The aspect that I have always considered fundamental in the study of the instrument is the conjunction of objectives concerning the liberating education of the body, emotions, intellect, and spirituality, in a holistic vision that implies the coordinated participation of all human faculties and therefore excludes the separation of individual elements.
Therefore, "piano technique" (which is actually inseparable from the musical idea one wishes to express) means identifying the correct movements and positions useful for an instrumental mechanism that takes into account this fundamental need for the instrumentalist's well-being.
Perhaps in a "classical" view of the matter, yes, but with modernity I believe this principle is no longer acceptable. At least not for all expressive poetics. A composer's priority is not the musician's well-being and, in theory, it shouldn't even be the musician's priority. There are repertoires where it is possible to have both sides of the coin, but there are repertoires where it is not possible, or not required. Singing growls or screams or other vocal techniques typical of death metal
hurts terribly :-) technique is also studied in order to "survive," but it is the effect that counts, the aesthetic value of this effect.
It is an easy argument to explain only if extremes are brought into play, but in principle every musical technique developed in history puts well-being in the background, and the aesthetic effect in the foreground. At least if we are talking about art music and not music as a therapeutic practice... almost all instrumental techniques are unnatural and, in the long run, wear down certain physiological functions. The best way to avoid tendonitis when you play is to stop playing :-)
The best way to avoid tendonitis when playing is to stop playing :-)
You almost had me convinced... but that last sentence, no, I cannot subscribe to it! Tendonitis is almost always the consequence of incorrect instrumental setup. There can be very specific cases of predisposition to this pathology (because it is indeed a pathology), but normally tendonitis is the result of incorrect use of the apparatus, the prevalence of "effort" over coordination, and the interdependence of the muscles involved in the action.
Besides that, a "rigid" setup (the kind that causes tendonitis) has negative effects on the quality of sound, thus directly affecting that aesthetic aspect which you contrasted with the "therapeutic" one. Obviously, I agree with you on the plurality of languages and expressive tools, so even if we wanted to limit ourselves to piano music, the concept of "artistic" does not always coincide with that idea of euphonic beauty to which we often think. Certainly, the sound required by Bartók is not the same as Chopin's, just as a growl does not have the same objectives as Tebaldi's sound.
I often use vocal examples because that is my field; I apologize if some examples are not immediate for some people.
Regarding tendonitis, I truly just took the first thing that came to mind. But in principle, any doctor trying to treat that pathology in a pianist will tell you, as a first step, to stop playing. For a while, for a long time, forever, who knows. But playing the piano assiduously is clearly a non-physiological practice. And this is the basis of my concept of "technique for survival"... you do something that in itself could hurt you, and the only way to "defend yourself" is to learn a technique that combines goats and cabbages [mixes business with pleasure], namely aesthetic results and health preservation. Well, classical pedagogy teaches us that it is possible to combine goats and cabbages. But—and here I turn to singing—there are many examples of people who, despite adopting classical techniques, at some point found themselves with more or less chronic pathologies. And this is because, no matter how perfect the technique itself is and no matter how high our attention in applying it is, there is always a danger range, the possibility that at certain moments one fails to keep under control that gesture which is fundamentally wearing. And just like in sports, training also serves to minimize the severity of injuries (I have a strong structure, if I fall I won't break), but the injury happens anyway.
And the extrema ratio is to stop. Viewed from another point of view, it is not the extrema ratio but the most obvious solution, by Occam's razor. I have a nodule on my vocal cords, I don't sing. I have sciatica, I don't sit at the piano. I have a broken lip, I don't play the trombone.
Certainly, I agree, Thallo. However, it is important to pursue the goal of a technique that is as beneficial as possible, and in this sense, singing is even more "physiological" than the piano (which in turn is less "unnatural" than the violin).
D
Dino
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Reply 8 by Dino
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I am reporting 'The Art of Practicing' by Madeline Bruser, here is an excerpt:
