passages in slow motion without falling into the temptation of enlarging the movements when we are in the "slow study" phase.
Well, it depends on the playing style; during the study phase, I personally use accentuating certain movements to strengthen specific muscles. In Mozartian articulation, for example, as soon as a note of a hypothetical scale is played, I lift the finger completely to strengthen the extensors and to find the correct equality of the notes; obviously, once the notes and the technical gesture have been learned, I minimize everything during performance. In essence, during the study phase, I try to combine the study of technique with the study of the notes of a repertoire piece. Obviously, it is not pure technique, but technique applied to the realization of an element of a possible concert piece.
Hi Simone, first of all thanks for the answer, you were very clear to me about what Liszt meant, however I cannot visualize the gesture to execute an chord by "carrying it", Neuhaus refers to Chopin's five-finger exercises so I ventured the hypothesis of a slightly arpeggiated chord; can you try to describe the gesture to apply to carry a chord, taking for example the C major chord.
Forgive me if I am slow to understand.
thanks
Gianni
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Carlos
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Reply 8 by Carlos
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ttw wrote:
I think it is better to study the passages in slow motion without falling into the temptation of enlarging the movements when we are in the "slow study" phase.
Wise words. "In slow motion" rather than slowly is the key
I love the "Slow Motion" concept!!!!!!!!! It's exactly like that. There is a profound difference, and those who grasp it are taking a great step forward. I will try to explain myself.
This doesn't just apply to chords, but to "Music" itself.
First thing: this definition rewards my conviction that gestures should not be altered. Doing one thing when playing "slowly" and another when playing "fast" is not right.-
Second thing: the accents!! The accentuation of the beats and sometimes of the subdivisions increases in slow tempos. We increase the appoggiaturas, and what we should play in 2, we play in 4 or 8. This "distorts" the correct rhythm, and instead of playing "in slow motion," we play "slowly." Try playing a piece "alla breve" in 2... slowly, always thinking of it in two!!!!! We will suffer a little to control our "internal metronome," but we will discover wonderful things!!!! We will truly manage to see what happens between one strong accent and the next, without altering or increasing the gestures necessary to achieve speed. As Simone rightly said, in speed, gestures become smaller, small fast micromovements of precision.....I wonder if I managed to be clear? Accentuation is very close to my heart, and perhaps I will talk about it in one of my next Tutorials, what do you think?
